University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

LAIE, Hawai'i -- The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team travels to the 50th state this week, as they'll play a trio of games in the Aloha State starting this Wednesday with a contest against BYU-Hawai'i. The Nanooks will follow that game up with Chaminade on Thursday before concluding its week-long trip to the islands with a Saturday afternoon contest against Hawai'i-Hilo.

The Nanooks (1-1) look to grab a few more NCAA West Regional victories this week, as they are coming off a two-game split in the GNAC/PacWest Challenge last weekend at the Alaska Airlines Court. Head coach Cody Bench's team fell in overtime to Stanislaus State, 102-97, on Friday, but rebounded to collect an 83-73 victory over Dixie State the next day.

BYU-Hawai'i: Alaska holds a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series over the Seasiders. The last meeting came on Nov. 15, 2013, when the Nanooks scored a 69-39 win. Jordan Wilson, who was then a freshman, scored 19 points and shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the field in the 30-point win.

Chaminade: The Nanooks hold a perfect 5-0 record against the Silverswords. This year's matchup will mark the third-straight season Alaska and Chaminade have faced one another on the court. The Nanooks picked up the 95-72 victory over CUH on Nov. 14 of last season. Autumn Childers and Jordan Wilson each had 18 points in the victory.

Hawai'i Hilo: Alaska comes into this year's contest with Vulcans holding a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series. Hilo does hold the latest victory in the series, as they scored a 60-58 win over the Nanooks to split a doubleheader on Nov. 19. Jordan Wilson scored a game-high 18 points in the loss.

Taking on the PacWest
The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball fans might feel like the Nanooks have become an honorary member of the PacWest Conference, as the four of the first five games of the 2015-16 season will be against PacWest foes. Alaska is currently 1-0 against the conference defeating Dixie State last Saturday at home.

Big Things in a Little Package
At 5-5 Jaylee Mays is one of the smallest players on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball roster, but the junior has already had one of the biggest impacts early in the season by averaging a team-best 24 points per game after two games. Mays led the team in scoring in both contests this past weekend, as she turned in a career-best 26 points against Stanislaus State and followed that up with a 22-point outing in the win against Dixie State.

Mays is also averaging seven rebounds per game. The guard barely missed out on her first career double-double against Dixie State last Saturday, as she grabbed nine caroms in the win.

No-No-No
Senior Stephanie Toumson has looked very much like former NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo through her first two games of the 2015-16 season. The 6-1 center has rejected a team-best four shots through two games and blocked a season-best three shots in Saturday's win against Dixie State.

She Does It All
Junior Kaille Skjold filled up the stat sheet during the season-opening weekend against Stanislaus State and Dixie State. The Kasilof, Alaska native averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the two games last weekend. Skjold scored a season-best 19 points in the win against Dixie State and collected a career-best 15 rebounds and eight assists in Friday's loss against Stanislaus State.

Doubling Up
Junior Jordan Wilson started the 2015-16 season on a high note, as she collected her eighth career double-double with a 22-point, 10-rebound effort against Stanislaus State. It was the first double-double for Wilson since Nov. 14, 2014.

Scouting the Opposition – BYU-Hawai'i
Wednesday will be the season opener for the Seasiders, as they are coming off a 15-12 2014-15 campaign. BYU-H finished last season with a 12-9 mark in the PacWest and they were selected at No. 6 in the 2015-16 PacWest Preseason Poll.

Senior Celeste Claw is the team's top returning scorer, as she averaged 12.9 points per game last season. Forward Emily Nelson is the team's top returning rebounder, as she brings her 5.0 caroms per game back to the BYU-Hawai'I this season.

Scouting the Opposition – Chaminade
Like the BYU-Hawai'i game, Thursday's contest against the Nanooks will serve as the season opener for Chaminade. The Silverswords finished 2014-15 with a 7-17 record, with all their wins coming in PacWest Conference play, as they finished 7-13 in league play. Chaminade was picked 12th in the PacWest Conference Preseason Poll.

Lilia Maio is the team's top returner. The forward averaged 13.2 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per contest last season.

Scouting the Opposition – Hawai'i-Hilo
The Vulcans open the 2015-16 season this weekend, as they'll host No. 11 Alaska Anchorage for two-game series on Thursday and Friday. Hilo finished the 2014-15 season at 10-14 and 9-11 in PacWest play. They were predicted to finish 10th in the PacWest Preseason Poll.

Alexa Jacobs it the team's top returning scorer, as she brings her 6.3 points per game average back to Hawai'i-Hilo. Jacobs is also the team's top returning rebounder, as she averaged 3.1 a season ago.

Coaches Corner
"We have to be able to play at a high-intensity level for the full game. We cannot take a quarter off. We also have to get some more production from our bench as well. We cannot rely on five or six people to get it done. Everyone is working extremely hard, but there are a few people who are still adjusting to their roles. Going into this week, it's going to be a long trip with back-to-back games to start it. We have to be able to stay rested, but focused. We have to have a business trip mentality to come back with some of wins." – Head coach Cody Bench on her expectations for this weekend.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter.