FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team will host their 2022-23 alumni game at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 after the Nanooks volleyball game. 
 
Saturday, Nov. 5
Alumni Game | No Stream | No Stats | FREE ADMISSION
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center | 5:00 p.m.
 
Free Admission
Come one, come all! Admission will be free for the alumni game following the volleyball game.
 
#NookNotes

• Alaska will officially open up their 2022-23 season on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at UCCS in Colorado. They'll stay in Colo. for the Al Kaly Classic at CSU Pueblo and play CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian on Nov. 18-19.
• The Nanooks welcome four newcomers this season. Kayla Johnson is the lone incoming freshman and is a 5-10 small forward from Federal Way, Wash. (Decatur High School).
• Taylor Tiulana will join the Nanooks – she is a 5-8 sophomore guard from Anchorage (Anchorage Christian Schools).
• The final two additions are transfers. Jayda Van Dyke joins the Nanooks from Independence Community College. She's a 5-8 sophomore guard who hails from Herriman, Utah. 
• Emma McKenney also joins the 'Nooks for the 2022-23 season. She transfers in from Lane Community college and is a 5-6 junior guard from Springfield, Ore. 
• Those returning for the Nanooks include; Pearle Green, Olivia Kraska, Paola Perez-Mendoza, Caitlin Pusich, Destiny Reimers, Ellen Silva, Sam Tolliver and Emma Wass. 

 
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 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 10^th 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.
 
Alumni Team
 
# Name 
2 Andrea Durney 
4 Cody Finney 
11 Haley Tyler 
12 Mackenzie Warner 
15 Cait Edwin 
20 Romay Harris 
21 Marian Wamsley 
22 Jenna Buchanan 
24 Marki Geyer 
32 Heather Best 
 
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.