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ALASKA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

ALISSA PILI

Congrats to Alissa Pili on being named Alaska Athlete of the Week!

The Anchorage basketball player piled up 19 points to go with a career-high 17 rebounds and converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 29 seconds left to push the USC Trojans to a 70-68 victory over No. 7 UCLA in double overtime. The Dimond High School grad collected collected six points and four rebounds in the second OT, anchoring USC's first win over a top-10 opponent since 2017. Alissa's performance earned her Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week honors.

The winner is selected by a panel each Friday and announced Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Sports Guys on CBS Sports Radio 590AM and 96.7FM. View past winners here.

Ottum helps Colorado Mines beat third straight ranked D2 team

January 26, 2020

Noah Ottum

Noah Ottum of Anchorage helped the Colorado School of Mines wrestling team knock off its third straight NCAA D2 ranked opponent.

The junior 149-pounder earned a 14-5 major decision over Dyllan Fuch as the Orediggers beat No. 25 Colorado Mesa 28-11.

Ottum, of South High fame, outscored Fuch 7-0 in the second period and scored three escapes in the match.

DeGeorge sets Bemidji record with two goals in 11-second span

January 25, 2020

Clair DeGeorge

Anchorage's Clair DeGeorge scored the winning goal and made school history all in one night.

The junior forward bagged two goals in 25 seconds late in the third period to lead the Bemidji State women's hockey team to a 3-1 victory over Minnesota State in the WCHA.

Nix fourth Alaskan selected for McDonald's All-American Game

January 24, 2020

Daishen Nix

Daishen Nix of Anchorage has been compared to Alaska basketball royalty for the last two seasons, but that speculation was based on projections.

Now his merit is founded on fact.

Nix's greatness was validated after the 6-foot-5 guard was selected for the glamorous McDonald's All-American Game, which recognizes the nation's top 24 boys high school basketball players.

Nix is the fourth McDonald's All-American from Alaska, joining Anchorage's Mario Chalmers (2005), Juneau's Carlos Boozer (1999) and Anchorage's Trajan Langdon (1994).

Griffin returns from ankle injury after five-week absence

January 23, 2020

Kelsey Griffin

After missing the last five weeks with an ankle injury, Eagle River's Kelsey Griffin made a victorious return for the Canberra Capitals in Australia's WNBL.

The 6-foot-2 veteran produced a +24 plus/minus rating and filled the stat sheet in an 89-75 win over the Perth Lynx.

Harder collects fourth double-double of season for Olympic

January 22, 2020

Grace Harder

Eagle River's Grace Harder went to work in the post and walked away with her fourth double-double of the NWAC season.

The Olympic College freshman powered her way to a 14-point, 10-rebound performance in a 66-63 loss to Edmonds.

Harder, of Eagle River High fame, recorded a season high in points and reached double figures for the sixth time in 13 games.

This was also her sixth game with double-digit rebounds.

Harder ranks No. 20 in the NWAC at 8.2 rebounds per game.

Osborne equals Whitman record with seven 3-pointers, nets 25

Trevor Osborne

Bull's-eye 3-point specialist Trevor Osborne of Anchorage made Whitman College men's basketball history and enjoyed a career scoring night against George Fox in Newberg, Oregon.

The senior sharpshooter equaled the school record with seven 3-pointers on his way to scoring a career-high 25 points in a 105-77 NCAA D3 win.

Fabricante avenges prior loss, takes third at Oregon Classic

January 21, 2020

Krystal Fabricante

Eastern Oregon University women's wrestler Krystal Fabricante of Kodiak earned ultimate revenge at the Oregon Classic in Portland.

After the 130-pound sophomore lost her first match to Dallas Gomez of Grays Harbor College, Fabricante worked her way through the loser's bracket to earn a rematch in the third-place match.

Agatha Andrews

Akiak's Agatha Andrews posted a 4-1 record with two forfeits for the Jamestown University women's wrestling team at two different tournaments on back-to-back days in Nebraska.

The sophomore 191-pounder finished second at the York College Open as an individual and helped Jamestown finish second at the York College Duals.

What a week for Pili; hits game winner & named Pac-12 top frosh

January 20, 2020

Alissa Pili

After securing a monster double-double and scoring the winning basket to help USC women's basketball upset undefeated rival UCLA, Alissa Pili of Anchorage was named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week.

Pili piled up 19 points to go with a career-high 17 rebounds and converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 29 seconds left to push the Trojans to a 70-68 victory over the No. 7 Bruins in double overtime.

Jeremiah Bailey

Jeremiah Bailey of Fairbanks poured in a season-high 13 points and hit a late 3-pointer for the University of the Pacific that made things interesting at the end of an 84-80 loss to Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference.

Bailey pulled Pacific within 82-80 with five seconds to go in the game after drilling a 3-pointer and getting fouled. He missed the free throw for a chance at a rare four-point play.

Schmidt outscores NWAC opponent by herself in LCC blowout

January 19, 2020

Danica Schmidt

Soldotna's Danica Schmidt scored a season-high 17 points on a night when the Lower Columbia College women's basketball team had everything working in a 92-16 win over Grays Harbor in the NWAC.

The 5-foot-10 freshman sank 8-of-12 field goals and added nine rebounds, three steals, an assist and a blocked shot.

Schmidt, of Soldotna High fame, has reached double figures in seven of her 19 games. Her team is 7-0 when that happens.

She ranks third on her team and leads all Lower Columbia freshmen at 7.3 points per game.

Williams comes up clutch for Spokane to spark OT win in NWAC

January 18, 2020

Jaron Williams

Anchorage's Jaron Williams drilled back-to-back jumpers inside the final two minutes of overtime to lift the Spokane men's basketball team to a 74-69 win over Wenatchee Valley in the NWAC.

The freshman guard finished with 13 of his 19 points after halftime, including the go-ahead jumper with 1:58 left in the extra session to put Spokane ahead for good.

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The Alaska Sports Blog is hosted by the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame and written by Van Williams, formerAnchorage Daily News sports editor. The goal of the blog is to bring positive attention to Alaskans making good in sports on the international, national and local levels and to provide a forum for public discussion.

We always welcome your input and story ideas!

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Harlow

Harlow Robinson

Executive Director

Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

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