PORTLAND, Ore. - The GNAC released the 2021-22 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll on Wednesday, with Northwest Nazarene selected third among the 10 conference schools.

NNU received 70 points and one first-place vote, trailing just Alaska Anchorage (92 points, 7 first-place votes) and Western Washington (89 points, 2 first-place votes). Simon Fraser and Central Washington round out the top five. 

In the last full season in 2019-20, NNU finished second in the conference behind Alaska Anchorage with a 17-3 mark in GNAC play and 22-7 overall record. The Nighthawks qualified and were poised to play in their third-straight NCAA tournament before the season was shut down due to COVID-19. A year ago in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, NNU played 14 games and went 7-7.

The Nighthawks return four starters: guard/forward Erin Jenkins (12.9 points per game, 22 assists and 19 steals in 2020-21), forward Nyalam Thabach (12.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 11 blocks in 2020-21), guard McKenna Emerson (7.5 points per game, 27 assists and 25 steals in 2020-21) and forward Clare Eubanks (6.9 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game in 2020-21). Several bench contributors also return to form a deep roster, including guard Jordan Pinson (8.6 points per game in 2020-21), forward Teagan Thurman (8.6 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2020-21) and guard Cami Knishka (35 assists in 2020-21).

Following a scrimmage and two exhibitions, NNU will open the season in California at a GNAC-CCAA Crossover hosted by Cal State Stanislaus on Nov. 12-13. The home opener will be the following week, as the Nighthawks will host a tournament and play West Texas A&M on Nov. 19 and Westminster on Nov. 20.