FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team will end 2022 with a trip to the Pacific Northwest. On Thursday, Dec. 29 they'll head to Canada for a matchup with Simon Fraser and on Saturday, New Year's Eve, they'll head to Bellingham, Wash. to matchup with nationally ranked Western Washington. 

Thursday, Dec. 29
Simon Fraser | Live Video | Live Stats
Burnaby, B.C. | 6:00 p.m. AKT | West Gymnasium

Saturday, Dec. 31
Western Washington | Live Video | Live Stats
Bellingham, Wash. | 1:00 p.m. AKT | Carver Gymnasium

Last Time Out
The Nanooks are back from holiday break and will ride a two-game win streak into Thursday's game at Simon Fraser. On Dec. 9-10, the Nanooks finished their non-conference schedule with a pair of wins over the Multnomah Lions in Fairbanks. In game one, Alaska grabbed an 84-49 win using a huge second half to run away from the Lions. Ellen Silva led the 'Nooks in 26 minutes of work; she posted 24 points and 15 rebounds on 10-10 shooting while also adding four assists and a 4-5 mark from the free-throw line. Emma McKenney added 16 points and Kayla Johnson had a near double-double with 15 points and seven rebounds. 

In game two, the Nanooks were led by McKenney and Taylor Tiulana as the two posted 22 and 19 points, respectively. McKenney connected on 8-11 from the floor and 4-6 from deep while Tiulana had a career-night with six three-pointers on nine attempts while grabbing five boards. Paola Perez-Mendoza filled the box score with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals while running the point.

#NookNotes

• The Nanooks enter this week's matchups ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II in assists per game with an average of 17.3/game. They are third in the GNAC. 
• Alaska is 70th in the nation with a 42.6% field goal percentage. They are fourth in the conference. They are 36th in the nation for defensive field goal percentage, holding opponents to a 35.7% percentage, good for third in the conference. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are 16th in the nation and third in the GNAC in defensive rebounds per game. They are averaging 30.3 per game.
• They're 19th in the nation in total rebounds per game, grabbing 43.78 per game. 
• Offensively, they are fourth in the GNAC in scoring offense and 62nd in the nation with 71.9 points per game average. 
• Paola Perez-Mendoza finds herself 191st in the nation and 12th in the GNAC with an average of 3.1 assists per game. 
• Ellen Silva is in the upper echelon of the conference and nation in many categories; in blocks per game, she's 216th in Division II and 11th in the GNAC with 0.78/game. She's 154th/7th (nation/GNAC) in rebounds with 77. She's 161st/5th in defensive rebounds per game with 5.1, and 44th/3rd in offensive rebounds per game with 3.4.
• Kayla Johnson follows in the offensive and total rebounds per game. She's 108th/6th in offensive rebounds per game with 2.9 and 216th/10th in total rebounds per game with 6.9 per game. 
• Emma McKenney has made her name known nationwide offensively. She's currently 55th in the nation and fourth in the GNAC in free throw percentage with an 86.2% clip so far. 
• She's 110th and sixth in the GNAC while averaging 15.9 points per game. From deep, she's lethal as well, she's fifth in the nation and second in the GNAC in three point percentage, shooting 56.4% from deep. She currently ranks 133rd/5th with 22 made three pointers and is 8th/2nd in three pointers per game, averaging 3.14 made threes per game. 

Meet the Opponents

Simon Fraser Red Leafs (2-3, 0-1 GNAC)
Simon Fraser is riding a three-game losing streak heading into Thursday's matchup with the Nanooks. After opening the year with two wins in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge in Honolulu, Hi. over Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific, SFU has fallen to Point Loma, Concordia (Calif.) and Western Washington. They played #8/8-ranked WWU on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Burnaby, B.C., falling 69-60. The two teams were tied at 11-11 after the first but WWU used a 19-12 second quarter advantage to go up seven at the half. SFU pulled within five after three before WWU pulled away with the 69-60 win. The Wisotzki sisters led the Red Leafs offense with Jessica Wisotzki posting 20 points on 7-14 shooting and Sophia followed with 17 of her own on 6-15 shooting. 

Jessica Wisotzki leads SFU in points; through five games she's scored 125 points, averaging 25/game. Grace Killins follows with 12.4/game and Gemma Cutler has posted 12.0/game, the only other in double-digits. Cutler leads the Red Leafs on the glass, grabbing 10.0 rebounds per game with 50 total rebounds, 20 offensive and 30 defensive. Sophia Wisotzki is leading the way in distribution, dishing 3.2 assists per game and Makenna Gardner is one of six Red Leafs averaging more than a steal a game. She leads the team with 1.6/game. 

Western Washington Vikings (7-1, 1-0 GNAC)
WWU comes into this week ranked #8 in both the D2SIDA and WBCA NCAA DII Coaches Poll. Their one GNAC win came against SFU and they were led by Brooke Walling with 17 points on 7-14 shooting. She added a team-high eight rebounds. Avery Dykstra joined her in double-digits with a dozen points and Katrina Gimmaka added 10 and six rebounds. Western Washington also sits in the #1-spot in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball West Region rankings. They received four of the five first-place votes and earned 48 points. 

Walling is the leading scorer for the Vikings, averaging 13.3 points per game while shooting 57.5% from the field, 50% from deep (2-4) and 70.6% from the free-throw line. She also leads the way on the glass, grabbing 9.9 rebounds per game for a near double-double on the season. Her and Dykstra lead the Vikings in assists as Walling has 26 on the season and Dykstra follows with 25. She has 10 steals, a team-high, and 15 blocks, another team-high. The Vikings will face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Dec. 29 before welcoming the 'Nooks to Carver Gymnasium on New Year's Eve at 1:00 p.m. AKT. 

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.