FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team will continue their road trip following their makeup game at Saint Martin's with stops at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. 

Thursday, Jan. 6 at Northwest Nazarene
Live Video >> https://bit.ly/3JOHJky
Live Stats >> https://bit.ly/3HG1OY6
Johnson Sports Complex, 5:00 p.m. AKT

Saturday, Jan. 8 at Central Washington
Live Video >> https://bit.ly/3qKSgo0
Live Stats >> https://bit.ly/34fuNDI
Nicholson Pavilion, 3:00 p.m. AKT

Last Time Out
The Nanooks played at Saint Martin's on Tuesday, Jan. 4, opening up their 2022 portion of the schedule. That game, a makeup from their previously scheduled Dec. 4, 2021 game, ended in a 51-43 win for SMU. Both sides struggled from the floor, but it was the Saints who pulled through in the end. Pearle Green led the way for Alaska, scoring a game-high 17 points while also adding five steals and three rebounds. Alaska found themselves down early, but crawled back to within three near the end of the third. The fourth was a battle, however, 3-23 from the field was the major setback for the Nanooks as the Saints went on to win. This loss dropped the Nanooks to 1-6, 0-1 GNAC on the season. 

Quick Hitters

• Pearle Green continued to be the scorer for the Nanooks as the freshman posted 17 against SMU, raising her season-average to 13.9 points per game. She now has 97 points on the season. She has scored in double-digits in all but two games this season for the Nanooks. 
• Green posted a season and career-high five steals against the Saints on Tuesday, Jan. 4. 
• Emma Wass continued her balanced scoring. She is now shooting 64% from the field (16-25) and is the top FG% on the Nanooks roster. 
• Destiny Reimers is the team leader for FG's made. She's averaging 5.1 makes per game, edging Green out by 0.1. 
• Paola Perez-Mendoza is averaging 3.7 assists per game, a team-high for the Nanooks. She is also the team-leader in steals, picking up 20 through seven games for an average of 2.9 per game. Green is close behind with 16 on the season for an average of 2.3 per game. 
• Olivia Kraska has a knack for keeping the ball in the hands of the blue and gold. The sophomore has 15 offensive rebounds on the year. She is averaging 2.1 rebounds on the offensive end per game. She is second on the team in total rebounds, averaging 6.1 boards per game. 
• Reimers leads the Nanooks on the glass. She is averaging 6.4 per game, 4.6 defensive and 1.9 offensive. 
• Ellen Silva has nine blocks on the year for an average of 1.3 per game. Next in line is Kraska with three.
• The Nanooks are heading into a few places they don't win much in. Against NNU, the Nanooks are riding an 11-game losing-streak to the Nighthawks.
• Their last win against NNU came on Jan. 3, 2015, an 82-76 win on their home court. Their last win in Nampa, Idaho came on Jan. 24, 2007. 
• They are 0-10 against NNU in their last 10 matchups. 
• As for Central Washington, the Nanooks have seen more success than NNU, however, they are riding a seven-game losing-streak to the Wildcats. 
• In the last 10, the Nanooks are 2-8. Their last win came on Jan. 14, 2017 in Fairbanks. The last win the Nanooks had in Ellensburg was on Jan. 2, 2014 in a 75-64 win. 

Scouting the Opponents

Northwest Nazarene (8-3, 2-1 GNAC, 3rd) 
The Nighthawks are riding a four-game win-streak. They've also won eight of their last nine. NNU started their season with back-to-back losses in Calif. to Cal State East Bay and Stanislaus State. They returned home to knock off West Texas A&M and Westminster College of Utah, getting back to .500 on their home court. Their winning continued to the Sea Lions Thanksgiving Classic at Point Loma. They swept their two games, defeating the host-team PLNU and Concordia Irvine. They started GNAC play with MSUB but fell to the Jackets. They have responded for their current four-game win-streak with wins over SPU, CWU, College of Idaho and Lincoln University (Calif.). 

NNU is led by Nyalam Thabach on the offensive end. She is averaging 12.3 points per game through 11 games, scoring a total of 135 points. Teagan Thurman is the only other Nighthawks player in double-digits, averaging 11.7 points per game with 129 scored on the season. On the defensive end, NNU is led by Ashlynn Sylve, who through nine games, has picked 18 steals for an average of 2.0 per game. Emma Clark is close behind with 17 of her own and an average of 1.9 per game. Finally, on the glass, Thurman is the mainstay for Nazarene as she is grabbing 9.5 boards a game. She is averaging 7.2 defensive and 2.4 offensive. She is one of three NNU members grabbing more than five rebounds a game. Thabach is second, grabbing 7.2 and Erin Jenkins is grabbing 5.1 per game. 

Central Washington (8-4, 1-2 GNAC, 8th)
Central Washington is currently riding a three-game win-streak. They started their season against the same teams as NNU and found themselves 2-0 against Stanislaus and Cal State East Bay. Their first loss came at the NNU Classic to Westminster of Utah. They capped off their weekend with a win over West Texas A&M. CWU then hosted their own tournament and got revenge on Westminster with an 83-71 win. They ended their tournament 1-1 after falling to Metro State of Denver. Heading into GNAC play, the Wildcats fell to SPU on day one, falling to the Falcons 69-65. They won their matchup with MSUB before falling to NNU by two, 61-59. Central has had three final non-conference games to end 2021 and beat Concordia Irivine, Cal State LA and Whitworth. They'll play Anchorage on Monday, Jan. 10 following our matchup. 

CWU is led by the big three of Samantha Bowman, Kassidy Malcolm and Kizzah Maltezo. Maltezo is the leading-scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 18.8 points per game while Bowman posts 17.7 per game and Malcolm is averaging 16.9 per game. Central has no other player averaging more than seven points per game. Bowman is the Wildcats rim-protector as she has 31 blocks on the year for 3.1 blocks per game. Jenna Troy is next in line with only three blocks. Tori Maeda, Bowman and Maltezo are the three Wildcats in double-digits for steals as Maltezo averages 1.4 per game with 17 total. Maeda has 15 for an average of 1.3 and Bowman has 13 through 10 games, tying her with Maeda's average of 1.3 per game. 

GNAC Standings

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