Women's Basketball | 1/7/2020 4:53:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team will take on the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks and Central Washington Wildcats this week after a tough road-trip in Washington-state. The 'Nooks will look to get back to .500 in the GNAC standings after dropping their last three games.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks women's basketball team is coming off of a road trip to the Pacific Northwest. They were swept by the Saint Martin's Saints and Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday, Jan. 2 and Saturday, Jan. 4. In game one, the Nanooks had troubles with the Saints after falling behind early. SMU ran away with the victory, 96-62, putting the 'Nooks under .500 in GNAC play.
In game two at Seattle Pacific, the Nanooks got out to an early lead, going up 12 after the first quarter and taking a six point lead into the half. Unfortunately, the Falcons offense caught fire and ran away with the game in the second half, downing the Nanooks, 70-83.
Stat Leaders
The Nanooks women's basketball team has shown that they can score with almost anyone. Led by
Jocelyn Gandara, the 'Nooks are fourth in the GNAC in total scoring, averaging 70.5 points per game. Gandara leads the league in scoring, putting up 19.2 points per game while shooting 42.5% from the field; she also leads the league in free throws attempted and made with 67 made and 94 attempted.
Sam Tolliver, the freshman-guard from Seattle, Wash. has put up amazing numbers in her first 12 games in Alaska. She is the top-scoring freshman in the GNAC and fourth top-scorer averaging 16.2 points per game. Alongside her ppg, Tolliver has made the third most three-pointers in the league with 30 and averages 2.5 made three pointers a game.
Scouting the Opponents
Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks 9-3, 4-0 GNAC
The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team is coming off of a trip to the second round of the NCAA West Regional where they lost to the University of Alaska Anchorage. A year after going 29-3, 18-2 GNAC, NNU boasts the number one offense in the GNAC, averaging 78.9 points per game with an average scoring margin of +13.2.
NNU's backcourt duo of Avery Albrecht and Marina Valles produce just over 30 points per game on average. Albrecht, a senior-guard from La Grande, Ore. is averaging 16.3 points per game, a team-high, on 50.4% shooting and 42.9% shooting from three-point range. Valles trails Albrecht by just under two points per game at 14.6 points per game.
Central Washington Wildcats 7-5, 2-2 GNAC
Central Washington comes into this weekend's matchup looking for their stride. The preseason #1 are coming off of back-to-back losses. On Dec. 21, the Wildcats dropped a game at home against NNU, 76-85. After the new year, MSUB beat up on the Cats in Billings, Mont., winning 45-63. Prior to the two losses, CWU was 2-0 in GNAC play and were on a four game winning-streak.
The Wildcats offense runs through five main hands as they have five players averaging more than 10 points per game. The top two, Kaelie Flores and Alexis Pana are neck-and-neck for the team lead. Flores is putting up 13.5 points per game with 49.6% shooting while Pana is putting up 13.4 points per game while shooting just over 40%. Pana is also one of the top defenders in the GNAC with 22 steals and 16 blocks.
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.
