GAME NOTES
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska women's basketball team opens its 2011-12 campaign this weekend with a pair of non-conference home games against Dixie State and Minot State at the Patty Center.
The Nanooks, who play their first five games at home, play the Red Storm in the season opener Friday at 5:30 p.m. The following day, they welcome in the Beavers for a 5 p.m. contest.
“The team is pumped these games are at home and it's an opportunity to play teams we lost to last year,” second year head coach
Cody Burgess said. “It's a great opportunity to get our feet set for the kind of competition we're going to face [this season] and it's two pretty good preseason teams.”
Last season, UA faced Dixie State and Minot State on back-to-back nights at the AT&T Hoops Classic down in Anchorage, Alaska. On Dec. 10, 2010, DSC picked up a 90-60 victory against the 'Nooks and MSU notched a 70-59 win the following evening.
Alaska returns three starters from last year's squad that went 1-24. It was selected 10th in the GNAC preseason poll and returns an All-GNAC Honorable Mention member in redshirt senior
Nicole Bozek (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak). Bozek led the Nanooks with 14.2 points per game, 27 3-pointers made, a .338 (27-80) 3-point percentage, 1.6 steals per game and 1.0 block per game. She was also second in field goal percentage (.390, 96-246), free throw percentage (.819, 136-166) and rebounds (6.3).
Burgess on Alaska's two opponents: “They're well-coached teams, established programs and coaches have been there awhile, so they have pretty high standards for excellence and competition. Dixie State has some really talented guards and Minot State has a very talented game which is going to challenge us both ways because it's back to back,” Burgess said. “It's what we need to really evaluate where we are and to get us started.”
GAME 1: Dixie State at Alaska
When: Friday, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Audio: KCBF 820 AM (
http://820sports.com/)
Video: NMTV Sports (Free)
Live Stats
About Dixie State: Located in Saint George, Utah, Dixie State College was founded in 1911 and has an enrollment of 9,086 students. It is entering its sixth season in NCAA Division II and has a 90-45 record since its transition. The Red Storm was 24-4 last season and finished second in the PacWest after posting a 14-2 conference record. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, but lost in the first round.
Conference Affiliation: Member of the Pacific West Conference. Grand Canyon is the defending conference champion. Dixie State selected second in PacWest preseason poll. Other members include: California Baptist, Hawaii Pacific, Academy of Art, BYU-Hawaii, Hawaii-Hilo, Notre Dame de Namur, Dominican (CA) and Chaminade.
Coach: Angela Kristensen (Briar Cliff '99) is 90-45 in five seasons at Dixie State and 161-105 in her nine total years as a head coach.
GAME 2: Minot State (N.D.) at Alaska
When: Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m.
Audio: KCBF 820 AM (
http://820sports.com/)
Video: NMTV Sports (Free)
Live Stats
About Minot State: Located in Minot, N.D., Minot State University was founded in 1913 and has an enrollment of 3,842. It is a NCAA Division II Provisional team this season and will be an independent with no conference affiliation. The Beavers went 22-8 last season and finished third in the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) after posting a 9-5 conference record. They missed out on the NAIA Tournament after falling in the DAC semifinals.
Coach: Sheila Green Gerding (Montana State-Northern '94) is entering her 17th season at the helm and has amassed a record of 291-183.
