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FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Nanooks mighty band of eight women’s basketball players will open the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season with three consecutive road games that should give first-year coach Darryl Smith a pretty good idea of how his team will fare the rest of the season.

Smith had hoped to have at least a couple more players for the second half of the season, but things didn’t pan out, so he will have to work with a nine-player squad that includes one player who is on a day-to-day basis for the rest of the season.

“I’ve never played more than a seven- or eight-player rotation, so it’s fine with me,” Smith said of his limited roster. “All eight kids who are healthy can play, and I feel good about any combination we put on the court.”

Smith did pick up point guard Jasmine Marshall during the break, but three other hopefuls didn’t make it onto the roster.

Former Barrow standout Princess Eduarte decided not to pursue a college basketball career, while two other players didn’t receive clearances to play from the NCAA, Smith said.

“I feel like we’re the team that has covered the most ground and improved the most so far this season,” Smith said. “We still have lots of room to improve, and I think we’ll get better and better with each game.”

The Nanooks open the season tonight at Western Oregon. On Saturday, Alaska will take on Saint Martin’s at Lacy, Wash. The trip concludes on Jan. 14 at Montana State-Billings.

Seven of Alaska’s next eight conference games will be played in the friendly confines of the Patty Center. The final four league games are on the road.

“I think Anchorage is heads and tails above everybody else, but then the rest of us are pretty even,” Smith said.

The University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (13-1) are ranked No. 2 in the country heading into conference play. UAA reached the NCAA Division II National Tournament semifinals last year.

For the Nanooks to be successful in the GNAC this season, Smith said, “We have to play smart and limit our turnovers.”

“We want to run if we can, but we have to learn when to slow down and execute,” he added. “We’re going to have a little bit of a different look Thursday night and I don’t know if Western Oregon will be ready for that.”

Marshall and Caitlin Hamsley most likely will run the point for the Nanooks, with Cristina Bruketta and Sheena Brown taking on the other guard spots. Nicole Bozek, Ronisha Edwards, Megan Thigpen and Grace Milliken are in charge of the inside game. Jessica Craig is on a day-to-day basis with a foot injury.

Bozek is the leading scorer and second leading rebounder, averaging 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Edwards is averaging 10.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Bozek is the top defensive rebounder in the league and Edwards is the top offensive rebounder.

The Nanooks bring a 5-4 record into tonight’s contest. They are averaging 65.3 points per game and allowing 53.4, including a pair of lopsided blowouts (88-22 and 90-27) against Kuyper College in their final two nonconference games on Dec. 30 and 31.

Western Oregon is 5-6 on the season, including losses to a pair of NCAA Division I opponents — Oregon State and Southern Utah. The Wolves are led by junior forward Katie Torland (16.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg), and sophomore guard Sarah Zahler (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Zahler is shooting .667 from 3-point range.

Saint Martin’s opens conference play against UAA tonight. The Saints posted an 8-3 nonconference record. They are led by sophomore forward Dara Zack (13.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg), and junior guard Jamey Gelhar (12.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg).