Women's Basketball Moves To 5-0 With 76-61 Win Over Alaska Fairbanks

OVERVIEW – ALASKA FAIRBANKS (MT. MCKINLEY BANK NORTH STAR INVITE)

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 76, Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks 61

RECORDS: Northwood (5-0), Alaska (1-3)

LOCATION: Alaska Airlines Gymnasium – Fairbanks, Alaska

RECAP: Women's Basketball earns the first 5-0 start in program history with a 76-61 win over Alaska Friday evening (November 26).

FIRST QUARTER

• The opening quarter was evenly played, as the largest lead for either team was four points.
• NU held that four point lead at the end of quarter, leading 19-15 after 10 minutes of play.
• Northwood ended the opening quarter at 46.7 percent overall (7-15) while going 2-4 from the 3-point line.
• Alaska finished the first at 33.3 percent (6-18) overall and 2-7 from beyond the 3-point arc (28.6 percent).   

SECOND QUARTER

• The Timberwolves started the second quarter strong, going on a 12-2 run to take a 31-17 with less than five minutes remaining.
• But the Nanooks played a zone defense the rest of the half, which shut down the Timberwolves the rest of the way.
• Northwood did not score over the final 5:08 of the half and missed their final 12 shots of the half.
• Alaska scored the final 10 points of the quarter to make the score 31-27 at the break.
• NU got off a lot of field goal attempts in the second quarter but struggled shooting, finishing at 24.0 percent overall (6-25) while missing all 10 of their 3-point attempts.
• Alaska ended the second at 35.3 percent (6-17).  The Nanooks also missed all of their 3-point attempts in the quarter, going 0-4.

THIRD QUARTER

• UAF tied the game at 36-36 but were never able to take the lead in the second half.
• In a span of just 1:34, Northwood scored eight straight points to go up 44-36 with under five minutes remaining in the third.
• The Timberwolves eventually out-scored Alaska 23-14 in the quarter to take a 54-41 lead to the fourth.
• NU got its shooting going again in the third, finishing at 60.0 percent overall (9-15). The Timberwolves were also 3-7 from 3-point range (42.9 percent).
• The Nanooks fell back to 29.4 percent (5-17) overall but did go 4-8 from the 3-point line (50.0 percent).

FOURTH QUARTER

• Alaska hung around early in the fourth, getting the lead down to seven at 54-47.
• That is as close as the Nanooks would get the rest of the way, however, as NU led by as least nine over the final 6:43 of the game.
• Northwood's 15-point lead at the end of the game was the biggest of the day.
• Both teams shot the ball well in the fourth – NU was 8-16 from the floor overall (50.0 percent) while making 6-11 from beyond the arc (54.5 percent).
• Alaska finished the final quarter at 60.0 percent (9-15).

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Alaska .388 (26-67), Northwood .423 (30-71)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Alaska .273 (6-22), Northwood .344 (11-32)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Alaska .429 (3-7), Northwood .833 (5-6)
• REBOUNDS: Alaska 32 (Eight offensive), Northwood 38 (11 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Alaska 19/18, Northwood 24/19
• POINTS IN THE PAINT: Alaska 32, Northwood 32
• POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Alaska 21, Northwood 17
• SECOND CHANCE POINTS: Alaska 8, Northwood 13
• FAST BREAK POINTS: Alaska 9, Northwood 9
• BENCH POINTS: Alaska 4, Northwood 28

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Makenzie Todd: 20 points, four 3-pointers, four assists
• Maddie Voelker: 16 points (career-high), 6-10 from the floor, 2-4 from 3-point range
• Ava DiMilia: 12 points, five rebounds
• Alana Nelson: Eight points, 13 rebounds

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Northwood's 5-0 start is the first in program history. The Timberwolves had started 4-0 on two other occasions (2008-09, 2011-12), but lost their fifth game in both of those seasons.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will finish their trip to Alaska with a game against No. 14 Tampa. Game time is set for 5 p.m. Eastern.