FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball season is officially here. The 'Nooks head to Colorado to face off against UCCS before heading to Pueblo, Colorado to participate in the Al Kaly Classic, facing off against host CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Christian University. 

Last Time Out

The Nanooks last appeared in the annual Alumni Game. Dating back to last season, the 'Nooks are coming off a loss to Seattle Pacific University in Alaska's first appearance in the GNAC Women's Basketball Championship. They fell to the Falcons 78-48, ending their season 3-20, 2-15 GNAC. 

Box Score

#NookNotes

• The 'Nooks are led by new Head Coach, Amy Donovan, who joins Alaska after a stint as assistant coach for the Weber State Wildcats. Marquis Jones is also joining her on the bench from Weber State.
• The Nanooks earned 15 points in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. They were predicted to finish 10th this season. 
• Central Washington's Samantha Bowman was selected as GNAC Preseason Player of the Year. 
• Western Washington was selected as the GNAC preseason favorite. 
• Alaska loses Zosha Krupa, Savannah Huerta and Claudi Diez Marti. The Nanooks add Taylor Tiulana, Jayda Van Dyke, Kayla Johnson and Emma McKinney. 
• The 'Nooks return eight players from last year's team: Ellen Silva, Emma Wass, Caitlin Pusich, Pearle Green, Olivia Kraska, Destiny Reimers, Paola Perez-Mendoza and Sam Tolliver. 
• The Nanooks last played CCU in 2014, coming out on top, 66-63. The 'Nooks will look to pick up their first victories against both UCCS and CSU-Pueblo. 

Meet the Coaches
The Nanooks welcome a new coaching staff for the 2022-23 season. Amy Donovan takes over as the head coach and joins the 'Nooks after spending 2018-21 with NCAA Division I program Weber State. She held major responsibilities in recruiting and initial eligibility, as well as fundraising through community members, event management and other leads. She has also spent time at the junior college level, coaching Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Wash., for one season. She's also made stops at Northern Arizona University, the Holy Names Academy and worked as an A PLUS Youth Program/Basketball Education mentor. She earned her Bachelor's from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 before earning her Masters in Education from the University of Washington in 2013, where she also was a women's basketball graduate assistant from 2012-13. Donovan was a member of the Penn basketball program.

Marquis Jones comes to Fairbanks with Donovan from Weber State. He spent 2018-21 as a student assistant coach on the women's basketball staff before joining the WSU staff full-time in 2021-22 as the Director of Video and Basketball Operations. He worked closely with the NCAA and conference offices to meet video guidelines and deadlines while also coordinating video duties, team travel and meals and other duties. Jones played basketball at Iowa Wesleyan from 2014-17 before earning his Bachelor's at Weber State in 2021. 

Mondo Naiki will join the Nanooks as the student manager. This is also his first season on the 'Nooks staff.

Preseason Poll
The Nanooks women's basketball team was picked 10th in the GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. They earned 15 points and rounded out the poll after a 3-20, 2-15 GNAC record a season ago. 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.

We're Back!    
The 'Nooks return eight players from last season, headlined by Pearle Green, Destiny Reimers and Ellen Silva. Green returns for her sophomore year after a GNAC All-Conference honorable mention with 14.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists while hitting three three-pointers per game. Reimers returns for her sophomore year after averaging 11.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game in her freshman season. Finally, Silva returns for the 'Nooks after a solid freshman campaign averaging 5.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in just 20 minutes per game. 

Fresh Faces

Alaska adds four fresh faces this season, including three transfers in 5-8 sophomore guard Jayda Van Dyke from Independence Community College, 5-6 junior guard Emma McKenney from Lane Community College and 5-8 sophomore guard Taylor Tiulana from Anchorage. Joining the transfers is the lone incoming freshman, 5-10 forward Kayla Johnson from Federal Way, Wash. 

Preseason Coaches Poll (First-Place Votes)

1. Western Washington – 98 Points (8)
2. Alaska Anchorage– 84 Points (1)
3. Montana State Billings – 81 Points (1)
4. Central Washington – 67 Points
5. Simon Fraser– 59 Points
6. Northwest Nazarene– 55 Points
7. Seattle Pacific – 42 Points
8. Saint Martin's– 27 Points
9. Western Oregon– 22 Points
10. Alaska – 15 Points

What's to Come
The Nanooks will play one at UCCS on Nov. 16 before heading to Pueblo, Colo., for the Al Kaly Classic. There they will play CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Christian on Nov. 18-19. 

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