The Alaska Nanooks women’s basketball team suffered a 112-63 defeat against Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday in Moorhead, Minnesota. This loss brings the Nanooks’ record to 0-5 for the season.
Chozen Horn-Young opened the scoring for Alaska with an early three-pointer, briefly giving her team a 3-2 lead. However, a 9-2 run by Minnesota State Moorhead put the Dragons ahead. Tamai Mancuso and Desiree Redfox each made three-pointers to keep the game close, but the Dragons ended the first quarter on an 11-1 run, leading 29-17.
Horn-Young started the second quarter with another three-pointer. Amelia Brady and Alycia Shelley added baskets, but Minnesota State Moorhead extended its lead with six unanswered points. Emily Freeman and Ashlyn Waggoner scored from inside the arc, yet Alaska trailed 57-30 at halftime.
In the third quarter, MSUM scored eight straight points before Waggoner broke the drought with a three-pointer. Despite efforts from Horn-Young and others, including an 11-point run by MSUM, Alaska entered the final period down by more than forty points. Mancuso and Freeman each hit double figures after making threes in the last quarter.
Horn-Young led Alaska with 13 points on five-of-ten shooting and contributed a rebound, assist, and steal. Mancuso added twelve points along with two rebounds and an assist. Freeman finished with eleven points and tied for a team-high two assists while also recording two steals. Shelley scored nine points on efficient shooting and collected two assists. Waggoner grabbed a team-best nine rebounds alongside her six points, while Genevieve Velasquez led in steals with three.
The Nanooks shot 34.4 percent from the field overall but struggled from beyond the arc (25.8 percent) and at the free throw line (47.8 percent). They fell behind in several statistical categories: points off turnovers (28-10), second chance points (14-6), bench scoring (49-30), and points in the paint (74-14).
Alaska will play St. Cloud State tomorrow in their final game of this road trip in Minnesota.
