Confidence and an early lead could not counter exhaustion for the University of Alaska Fairbanks women’s basketball team Thursday night in a game that came down to the final 66 seconds.
Trailing by a point with just over a minute to play, Seattle Pacific’s Hunter Beirne hit a three-pointer and Natalie Hoff added another from behind the arc with 32 seconds to go as the Falcons escaped the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium with a 65-60 win.
Beirne capped off the victory with two free throws as SPU came back from trailing by the short-handed Nanooks by as many as nine in the first quarter.
Coach Amy Donovan had only four substitutes to rotate through with, Emma McKenney still on the bench after bruising both kneecaps in Monday night’s GNAC-opening loss to Montana State University-Billings.
Emma Silva led the Nanooks with 16 points while Paola Perez-Mendoza, starting for McKenney, added 13 and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.
Carrying a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Nanooks found a second wind but could never stretch the lead beyond four. Beirne and Hoff combining for eight points in the final 1:06 made the difference.
Hoff finished with 16 points while Chiarra De Vergilio added 14 points, to include hitting four of 11 shots from behind the arc.
UAF will take a brief break from GNAC play to take on the Multnomah Lions in a two-game series Dec. 9 and 10 at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. Game times are 3 p.m. next Friday and 2 p.m. next Saturday.
