GNAC Release

FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team was represented by five student-athletes on the 2022-23 GNAC Women's Basketball All-Academic Team presented by Barnes & Noble College. 

In order to qualify for the GNAC All-Academic Team, student-athletes must be a sophomore athletic eligibility or greater, nominees must be in their second season of competition at their current institution, nominees must have a minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA on a 4.00 scale and nominees must be on the roster for the full season. 

"I'm incredibly proud of the hard work in the classroom that our team has put in this year!" Said first-year head coach Amy Donovan, "Olivia, Paola, Caitlin, Destiny, and Sam are each the epitome of what a student-athlete looks like. Not only are they high-performing athletes with demanding schedules, but also they are incredibly engaged in the classroom and in the Alaska Fairbanks community. I'm very happy for each of them to receive recognition from the GNAC for their dedication to pursuing excellence in all that they do!"

Sophomore Destiny Reimers highlighted the five for the 'Nooks with a 4.00 GPA. The guard who hails from Anchorage is studying rural development. So far this season, she's averaging 9.1 points per game while shooting 43.4% from the field and 24.3% from deep. She's grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game and is averaging 2.6 assists per game. This was Reimers' second-career GNAC All-Academic honor. Olivia Kraska and Caitlin Pusich were named to GNAC All-Academic team for their third time each. Kraska, a junior from Fairbanks, has maintained a 3.75 GPA while studying psychology. Kraska has played in six games this season, posting 1.2 points per game and grabbing a total of six boards. Pusich, a junior from Juneau, has maintained a 3.74 GPA at UAF while studying towards her communications major. Pusich has seen time in 19 games and started in seven this year. She is averaging 3.8 points per game while shooting 27.1% from the floor. She's adding 2.7 rebounds per game, nine steals, seven blocks and six steals. 

Sam Tolliver made the GNAC All-Academic team for the second time in her career as the redshirt-sophomore guard from Seattle, Wash. has maintained a 3.45 GPA while working towards her communications degree. Tolliver returned to the court this season and immediately made an impact for the 'Nooks. She has seen time in 18 games, starting in four. She is currently the second-best scorer on the team, averaging 11.2 points per game. She's shooting 30.4% from the floor, 31.3% from deep and 75% from the free-throw line. She's adding 2.6 rebounds per game, has 23 steals, 22 assists and has blocked five shots. Paola Perez-Mendoza rounds out the Nanooks on the GNAC All-Academic Team with her first-career honor. Perez-Mendoza, a guard from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, has held a 3.78 GPA while studying psychology at UAF. She has started in 10 of the 21 games she's appeared in this season and is scoring 3.3 points per game while running the point. She's shooting 32% from the floor while grabbing 3.0 rebounds per game. She has a team-high 73 assists and 36 steals while blocking three shots this season. 

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.