College Hoops: Who are Alaska’s top scorers this season? We tracked 61 players to find out. Spoiler alert: Alissa Pili is No. 1

By: Van Williams, Alaska Sports Report

Point Pili: Alissa Pili on the break at the Shootout. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report

When it comes to scoring, nobody from Alaska does it better than Alissa Pili. In fact, few players do it better in the NCAA than the Utah All-American from Anchorage.

Her 22.5-point average ranks seventh in women’s Division I basketball.

Pili’s 37-point gem against South Carolina is the highest single-game total for a player from Alaska this season, and the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year owns five of the top six high games. Only former Dimond High teammate Angelline Nageak’s 27 points for Adams State prevented a clean sweep.

One of those premier Pili performances came at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, where the homecoming queen pumped in 28 points against Eastern Kentucky in the tournament title game en route to winning MVP honors.

Pili, Nageak and Wasilla’s Sheridan Green are the only three Alaska women to score at least 25 points in a game this season, although Cantwell’s Rachel Cockman of Western Colorado has furnished two 22-point games.

Top 10 Women

AVGPLAYERTEAM
22.5Alissa PiliUtah
17.6Rachel CockmanWestern Colorado
11.7Sheridan GreenThomas
11.1Ashlyn ParduhnClark
10.7Destiny ReimersUAF
9.9Angelline NageakAdams State
9.1Elaina WatsonAdams State
8.8Mia ‘UhilaPortland State
8.5Elaina MackUAA
8.4Skye MillerUtah State

The men’s race is much tighter.

Former West High standout Jamari Lawrence of Southwestern Christian leads the way with a 21-point average while Damarion Delaney (19.5) of Spokane and Brayden Maldonado (18.3) of Metro State are close behind.

Lawrence has a season high of 30 points, meanwhile Delaney has bagged three 30-point games, including a pair of 32-point breakouts.

East High has become a college factory under coach Chuck Martin as four of Alaska’s top five scorers are former T-birds in Delaney, Maldonado, Kaeleb Johnson (16.4) of Vancouver Island and Jahbez Sellers (16.3) of Spokane.

In fact, East has nine of the 31 players on the list and produced seven of the top eight single-game highs.

It explains why Martin has compiled a 119-16 record at the school entering his sixth season.

Top 10 Men

AVGPLAYERTEAM
21.0Jamari LawrenceSouthwestern Christian
19.5Damarion DelaneySpokane
18.3Brayden MaldonadoMetro State
16.4Kaeleb JohnsonVancouver Island
16.3Jahbez SellersSpokane
15.2Orion DybdahlCentralia
13.8Sullivan MenardWhitworth
13.2Isaiah MosesUC Riverside
13.0Patrick McMahonMontana State
13.0Bishop TosiUAA
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