ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team opens their season in a familiar place this weekend. They'll play two in Anchorage at the Seawolf Hoops Classic. 
 

Opponents	Texas Permian Basin Falcons Hillsdale Chargers
Dates & Times	Friday, Nov. 19 UTPB at 3:00 p.m.   Saturday, Nov. 20 Hillsdale at 11:00 a.m.
Location	Alaska Airlines Center | Anchorage, Alaska
Follow Along	Live Stream | Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 
Last Time Out
Nanooks women's basketball is set to be on the court for the first time since Feb. 29, 2020 when they ended their 2019-20 season on the road at Western Oregon. The Nanooks never had a schedule in place for the 2020-21 season after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled their participation. 
 
Taking the Court
The Nanooks will take the court with almost an entire new look. Former assistant coach, Jessie Craig, has been elevated to Interim Head Coach after the departure of former-head coach Kerri Nakamoto. Joining Craig on the bench is former men's basketball player, Parrish West. On the players side, the Nanooks will have seven new faces and only four returners from the 2019-20 season. The Nanooks top-returner is sophomore Sam Tolliver. As a freshman in 2019-20, Tolliver was the leading-scorer for GNAC Freshmen, averaging 14.0 points per game while also scoring 391 points. 
 
Joining Tolliver in the return is Zosha Krupa, Caitlin Pusich and Olivia Kraska. 
 
All-GNAC
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference has announced their 2021-22 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. The Nanooks women's basketball team had one member selected as Sam Tolliver, the sophomore guard from Seattle, Wash. earned the honor.

Tolliver, a 2019-20 newcomer, enters her sophomore season looking to build off of nearly two years of practice. Following the 2019-20 season, the Alaska women's basketball team did not play in the 2020-21 season, resulting in limited practice with the team. In 2019-20, as a freshman, Tolliver was second on the team in scoring, posting 391 points, averaging 14.0 points per game, the most by a freshman in the GNAC. She also scored a season and career-high of 31 points on Nov. 28, 2019 vs. Chadron State.

From the field, Tolliver shot 28.4%, going 122-for-430. She added the fourth-most three-pointers in the GNAC, going 63-for-212 with a 29.7% from deep. As a freshman, Tolliver pulled-down 84 rebounds for an average of 3.0 per game. As a guard, she led the team in blocks with 19 and grabbed 35 steals, adding 54 assists.