FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks women's basketball team opens up their conference slate with a trip to SPU on Thursday, Nov. 30 and MSUB on Saturday, Dec. 2. The 'Nooks are riding a two-game winning streak after going 2-0 on their home court this past weekend. 

Thursday, Nov. 30
at Seattle Pacific | 4:15 p.m.
Royal Brougham Pavilion

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Saturday, Dec. 2
at Montana State Billings | 12:00 p.m.
Alterowitz Gymnasium

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Last Time Out
The Nanooks are fresh off of their first wins of the 2023-24 season. Alaska came into their hosted Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational with an 0-8, 0-0 GNAC record. They're now 2-8, 0-0 GNAC after defeating Cal State San Bernardino and Covenant College to go 2-0 on the weekend. The undefeated showing was the first-time the team had ever gone undefeated in the Mt. McKinley Bank NSI.

#NookNotes

• The 'Nooks defeated CSUSB on Friday, Nov. 24. Coming into Friday's matchup, San Bernardino was number four in the West Region's D2CSC Top-10 with 33 points. 
• The win over the Coyotes was the first-ever in program history. CSUSB won the two previous matchups on 1/5/95 (82-53) and 12/18/09 (64-48).
• Emma Wass' strong weekend has her nearly averaging a double-double. She is grabbing a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game and is scoring 9.0 points per game while shooting 45.7% from the floor. 
• Her 105 rebounds leads the nation and her 10.5 rebounds per game is 17th in the nation. 
• Emma McKenney is 31st in the NCAA DII with 16 made three-pointers. She is also 41st in free throws (28) and 22nd in the nation in assists (29).
• Wass is second in the GNAC and seventh in the nation with three double-doubles this season. Only Brooke Walling of WWU has more in the GNAC. Ellen Silva is fifth in the GNAC and is 30th in the nation with a pair of double-doubles. 
• As a team, the Nanooks are 15th in the nation for defensive rebounds per game with 31.2 per game.  This is first in the GNAC.
• Alaska's +4.9 rebound margin is 71st in the nation. The team is averaging 42.1 rebounds per game to their opponents 37.2.
• Ellen Silva leads the way with 10 blocked shots this season. That is good for third in the GNAC and 30th in the nation. Her 1.00 blocks per game is seventh in the GNAC.

D2CSC West Region Poll
Four GNAC teams appeared in the D2CSC West Region Top-10 on Monday, Nov. 27. Western Washington received all five first-place votes this week as they received 50 points. Montana State Billings dropped from first to second in this weeks poll, receiving 45 points. Central Washington entered the top-10 after receiving votes a week ago. They are currently #8 in the region. Simon Fraser was not ranked last week and entered this week's poll at #9. Alaska Anchorage received votes this week.

GNAC Standings

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

What's to Come
The 'Nooks are officially in GNAC play. This week will open up their conference slate of games. After these two games at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings, the 'Nooks won't play again until Jan. 4-6 when they welcome Simon Fraser and Western Washington to Fairbanks for their first games of 2024. 

Scouting the Opponents

Seattle Pacific (1-5, 0-0 GNAC)
Seattle Pacific enters this week's matchup on a four-game losing streak. They opened up their season with a pair of exhibition games, one at the University of Washington and one at home against Pacific. They fell to the Huskies and defeated Pacific before beginning their regular-season in Bellingham, Wash. They fell to Cal State LA in their season-opener, 79-54, before beating Cal State Dominguez Hills, 58-53. They went to Azusa Pacific and fell to the Cougars 69-57 before falling to Cal State San Marcos 74-44. They then fell to Colorado Christian 68-41 in Colo. and battled Metro State to a two-point loss on Nov. 25. 

Olivia Mayer leads the way for the Falcons through six games. She is averaging 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 42.6% from the floor. SPU is riding an 11-game winning streak against Alaska. The 'Nooks are looking for their first win over the Falcons since Feb. 16, 2017 when they beat SPU 63-61 in Fairbanks. 

Montana State Billings (6-2, 0-0 GNAC)
Montana State Billings is currently #2 in the D2CSC West Region after splitting at the Thanksgiving Invitational in Golden, Colo. They defeated #18 Regis 84-61 but then fell to Colorado School of Mines 75-71 for their second loss of the season. Prior to the weekend of games, they played a pair of exhibition games against Montana Tech and Montana State Northern and won both. They opened their regular-season with a one-point loss to #24 Texas Woman's University 73-72. They got their first win of the season over the University of Mary and Florida Tech. They then defeated Hawaii Hilo and Hawaii Pacific in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover in Honolulu, Hi. before beating Minot State on Nov. 18.

Kola Bad Bear and Dyauni Boyce lead the way offensively for MSUB. Bad Bear is averaging 16.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 51.2% from the floor and 41.7% from three. Boyce is averaging 14.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game whle shooting 47.1% from the floor, 40% from three and 91.3% from the free-throw line. The Yellowjackets are riding a three-game winning streak against the 'Nooks. Alaska is looking for their first win against MSUB since Jan. 29, 2022 when the Nanooks beat MSUB in Billings, Mont. 61-59. 

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