FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team comes home after a quick two-game road trip to Simon Fraser and Western Washington that resulted in two losses.
| Opponents |
Seattle Pacific (6-12, 4-6 GNAC) | Saint Martin's (9-8, 4-6 GNAC) |
| Location |
Alaska Airlines Court at the Patty Center – Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Dates & Times |
Thursday, Jan. 30
Vs. Seattle Pacific at 5:15 p.m. AKT
Saturday, Feb. 1
Vs. Saint Martin's at 1:00 p.m. AKT |
| Follow Along |
Live Stats | Live Video |
| Social Media |
Twitter | Facebook |
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team is coming off of a two-loss road trip. After falling to Simon Fraser on Thursday, Jan. 23, 61-93, the Nanooks faced another tough opponent in Western Washington University.
Jocelyn Gandara put up a good game against WWU with 26 points on 12-20 shots, however it was not enough for the 'Nooks as no other Alaska player hit double-digits. The Vikings went on to grab the win over the 'Nooks 47-88.
Top of the GNAC
Jocelyn Gandara has continued her hot-streak in the scoring column. After her 26-point performance last Saturday, Gandara now has seven 20-point performances on the season. This consistency in scoring has put the 'Nooks junior at the top of the conference, averaging 18.1 points per game, more than a full point ahead of the second highest scorer.
Gandara also finds herself in the top-10 for rebounds, grabbing an average of 6.4 per game, leading the Nanooks in that category as well.
Scouting the Opponents
Seattle Pacific
Seattle Pacific enters this week's game against Alaska 6-12, 4-6 GNAC. They're travelling to Fairbanks winning three of their last four home games. After defeating Concordia and Western Oregon, the Falcons fell to Saint Martin's in a 62-63 thriller. They rebounded from the loss and defeated Montana State Billings on Jan. 23, 69-63.
The Falcons are led on the offensive end by Ashlynn Burgess who is putting up 12.4 points per game. Burgess is shooting 58.2% from the field, leading the Falcons in that offensive category as well. Just behind Burgess in the scoring is Hailee Bennett who is scoring 10.9 points per game. Bennett is also the top free-throw shooter on the SPU squad, hitting 90.9% of her free throws this season.
Saint Martin's
Saint Martin's also enters Fairbanks winning three of their last four games. After a three-game winning streak against Western Oregon, Concordia and Seattle Pacific was put together, the Saints fell to Montana State Billings on Jan. 25, 64-72. The Saints won the first matchup between SMU and Alaska in Lacey, Wash. on Jan. 2.
The Saints have quite the duo at the top of their stat lines. Clair Dingus is the leading scorer for SMU, averaging 13.5 points per game while also grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game. Just behind her in both categories is the lone-GNAC player to average a double-double right now in the season, Bria Thames. The senior puts up an average of 13.0 points per game while also grabbing a conference leading 12.0 rebounds per game. Thames, in her second year at Saint Martin's, grabbed a GNAC-record in rebounds two weeks ago against Concordia University when she grabbed 29 rebounds against the Cavs. Since that game, Thames has grabbed 15 and 12 rebounds.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball team page on Facebook.
