Wednesday, November 23, 2016

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jordan Wilson

Alaska F • 5-11 • Sr. • Henderson, Colo.

Wilson was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic after scoring 30 points in two consecutive games. They were a 91-87 overtime loss to RMAC preseason favorite CSU Pueblo and a 72-55 win over Western State the next day. Wilson made 62.1 percent of her shots from the field, going 23 for 34. The senior also made 14 of 16 free throws to go along with nine rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Also Nominated: Erin Higbie (Concordia), Shelby Snook (Western Oregon), Rylee Kane (Montana State Billings), Taylor Peacocke (Western Washington), Erica Pagano (Seattle Pacific), Danielle Jardine (Northwest Nazarene).

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA

• The Nanooks split their results over the weekend in Colorado. Alaska lost in overtime to the preseason favorite of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State Pueblo, 87-91. The next day, the Nanooks defeated Western State 72-55 to improve to 3-1 on the season.

• The Nanooks will next play on Thanksgiving Day. It is the only GNAC competition in any sport on the Holiday.

• Jordan Wilson scored 30 points in each game and at the Al Kaly Shrine Classic, made 23 of 34 field goals to earn GNAC Player of the Week.

• Jaylee Mays has come off the bench in each of the four games to score a total of 71 points, including 48 from beyond the arc, making 16 of 25 such shots.

• Kaillee Skjold is averaging a double-double with 56 points and 42 rebounds in four games.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE

• The Seawolves played Post twice in a row and won both games by large margins. Alaska Anchorage has won all of its games by an average of 39 points, which is the fourth highest in Division II.

• Alaska Anchorage took its first loss to Division-I opponent Portland, falling 66-57 on Tuesday night.

• Alaska Anchorage tallied a Division II-best 80 steals in the first four games of the season and each of the top four players in the conference in steals are Seawolves. Kiki Robertson leads the way with 3.4 per game, while Yazmeen Goo has 3.2, Alysha Devine has 2.8 and Autummn Williams has 2.6.

• The Seawolves finished national tournament as runner-up in the 2015-16 season and are ranked No. 9 in the WBCA preseason poll.

• All 11 players that have played this year have scored at least six field goals. Autummn Williams has the most with 30 and a team-best 79 points. • Alaska Anchorage will play Missouri State on Wednesday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON

• The Wildcats took their first loss of the year, falling 44-41 to BYU-Hawaii before defeating Hawaii Hilo, 48-32, the next day to improve to 4-1 on the season. They also beat Chaminade 64-40 earlier in the week.

• Taylor Baird leads the Wildcats in scoring with 66 points, making 29 of 50 shots. Baird also has a teambest 44 rebounds.

• JonNae Richardson is perfect from beyond the arc and the free-throw line, making both of her three-pointers and all nine free throws. She also has 26 rebounds, which is tied for the second most on the team.

• The Wildcats are 4-1 against West Region opponents and are receiving votes in the D2SIDA West Region poll.

• Central Washington will play Cal State San Bernardino and Hawaii Pacific on consecutive nights at the Wildcats’ home Thanksgiving tournament.

CONCORDIA

• Concordia lost both games in its home tournament, playing Metro State (70-55) and Westminster (65-64).

• Concordia is picked to take eighth in the GNAC in the 2016-17 season, while Stanislaus State was picked second in the CCAA.

• Concordia has the fifth-best field goal defense in the conference, holding opponents to 92 field goals made on 236 attempts.

• The Cavaliers lead the conference in blocks with 25 after the first four contests, including 16 by Jordan Peacock, which ranks fourth Division II. The Concordia defense has also forced 88 turnovers, which ranks 34th in Division II.

• Erin Higbie has scored a team-best 40 points off the bench and also leads the team in rebounds with 23.

• This weekend, the Cavs will play at the Concordia St. Paul tournament, playing against the host Golden Bears and Wayne State.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene played just its second game of the year this week against College of Idaho, winning 99-95.

• The Crusaders are scoring 91.5 points per game, which leads the conference and ranks sixth in Division II.

