ANCHORAGE (Jan. 11) - Kamie Jo Massey scored 15 of her 21 points in the last seven minutes to lift the UAA women's basketball team to a thrilling 66-65 victory over Alaska Fairbanks at the Sports Center tonight.
UAA (7-3, 2-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got a double-double from center Mary Aschoff with 14 points and 10 rebounds. UAF (5-6, 0-2) was led by 21 points and 10 rebounds from forward Cody Burgess.
Massey was an all-around star with seven rebounds, six steals and five assists, while point guard Jessica Reilly came off the bench to match her career-high with eight assists. The sophomore from Kenai did not commit a turnover in 31 minutes.
UAA took a 36-32 lead into halftime and quickly increased its advantage to 41-34 on Aschoff's layup with 15:44 remaining. But that would be the biggest lead for either team in a game that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes.
Burgess took control midway through the second half, scoring the last eight points in a 19-6 UAF run that made it 53-47 with 7:48 to go.
Reilly then dished consecutive assists to Aschoff and Massey to stem the Nanooks' momentum, drawing the Seawolves within a basket. Massey, who had only six points through the game's first 33 minutes, then caught fire from the field, draining a pair of three-pointers. She was fouled on the second one and completed a 4-point play to tie it 60-60.
Heidi Arts (13 points, nine rebounds) split a pair of free throws to give UAF the lead before Massey penetrated, drawing three defenders, and dished to Aschoff for a layin that made it 62-61.
Laura Seeger hit a pair of free throws for UAF with 1:19 showing, but Massey coolly drained a 17-foot, baseline jumper with 56 seconds left to give UAA the lead for good. Aschoff rebounded Adrienne Taalak's miss on the next UAF possession, and Massey sank a pair of free throws with 15 ticks left. Burgess converted Taalak's three-point miss with 1.6 on the clock, and UAA inbounded the ball as time expired.
Junior guard Tanya Nizich struggled with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, but she picked up her teammates on the offensive end with a career-high six assists.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Nanooks.
UAA tries to remain perfect in GNAC play when it travels to Western Oregon (Thur., Jan. 16) and Humboldt State (Sat., Jan. 18).
