Boxscore

Special to NNUsports.com from Mike Stetson of the Idaho Press Tribune.

NAMPA, Idaho - The Crusaders overcame foul trouble and a near triple-double by Alaska Anchorage's All-American post Hanna Johansson, but in the end, a 17-point deficit proved to be the one thing the Northwest Nazarene women couldn't overcome.

Six-foot senior post Briaunna King quickly forgot about the three fouls that sat her for all but six minutes of the opening half, scoring a game-high 22 points to get NNU within three late before the 10th-ranked Seawolves escaped with a 79-71 victory in GNAC basketball at the Johnson Sports Center.

“I thought we did a great job of chipping away at that lead and getting it close, just too many turnovers the last minute and a half, and we didn't execute, and that was the game,” NNU coach Kelli Lindley said.

Playing against the bigger Seawolves – who boast 6-2 Johansson along with 6-footers Kaylie Robison and Alysa Horn – the Crusaders found themselves in trouble when King picked up two fouls two minutes into the game.

Despite being overmatched size-wise, NNU (8-4, 2-2 GNAC) responded with 5-6 guard Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili, who had back-to-back 3-point plays and drew a charge that led to a Megan Hingston bucket, giving the Crusaders an early 12-10 lead.

“Alla always plays with all her heart and bigger than her 5-6 frame,” Lindley said of Dzhidzhiyeshvili who scored 14 of her team's first 26 points and finished with 19 in the game.

That kept NNU close, as the Seawolves had to fight to forge a 42-33 lead on a Tijera Mathews bucket with 56.1 seconds to halftime.
The Crusaders responded with King, coming off the bench, for a putback 3-point play that ignited her game.

King scored 20 of her teams next 27 points, a crucial contribution after UAA (12-2, 3-0) tried to put the game away with an 18-5 run to start the second half.

A 3-point play by King started the comeback, a pair of free throws by the NNU senior post cut the difference to 66-57, and her final bucket, from the left elbow with 1:26 to play, cut the lead to 74-71.

“I kinda flipped my switch because I knew it was my time,” King said. “But a lot of it was our guards looking inside and continually talking.

“Our guards played great and I wouldn't have had the second half I did without them.”

But the comeback got cut short when Johansson – who scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had seven assists - kicked a pass out from the post to Horn, whose 3 with 55.6 seconds left virtually iced the road win.

The Seawolves then came up with a steal on NNU's ensuing possession, which did finish off the victory.

The Crusaders will be back in action next Saturday, hosting Central Washington University at 7 p.m.