• The Crusaders will play Hawaii Pacific and Cal State San Bernardino at the Central Washington Thanksgiving tournament.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• The Yellowjackets have played one of the toughest schedules of any team in the West Region, but picked up their first win last week, beating Cal Poly Pomona 64-50.

• Senior Alysha Breen was selected as the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year, but tore her ACL in a preseason exhibition and is out for the year.

• Montana State Billings has allowed 10.2 turnovers per game this year, which is the least in the GNAC and fifth-best in NCAA Division II.

• This weekend, MSUB will play at Chadron State and South Dakota Mines, looking for the second win of the season.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• The Saints lost to Cal State East Bay in their season opener, but bounced back the next night with a 66-62 win over San Francisco State.

• Elin Johansson tallied 34 points and 16 rebounds in the two games and made 15 of 22 field-goal attempts.

• Shelbie Drey had a team-best four steals to go along with 13 points and 13 rebounds in 48 minutes of play.

• Seattle Pacific will head to Portland, Ore. for the Concordia Classic over the weekend, playing against Metro State and Westminster.

SEATTLE PACIFIC

• Seattle Pacific defeated two teams that reached the NCAA West Regional semifinals last year in UC San Diego (62-45) and Azusa Pacific (75-49).

• Seattle Pacific moved up to No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region Poll and No. 15 in Division II.

• Despite scheduling two tough games last week, Seattle Pacific became the nation’s leader in scoring defense with only 43.2 points allowed per game.

• Seattle Pacific is outrebounding its opponents by 12.2 rebounds per game, which is the 22nd-best rebounding margin in Division II.

• Courtney Hollander leads the Falcons in points with 66. She also has a teambest 42 rebounds to go along with seven assists, five steals and two blocks.

• Brianne Lasconia is 9 for 22 from beyond the arc this season, coming off the bench in each game for SPU. • The Falcons will not play again until December.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser gots its season off to an early start at the CCA Tip-Off Classic. After dropping the season opener to No. 2 California Baptist, the Clan has bounced back with five wins in a row, beating Dominican 78-75 on Tuesday.

• Ellen Kett leads the team in both assists (36) and rebounds (39) to go along with 49 points and nine steals.

• Meg Wilson made a strong return with 17.4 points per game to start the season after missing most of last season with an injury. She also has a teambest 11 steals and has made 30 of 59 field goals.

• The Clan remains in Northern California after beating Dominican to now play Academy of Art, which was picked to finish third in the PacWest, but has not yet won a game this season.

• The Clan is tied for longest active winning streak in the GNAC.

WESTERN OREGON

• Western Oregon lost to two CCAA schools last week to drop to 2-2 on the season. Chico State beat the Wolves 70-67 and then Sonoma State beat WOU 74-50.

• The Wolves opened the season with two wins against CCAA schools in the WOU/Hampton Inn D2 Shootout. The Wolves defeated San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay.

• It was the team’s first 2-0 start to a season since the 2004-05 season.

• Shelby Snook leads the team in scoring with 68 points in the two games. Savannah Heugly added 39 points, 14 rebounds and four steals off the bench. Snook went 11 for 23 from beyond the arc, giving her the third most three-point field goals made in the GNAC.

• The Wolves will host Oregon Tech on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• The Vikings took their first lost of the year to last year’s West Region No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific, falling 70-63, but WWU bounced back with a dominant 84-65 win the following night against UC San Diego, which was the new West Region No. 1 coming into the week.

• Taylor Peacocke was named all-tournament MVP for the second week in a row after scoring 51 points for the Vikings. She now has 101 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and nine steals this season in four games.

• Kiana Gandy has scored 71 points and is a perfect 10-for-10 from the freethrow line.

• In the D2SIDA media poll, the Vikings are ranked No. 24 in Division II and No. 4 in the West Region.

• The Vikings have played the exact same schedule as Seattle Pacific so far this year with each team taking turns playing in the other’s home tournament. That will change next week when WWU hosts the Lynda Goodrich Classic. The Vikings will play PacWest teams Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names. Th