BURNABY, B.C. – Jessica Wisotzki and Sophie Klassen combined for 39 points to lead the Simon Fraser women's basketball team to an 83-58 win over Alaska Saturday night at the West Gym. SFU outscored the visiting Nanooks 25-9 in the second quarter to surge to the win, which improved the squad's record to 11-12 overall, and 7-7 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference games.
 
A sophomore guard/forward, Wisotzki scored 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field. Klassen, a junior guard/forward, came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points. She made 8 of 12 shots from the field and also grabbed six rebounds.
 
Arman Dulai and Makenna Gardner, both freshman guards, led SFU with seven rebounds and five assists, respectively.
 
"It feels great," said Klassen, sporting a cut above her right eye, on her career night. "I think I capped it off in a unique way. (Head coach Bruce) Langford put me out there. He wanted me to get to 20 points, I didn't even know I had 18. I went for an offensive rebound and someone landed on me with their elbow."
 
She and the team had dynamic outings.
 
"I thought we moved the ball and passed well," remarked Klassen. "We had 50 rebounds to their 35. Defensively, we were looking to go for steals. It looked like we were being disruptive on defence, which is awesome.
 
"I was moving well off the ball. Three-point shooters were catching the ball, and I was diving and cutting back door. We had a strong transition game tonight. Running the floor is one of my strengths so I just did that. Sophia Wisotzki gave me a really nice pass at one point."
 
Claudia Diez Marti scored 19 points for Alaska. Emma Wass grabbed 10 rebounds, while Caitlin Pusich had four blocks.
 

SFU never trailed in the contest, but the first quarter was closely contested with the home side maintaining a slight advantage. The lead was 24-19 at the break after junior guard Georgia Swant made a layup with 40 seconds on the clock. She was one of seven SFU players to score in the opening quarter.
 
SFU used a 12-0 run to push its lead to 38-23 with less than five minutes to go before halftime. Wisotzki made a three-point basket, before a jumper from senior forward Claudia Hart. Swant made two foul shots, then SFU got a Klassen layup and a Grace Killins three.
 
The next three from sophomore guard Killins completed a stretch of nine-consecutive points to end the half with the score 49-28.
 
Another 12-0 surge, capped off by three Klassen layups, widened the gap to 32 points, 63-31 inside the final three minutes of the third quarter. SFU led by 34 points on three different occasions in the final period.
 
Canada's NCAA team had a dominant night in the paint, out-rebounding Alaska 50-35, and outscoring the Nanooks 42-24 inside. The SFU bench also had a big edge, posting 41 points to Alaska's 14.
 
SFU shot 39.7 per cent from the field (31 of 78), 25 per cent from beyond the three-point arc (8 of 32) and 72.2 per cent (13 of 18) at the free throw line.
 
The Nanooks were successful on 35.2 per cent of their chances from the field (19 of 54), 30 per cent of their three-point opportunities (6 of 20) and 73.7 per cent of their foul shots (14 of 19).
 
SFU will head north for a Tuesday rematch at Alaska in Fairbanks.
 
The team has one final home game remaining on Saturday, February 26, a day that will feature the women's team playing at 5:15 p.m. and the men playing at 7:30 p.m. against Western Washington in the West Gym. This will be the final home game for SFU's senior student-athletes on both teams and it will feature the Whiteout t-shirt toss to send both teams off to the conference playoffs. T-shirts will be tossed into the crowd throughout both games and fans are encouraged to wear white.
 
In an effort to lessen the effects of postponements and cancellations of games this season due to COVID-19, the GNAC has expanded this year's conference post-season tournament to all 10 men's and women's programs. The GNAC Championships will run from March 2 to 5.

For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit https://athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

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