FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team is headed to Anchorage for a matchup with their in-state rivals, the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. 
 
Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 at Alaska Anchorage
Live Stream >> https://bit.ly/3tu4dkQ
Live Stats >> https://bit.ly/3A150Lh
Alaska Airlines Center, UAA Campus, 7:30 p.m. 
 
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of a battle at Western Oregon. Despite falling to the Wolves, the Nanooks stayed in the game until the last minutes. In the first half, Pearle Green was the main source of offense for Alaska as the freshman posted 11 on 4-4 FG shooting and 3-3 3PT shooting. After one, the Nanooks were down one. Western Oregon hopped out to an early lead, but Alaska bounced back. The two teams posted back-and-forth lead changes until an 11-11 tie. Pearle Green connected on a three giving Alaska a 14-11 lead but WOU immediately responded with their own bucket. After Ellen Silva made it 16-13 Nanooks, Western Oregon would end the quarter on a 4-0 run, including a steal and layup just before the buzzer making it 17-16 Wolves.

Heading into the second quarter, the Nanooks grabbed the lead back quickly on a Zosha Krupa jumper. WOU responded, however, running ahead to a four-point lead with 6:49 on the clock. A pair of Claudia Diez Marti free throws tied it back up 27-27 before the Wolves made one last run to end the third with a 36-31 lead at the half. 

Out of the break the Nanooks pulled within one on back-to-back buckets. WOU quickly responded making it a five-point game but a Green three, two Diez Marti layups and Reimers jumper kept the 'Nooks in it pushing their deficit to three with a minute and a half remaining in the third. Just before the quarter ended, WOU went cold for the last few minutes. Alaska used the momentum to grab a free throw from Reimers and two from Diez Marti making it 53-53 at the end of the third. Heading into the fourth, the Nanooks relied on the supporting cast. After Green was knocked for her fourth foul, the blue and gold saw Reimers step up early. She knocked down a three only 30 seconds into the quarter, tying it at 56-56 and later made a big steal that led to a Green three, pulling Alaska back within one at 65-64. Off of a WOU miss, Green pushed the ball in transition and found Reimers in the short corner for a turnaround jumper giving Alaska the lead at 66-65, their first lead since the second quarter.

Unfortunately, that was the last lead the Nanooks would grab as Western Oregon would run away for the 80-68 win. Green led all scorers with 26 points, five rebounds, two assists and steals while shooting 9-10 FG, 7-8 3PT and 1-2 FT. Destiny Reimers ended the night with 18 points, going 6-15 FG, 1-2 3PT and added four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. Claudia Diez Marti posted 14 in the loss, going 6-7 from the free throw line.
 
Quick Hitters

• Pearle Green upped her season-average to 16.6 points per game. She leads the way for Alaska, is the top-scoring freshman in the GNAC and remains in sixth in all GNAC scorers. 
• Claudia Diez Marti has jumped the ranks to the third top-scorer for the Nanooks. She now is averaging 10.0 points per game following her 14-point performance at WOU. 
• Destiny Reimers rounds out the trio of freshmen scorers for Alaska. The 2020 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year is averaging 12.8 points per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. 
• Reimers is also the team-leader in rebounds, averaging 6.4 per game. She has grabbed 58 total, 44 defensive and 14 offensive. 
• Ellen Silva is leading the way on the offensive-glass for the Nanooks. She has a team-high 17 boards alongside her 13 defensive. She's averaging 3.3 per game. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are outscoring teams down the stretch. They've scored 159 fourth-quarter points while allowing only 145. The first and third quarters are where the 'Nooks are struggling most, being outscored in the first by 55 and 59 in the third. 
• Paola Perez-Mendoza is leading the way in distribution as the freshman is averaging 4.0 assists per game. That gives her the team lead and puts her third in the GNAC in assists per game. 
• She is also the current GNAC leader in steals per game. With 23 through nine games, she's averaging 2.6 steals per game. 

 
Scouting the Opponent
 
Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (9-1, 2-0 GNAC, 1^st)
Anchorage enters this weekend as the top-team in the GNAC. They're coming off of a win at Northwest Nazarene, their first game in nearly a month. They opened the season on Nov. 5, 2021 with a win at Johnson & Wales (N.C.). They then hosted the Seawolf Hoops Classic and swept the competition, knocking off Hillsdale 69-61 and Texas Permian Basin 73-53. They swept Winston-Salem State in back-to-back nights and then entered GNAC play. They defeated the Saint Martin's Saints on Dec. 2, 2021 66-58. They then played their final non-conference games of the season. They beat Hawaii Pacific and Concord before falling to Hawaii Hilo 76-73 for their first lone-loss of the season. Following their holiday break, the Seawolves saw two postponed games, a win over NNU and another postponed game. 
 
Anchorage has a balanced attack on the offensive side of the ball. They have eight players averaging five or more points including four over eight points a game. Nicole Pinckney leads the way averaging 10.7 points per game. Jahnna Hajdukovich is next at 9.3 points per game. These two are shooting 42.9% and 39.5% from deep. 
 
GNAC Standings

1. Alaska Anchorage, 9-1, 2-0 GNAC
2. Seattle Pacific, 7-7, 3-1 GNAC
3. Western Washington, 10-1, 2-1 GNAC
4. Montana State Billings, 8-7, 2-1 GNAC
5. Northwest Nazarene, 9-4, 3-2 GNAC
6. Central Washington, 9-4, 2-2 GNAC
7. Western Oregon, 6-5, 2-2 GNAC
8. Saint Martin's, 9-3, 1-2 GNAC
9. Simon Fraser, 5-8, 1-3 GNAC
10. Alaska, 1-8, 0-4 GNAC

 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team, follow @NanooksWBB on Twitter, @NanookWBB on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks Women's Basketball team page on Facebook.