FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team earned 15 points in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. With 15 points, the Nanooks rounded out the poll in 10th place following a 3-20, 2-15 GNAC record in 2021-22. 

Western Washington was picked as the preseason favorite after posting a 25-6, 10-4 GNAC record and making an appearance in the 2022 Division II championship game before falling. They earned 98 points and took eight of the 10 first-place votes. Alaska Anchorage was picked second with 84 points and one first-place vote. Montana State Billings took the final first-place vote and was the last GNAC team to earn 70+ points, earning 81. Central Washington was picked to finish fourth, earning 67 points. Simon Fraser, Northwest Nazarene and Seattle Pacific were picked fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. 

Just beating out the Nanooks was Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The Saints were picked to finish eighth, receiving 27 points and WOU was picked to finish ninth with 22 points. Alaska rounded out the list with 15 points and a 10th-place prediction. 

First-year head coach Amy Donovan will look to prove the GNAC wrong as she enters with a handful of returners as well as strong incoming talent. Destiny Reimers headlines the group of returners as the sophomore guard looks to build off of an impressive freshman season that included 11.4 points per game and a team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game. Emma McKenney and Jayda Van Dyke are the two transfers for the Nanooks, entering from Lane Community College and Independence Community College. They also welcome freshmen, Kayla Johnson from Federal Way, Wash. and Taylor Tiulana from Anchorage, Alaska. 

The Nanooks will officially open their season on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs before playing CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian in the Al Kaly Classic in Pueblo, Colo. 

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