FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks women's basketball team hits the road for two games to close out the 2024 portion of their season, traveling to California for matchups against Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State.

Tuesday, Dec. 17
4:30 p.m. | at Cal State East Bay
Pioneer Gymnasium | Hayward, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats

Thursday, Dec. 19
4:30 p.m. | at San Francisco State
The Swamp at Don Nasser Family Plaza | San Francisco, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats

Last Time Out
The 'Nooks dropped both their games to start GNAC play, falling to Western Oregon 73-82 on Dec. 6 and to Saint Martin's 71-105 on Dec. 8.

Alaska entered halftime of its game against WOU down one point after a Bella Pedrojetti buzzer-beater put the Wolves up 39-38. The Blue & Gold took a 61-60 lead heading into the final 10 minutes, but Western Oregon outscored the Nanooks 22-12 in the final quarter to secure the nine-point win. Destiny Reimers posted a team-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the contest. She also led the team in rebounds with eight and steals with four while dishing out four assists. Kayla Johnson was the other Nanook to finish with double-digit points, scoring 12 while knocking down 5-of-14 from the field. She notched six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Taylor Pilot, Miranda Lomax and Tristian Martin all tallied seven points, while Pilot grabbed six boards and dished out a team-high five assists. The Nanooks shot 34.2% from the floor and 21.4% from three, going 9-of-42 as a team from behind the three-point line. Alaska received 30 points from its bench compared to two for WOU. It also led in points off turnovers (27-23) but trailed in second-chance points (12-14).

During the second game of the week, Alaska trailed for all but the opening minute, surrendering the most points of the season in the loss to the Saints. Reimers again led Alaska with 13 points during the contest, collecting three rebounds and three assists. Bobbi Clark was the other Nanook to post double-digit points, finishing with 12 on 5-of-8 shooting. Clark grabbed eight rebounds and tallied a pair of assists. Emily Freeman and Jayda Van Dyke each had nine points on the afternoon; Freeman went 3-for-7 from distance, while Van Dyke knocked down four of her five shots from the field. Pilot paced the squad with nine rebounds. She ended with eight points, two assists and a team-high three steals. Alaska shot 46.3% from the field and 28.6% from three, while Saint Martin's posted shooting percentages of 58% and 52.4%.

#NookNotes

• Alaska is the second-highest scoring offense in the GNAC this season, averaging 74.7 points per game. They trail only Alaska Anchorage, whose 90 points per game leads all Division II.
• The Nanooks lead the GNAC in three-pointers per game, averaging 9.6 makes from beyond the arc. That mark puts them eighth in the nation.
• The Blue & Gold have posted 15.4 assists per game as a squad, ranking third in the GNAC and 51st in DII. Their 0.96 assist-to-turnover ratio is good for third in the conference and 58th in the nation.
• Alaska's bench averages 28.7 points per game, ranking second in the conference and 31st in DII.
• Destiny Reimers is Alaska's top scorer this season, averaging 14 points per game to put her ninth in the GNAC. She is also averaging 6.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, the most on the team.
• Taylor Pilot sits third in the conference and 25th nationally in steals per game, swiping an average of three per contest.
• Emily Freeman's 41.8 three-point percentage and 2.56 three-pointers per game are both good for fifth in the GNAC. Those marks put her 45th and 42nd in Division II, respectively.

Meet the Opponents
Cal State East Bay 2-6, 1-2 CCAA
Head Coach: Jenny Thigpin (3rd season)

The Cal State East Bay Pioneers enter the week sitting at 2-6, dropping their previous two games at Chico State (49-100) and Cal Poly Humboldt (61-63). Their wins this season have come in a 75-71 overtime victory over San Francisco State on Nov. 30 and a 72-60 win over Menlo on Nov. 19.

They are led by Taylor Eldredge, who is averaging  a team-leading 12.8 points per game on 40.9% shooting. The junior guard also leads the team in steals with 18.

The Pioneers have forced the second-most turnovers per game in the CCAA, averaging 20.22. Their 21.7 bench points per game ranks third in their conference.

San Francisco State 2-6, 0-3 CCAA
Head Coach: Moné Peoples (1st season)

The San Francisco State Gators have started the season with a 2-6 record, picking up wins against Menlo (71-60) on Nov. 9 and Jessup (62-50) on Nov. 22. They have dropped their previous three matchups entering the week, falling 71-75 to Cal State East Bay in overtime on Nov. 30, 55-59 to Cap Poly Humboldt on Dec. 5 and 70-84 to Chico State on Dec. 7.

They are led by Alexsandra Alvarado, who has posted a team-high 16.6 points per game this season. That mark puts her third in the CCAA and 71st in Division II. She is also their top distributor, dishing out 3.9 assists per game.

SFSU has the 34th-best turnover margin in the country at 5.0, committing 15.1 turnovers per game, the second-fewest in the CCAA. They have swiped the second-most steals per game in their conference, averaging 10.6.

What's Next
Alaska kicks off 2025 with more GNAC action, heading to Central Washington on Jan. 2 to take on the Wildcats at 6 p.m. before facing off against Northwest Nazarene on the road on Jan. 4 at 11:45 a.m.

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