FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks women's basketball team entered the 2024-25 season having gone 4-23 overall and 3-15 in conference play during the previous year. Despite a stellar campaign from senior guard Destiny Reimers and a 5-2 record before the start of GNAC play, the Nanooks finished the season 6-20, going 1-17 in conference.

The season began with the Nanooks participating in the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic on Nov. 8-9 in Rocklin, Calif. The Blue & Gold started off strong, sweeping their two games during the invitational. They kicked things off with an 83-75 win over Cal Poly Humboldt before taking down hosts Jessup University 66-48 to open the season 2-0. Reimers provided a glimpse of things to come, leading the Nanooks with 36 points over the two games. She posted 20 points vs. Humboldt to go along with 10 rebounds and tallied 16 on day two vs. the Warriors.

The Nanooks held their home opener the following weekend, hosting Corban, Western Colorado and Western Oregon in the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational on Friday, Nov. 15 - Saturday, Nov. 16. Alaska fell in its opening matchup against Western Colorado 70-59, but rebounded against Corban, posting their highest point total of the season in a 92-67 victory. Reimers, Jayda Van Dyke and Taylor Pilot all finished in double-figures, posting 17, 16 and 16 points, respectively, while Reimers picked up seven assists.

The Nanooks had a quick turnaround for their next games, making the trip to Hawaii for two contests against Chaminade and one vs. Hawaii Pacific. Alaska took on CUH on Wednesday, Nov. 20, where they secured an 81-61 win over the Silverswords. They followed that with another win over Chaminade, this time coming out on top 82-66, bringing their record to 5-1. However, they dropped their final game in Hawaii to HPU 75-65, and headed into the start of GNAC play with a 5-2 record.

Their first two conference games were home contests against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's on Dec. 5 and 7. Despite leading the Wolves by as many as six points late in the third quarter and entering the fourth ahead 61-60, the Nanooks could not keep up with WOU in the final quarter and fell 82-73. Reimers put up a 19-point, eight-rebound, four-steal effort, leading the 'Nooks in all three categories, but it was not enough. They fell to Saint Martin's two days later 105-71.

Next was another trip to California, where they faced Cal State East Bay on Dec. 17. They lost to CSUEB 62-49 before their game at San Francisco State was canceled, meaning they entered the winter break sitting at 5-5.

Alaska resumed GNAC play after the new year, heading to Central Washington on Jan. 2 and Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 4. They dropped their game against CWU 87-54, and despite posting 90 points against the Nighthawks, they allowed the most points of their season, letting up 115 to fall by 25.

The 'Nooks were home for their next three, falling to in-state rival Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington. They would finish the homestand vs. Simon Fraser, where they dropped a 99-80 decision. Alaska dropped one more on the road against Montana State Billings before picking up its first GNAC win on Jan. 25 at Seattle Pacific. The Nanooks took down the Falcons 88-82 behind a career-high 28 points from Reimers. They would lead by as many as 12 midway through the second quarter but would need to pull off the comeback as they relinquished their advantage in the third and trailed by six.

As they returned home to face the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks, Alaska looked to build on the momentum from its previous game. They played NNU close, not trailing until a Nighthawks buzzer-beater gave the visitors a three-point lead heading into halftime. The 'Nooks could not keep up with the Nighthawks in the third and eventually fell by 12. They would close their homestand with a loss to Central Washington and then fell to UAA, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington on the road.

The Blue & Gold opened their final homestand of the season on Feb. 20 with a rematch against Seattle Pacific, looking to sweep the season series against the Falcons and pick up their second GNAC win. Things were looking promising, as the 'Nooks held a narrow one-point lead with 4:28 remaining but would only score three more points for the rest of the contest, falling 73-67. Two days later, they lost to MSUB to conclude their home schedule.

Alaska wrapped up its season at Saint Martin's and Western Oregon on Feb. 27 - Mar. 1, looking to end on a high note. Despite being down 10 at the half against the Saints, the 'Nooks cut the deficit to two with three minutes left in the third. However, they saw their work undone by an 8-0 SMU run to end the quarter, putting them down 10 again, and they eventually fell 64-55.

The Nanooks started their season finale against the Wolves on fire, outscoring Western Oregon 21-9 in the first quarter as they knocked down five threes in the opening 10 minutes. Alaska saw its lead shrink to six at halftime and, after briefly trailing by one in the third, entered the final quarter ahead 56-54. The 'Nooks gave up their lead in the first minute of the fourth, and despite tying the game three times in the last 10 minutes, they could not put themselves ahead and fell 77-76.

All-Conference
To cap off her brilliant season and career at Alaska, Destiny Reimers earned a spot on the GNAC All-Conference Team as an Honorable Mention, marking her first career All-GNAC honor. Reimers was a staple in the Alaska women's basketball team in her final season, leading the team in multiple categories while starting in 25 of Alaska's 26 games. She ended her senior season averaging 14 points per game on 40% shooting; those marks were good for ninth and eighth in the GNAC in 2024-25. Her 6.38 rebounds per game led the squad, while her 5.1 defensive rebounds per game put her fourth in the conference. She finished her senior campaign ranking second on the team in assists (64), steals (47) and blocks (16).

Statistical Leaders
Alongside Reimers were several other key contributors on both ends of the floor. Senior transfer Taylor Pilot paced the squad with 80 assists and 56 steals. Her average of 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game ranked eighth and second in the GNAC, respectively. Emily Freeman and Miranda Lomax were Alaska's primary shooters from deep, with the two transfer guards knocking down 50 and 48 attempts from beyond the arc. Freeman's 1.92 three-pointers per game ranked 10th in the GNAC, while Lomax's average of 1.81 put her in 11th. Amelia Brady led the team with 17 blocked shots during the season and her 42.2% field goal percentage was the highest for a Nanook with at least 300 total minutes played.

1K Points Club
In Alaska's game against Montana State Billings on Feb. 22, 2025, Destiny Reimers became the 19th player in Nanooks history to reach 1,000 career points. She ended her playing career at Alaska with 1,031 points and added 509 rebounds, 251 assists, 121 steals and 48 blocks.

Looking Ahead
The 'Nooks enter the 2025-26 season aiming to climb up the GNAC standings. Stay tuned for the release of the 2025-26 schedule and announcements of new signings for the upcoming season. 

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