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Alaska Fairbanks 81, Chico State 77

• Scoring: Annie Ward (15); Hannah Womack (12); Lauren Johnson (12); Courtney Brignac (10).
• Rebounds: Chanelle Di Croce (9).

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Coming off a comeback win against Dixie State where the Wildcats scored eight points in the final 18 seconds to secure a 70-68 victory, the Chico State women’s basketball team lost 81-77 Saturday to Alaska Fairbanks. Even though the w’Cats fought back from a 58-36 deficit with 15 minutes of regulation left to make it a three-point game, the Nanooks held on for a win at the Dixie State Thanksgiving Classic tournament

The Wildcats struggled on both sides of the court in the first half. Annie Ward came out firing in the first half and scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half, which kept the Wildcats in the game. Collectively, Chico State shot 11-38 offensively in the first half and allowed 43 points on the other side of the court.

During the second half of the game, the Wildcats battled to keep up with the Nanooks, with impressive play by Lauren Johnson as she pushed to score on three layups. Hannah Womack, Courtney Brignac, and Michelle Walker contributed points to get within three at 73-70 with 1:47 seconds left in the game. Despite a late layup by Courtney Brignac and a 3-pointer by Chanelle Di Croce, time ran out on Chico State’s comeback hopes.

Chico State freshman Lauren Johnson, Courtney Brignac, and Natalie Valenzuela were stand out players for Chico State. Johnson shot 5-5 from the field, Brignac shot 4-7 and Valenzuela shot 4-8.

The Wildcats (2-1) will next play Nov. 30 at Holy Names University.

Lars Gustafson can be reached at [email protected] or @larsonsports on Twitter.