ANCHORAGE (Feb. 7) - Kamie Jo Massey broke the Great Northwest Athletic Conference scoring record with 38 points, and her teammates came alive in the second half to rally the Seawolf women's basketball team to a 76-72 victory over Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex tonight.
Massey shot 13 of 21 and scored her team's last eight points as UAA (9-11, 4-7 GNAC) won for the fourth time in six games. Tanya Nizich scored 15 points and Amber Nasby had nine of her 11 in the second half, while NNU (9-10, 5-6) was led by guard Jenny Binford's 27 points.
The Crusaders took an early 14-6 lead, but Massey single-handedly kept UAA in the game. Her three-pointer with 10:48 left in the first half cut NNU's lead to 18-17, with the senior forward accounting for all of UAA's points.
NNU extended its lead to eight once again, but Nizich scored three fastbreak layups in the final five minutes to slice UAA's halftime deficit to 35-34. Massey finished the first 20 minutes with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Jessica Reilly's three-pointer capped an 8-0 run that made it 45-40 at the 16:30 mark of the second half, and the Seawolves stretched their advantage to seven points three times before NNU came storming back. The Crusaders took a 65-62 lead on four straight points from Kara Gonzalez and went up 68-64 on Katie Zillner's three with 4:44 left.
UAA tied it with back-to-back layups from Nasby and Nizich, and Binford made a pair of free throws to put her team ahead 70-68 with 3:29 showing.
It was at that point that Massey took control again, converting three layups over the next two minutes to give UAA a 74-70 lead. Center Danielle Pridgen knocked down a 15-foot jumper on NNU's next possession, and Massey missed a shot on the other end, but the visitors from Nampa, Idaho, couldn't tie it when Nizich blocked Binford's jump shot with under 20 seconds remaining. Nasby corralled the rebound and UAA got the ball to Massey, who calmly clinched the game with two free throws.
Massey's 38 points tied Eva Robinson for the third-best scoring total in UAA history, behind Allegra Stoetzel (41) and Robin Graul (40). She finished with 12 rebounds, two blocks and an assist as well. It was her second straight double-double and 21st of her career, tied for No. 3 on UAA's career list.
The Seawolves started three guards and two small forwards, and got solid play from all of them. Nasby grabbed six rebounds and Jessica Reilly had three assists, three steals and just one turnover to go with her career-high-tying five rebounds. Freshman point guard Whitney Leman finished with six assists, five points and two steals.
UAA committed just 11 turnovers and shot a season-high 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field, while holding the Crusaders to 38.6 percent shooting.
The Seawolves go back on the road next week for games at No. 4 Seattle Pacific (Thur., Nov. 12) and Central Washington (Sat., Nov. 14).
