FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks women's basketball team is back this week with two exhibition contests against the George Fox Bruins and Oregon State Beavers.

Thursday, Oct. 30
at George Fox (Exhibition) | 5 p.m. AKT | Watch Here ($) | Live Stats
Wheeler Sports Center | Newberg, Ore.

Sunday, Nov. 2
at Oregon State (Exhibition) | 6 p.m. AKT | No Live Stream
Gill Coliseum | Corvallis, Ore.

#NookNotes

• The Nanooks are returning five players from last year's squad. Senior guard Emily Freeman, sophomore guard Grace Gillespie, junior guard Anna Nevison, redshirt junior center Amelia Brady and junior forward Halle Waram are back for another year in Fairbanks. They are joined by redshirt senior Pearle Green, who returns to the Nanooks after being on the team from 2021 to 2023.
• The remainder of the roster consists of seven transfers, four freshmen and one junior newcomer, bringing the squad to 18 players. Chozen Horn-Young, a 5-6 junior out of the College of San Mateo, Tamai Mancuso, a 5-5 senior out of Central State, Jada Pleasant, a 5-7 guard out of Hutchinson Community College, Gigi Velasquez, a 5-10 junior out of Shasta College, Marney Rees, a 6-0 junior out of Central Maine Community College, Jazlynn Novelli, a 5-9 senior out of Cal State Maritime Academy and Nya Bostic, a 5-8 graduate student out of Florida A&M are the transfers for this season.
• Ally Shelley, a 5-4 guard, Desiree Redfox, a 5-6 guard, Sophia Lachenmayer, a 5-8 guard and Ashlyn Waggoner, a 5-11 forward, make up the list of freshmen on the team. Alannis Rogers, a junior forward, is also set to make her debut for the Nanooks.
• Alaska will play 11 regular-season contests at the Patty Center this season while traveling for its remaining 15 games.

Meet the Coaches
The Nanooks are bringing in a new coaching staff for this upcoming season. Michael Ricks takes over as head coach of the Alaska Nanooks women's basketball program after leading successful turnarounds at Goucher College and Birmingham-Southern College. During the 2024-25 season, Ricks engineered the top turnaround in NCAA Division III at Goucher, producing a 13-win improvement and national statistical leadership in several categories, including scoring offense, bench production, steals, and turnover margin. Previously, at Birmingham-Southern, Ricks guided the Panthers to multiple conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Notably, he led the biggest turnaround in the nation during the 2015–2016 season, transforming the program into a defensive powerhouse and conference champion. His teams have consistently ranked at the top of national statistical categories and produced numerous all-conference and all-region players.

Joining his staff is assistant coach Chad Dyson, who comes to the Nanooks from Anchorage Christian Schools, where he served as head coach of their women's basketball team from 2015 to 2023. At ACS, Dyson led the women's basketball program to six conference championships and six state championships. Under Dyson, the Lions won both the conference and state championships in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Dyson racked up a 93% winning percentage while in charge of the program, coaching 28 athletes who earned college basketball scholarships. While there, he led and managed all aspects of the women's basketball program, overseeing the recruitment, development and retention of student-athletes, while planning and organizing practice sessions and game preparations.

Rounding out the coaching staff is a familiar face, as Destiny Reimers returns to the Nanooks as a graduate assistant. A standout on the court during her time donning the Blue & Gold, Reimers averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in her four-year collegiate career. During her last season with the 'Nooks in 2024-25, she led the team in scoring (14 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg), while tallying the second-most assists (64), steals (47) and blocks (16) on the team. She broke the 20-point mark on four occasions and logged five double-doubles during her senior season, helping her earn GNAC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

Preseason Poll
The Nanooks were tabbed to finish tenth in the conference in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Western Washington claimed the top spot in this year's preseason poll, receiving 90 points and five first-place votes. The Vikings, who finished last season fourth in the conference with a 12-6 GNAC record, came in one point ahead of Central Washington, who received 89 points and four first-place votes. The Wildcats tied for second with Montana State Billings in last year's GNAC standings with a 14-4 conference record. Saint Martin's was predicted to make the jump to third in the conference this season after a sixth-place finish in 2024-25, earning 72 points, while Montana State Billings claimed the fourth spot in the poll with 64 points and the final first-place vote. The following two teams came within two points of MSUB, as Northwest Nazarene's 63 points put them in fifth, while Alaska Anchorage was picked to finish sixth with 62 points. The Nighthawks were predicted to match last year's fifth-place finish, while UAA's sixth-place prediction comes off of them winning the GNAC with a 16-2 conference record in 2024-25. The rest of the conference were predicted to finish in the same spots as last year, as Simon Fraser (seventh), Western Oregon (eighth), Seattle Pacific (ninth) and Alaska (10th) rounded out the list.

Meet the Opponents
George Fox (2024-25 Record: 20-7, 11-5 NWC)
Head Coach: Lauren Howard (Third Season)

• The Bruins are coming off a season in which they reached the title game of the Northwest Conference Tournament. They defeated third-seeded Puget Sound 68-42 in the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Whitman 48-45, falling just short of an NCAA Tournament berth.
• They improved from six wins in 2023-24 to 20 in 2024-25.
• This is the first matchup between the Nanooks and Bruins.

Oregon State (2024-25 Record: 19-16, 12-8 WCC)
Head Coach: Scott Rueck (16th Season)

• The Beavers enter the season looking to defend their West Coast Conference crown after winning the WCC Tournament last season over Portland, 59-46.
• They reached the first round of the National Tournament in 2024-25, falling to third-seeded North Carolina 70-49.
• In the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Beavers were picked to repeat as conference champions, while Kennedie Shuler, Catarina Ferreira and Tiara Bolden earned preseason all-league nods.
• Former Beaver Kelsey Rees (2023-25) is the sister of current Nanook Marney Rees.

What's Next
The 'Nooks kick off their regular season in two weeks when they host the North Star Invitational presented by Mt. McKinley Bank. They take on Hawaii Hilo on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., and wrap up the invitational against The Master's on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 3 p.m.

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