PORTLAND, Ore. – A new season brings a new look for the Alaska Nanook's women's basketball team in 2013-14.
That new look includes 10 newcomers – two-thirds of the roster – who will bring plenty of energy, talent and depth to a Nanooks team (5-21, 3-15 GNAC in 2012) that also returns five players, including two starters from a year ago.
Junior guards
Benissa Bulaya (Sacramento, Calif./Communications) and
Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Journalism) will be leaders for the Nanooks as they begin their third seasons with the program after each playing key starter roles last year.
Bulaya is the Nanooks' top returning scorer from last year after averaging 8.8 points in 24 starts. She finished among the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top 10 in field goal percentage (5th, 47.8), assists per game (8th, 3.5) and steals per game (6th, 2.1).
Logue started 20 of the Nanooks' 26 games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Her 2.6 steals per game were third-best in the GNAC, and she finished in the top 16 in assists per game (13th, 2.5), blocks per game (16th, 0.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (14th, 1.1).
Bulaya and Logue were major contributors to the Nanooks being one of the top defensive teams in the GNAC last year. The Nanooks finished as the top steals team in the conference with 10.5 per game, were the third-best rebounding team (39.8 rpg) and were a top five team in field goal defense (5th, 40.3 percent).
The Nanooks will look to continue that defensive prowess this season, while closing a -10 scoring margin offensively. The Nanooks were selected 10th in the 2013-14 GNAC Coaches' Preseason Poll, based on a vote by all of the conference's head coaches and released Wednesday. Montana State Billings (6 first-place votes) was picked as the preseason favorite, with Seattle Pacific (1 first-place vote) and defending champion Western Washington (3 first-place votes) rounding out the top three.
Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser tied for fourth in the preseason poll, Alaska Anchorage was sixth, Central Washington was seventh, Saint Martin's eighth and Western Oregon ninth.
Forwards
Samantha Thornton (Bremerton, Wash./Business Administration) and
Ruth O'Neal (Fort Washakie, Wyo./Justice) are the lone seniors on this year's team, and will also play an important leadership role for the 10 newcomers.
In 2012-13, Thornton started 10 contests, averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds, while posting 17 blocks. O'Neal played in all 26 games, starting four and averaging 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Brianna Kirk (Noatak, Alaska/General Studies) rounds out the returners for this year's team. She was an accurate shooter off the bench for the Nanooks last season in 24 games, shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range.
The newcomers include six freshmen, three junior college transfers and junior guard
Heidi Pichler (Anchorage, Alaska/Accounting), who joins the team as a junior after a four-year letter-winning career at South Anchorage High School and being named Alaska School Activities Association Honorable Mention in her senior season of 2010-11.
Freshmen guards
Autumn Childers (Dewey, Ariz./General Studies),
Victoria Milton (Lansing, Mich./Business Administration) and
Cassi Williams (Klawok, Alaska/General Studies) will bolster the youth and depth of the Nanooks' back court, while freshmen forwards
Josie Broderick (North Pole, Alaska/Business Administration),
Kaillee Skjold (Kasilof, Alaska/Emergency Management) and
Jordan Wilson (Business Administration) bring height to the front line. All three rookie forwards stand 5 feet, 10 inches, or taller.
Junior transfer forward
Delisa Chapman (Palmdale, Calif./Social Work) gives the Nanooks a fourth newcomer at 5-10 or above, coming in at 6-0. Chapman, a Littlerock High School graduate, averaged 12.2 points and nearly nine rebounds per game, for which she was named all-conference in 2012-13. Junior guards
Ashlyn Neal (Sanger, Calif./Natural Resource Management) and
Candace Prestwich (Murray, Utah/College of Southern Idaho) also transfer in with Chapman to add experience playing at the next level.
The Nanooks will take on Alumni in an exhibition on Nov. 2 before opening their regular season at 5:15 p.m. on Nov. 8 against Western New Mexico in the Patty Center.
