Tuesday, January 17, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. — Through eight games of conference play against identical opponents, Simon Fraser and Western Washington have had identical results. That will change on Tuesday night when the pair, tied for second place in the GNAC standings, square off in Burnaby, B.C.

Ranked No. 17 in the D2SIDA Media Poll, Western Washington claims the Division II’s leading scorer in Taylor Peacocke, who is averaging 22.4 points per game. She has led the Vikings to a 13-3 overall record this year and has earned GNAC Player of the Week honors twice this year.

Simon Fraser is ranked in the WBCA poll at No. 22 after receiving votes in the last three weeks. The Clan enters the contest with a GNAC-best 16 wins and an undefeated mark of 7-0 at home this year. Simon Fraser has not lost since Nov. 30.

On Thursday, there will be another crucial GNAC match taking place with Seattle Pacific looking to rebound from its two losses last week, hosting No. 5 Alaska Anchorage. Seattle Pacific had a GNAC-best 13-game winning streak earlier in the season, but the Seawolves are nearing that mark with their own 11-game winning streak.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Meg Wilson
Simon Fraser
F • 6-1  • Sr. • London, Ontario

Wilson totaled 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in SFU victories over Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s. In Thursday’s 71-61 win over the Falcons, Wilson scored 14 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists as the Clan came from behind to win. In Saturday’s 92-61 rout of Saint Martin’s, Wilson scored 21 points, making 9 of 12 shots from the field and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc with six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Also Nominated: Shelby Snook (Western Oregon), Tia Briggs (Western Washington), Jordan Wilson (Alaska), Rylee Kane (Montana State Billings), Lexi Tubbs (Northwest Nazarene).

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• The Nanooks split a pair of games at home. Alaska lost to Northwest Nazarene, 84-77, in overtime on Thursday. The Nanooks bounced back on Saturday with a 69-56 win over Central Washington.
• Jordan Wilson became Division II’s second-leading scorer last week and reached 1500 career points. She now ranks 11th in GNAC history in career points scored with 1552. Wilson needs two more points to reach the top 10. She also ranks seventh in field goals made and 11th in field-goal percentage in GNAC history.
• Kaillee Skjold recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds in the overtime loss to NNU for her seventh double-double this year, making her the conference leader in that category. In the two games combined, Skjold had 38 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists and eight steals. Skjold now has 640 career rebounds. Skjold’s 9.5 rebounds per game this year leads the conference.
• Jaylee Mays leads the conference in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.8 and her career mark of 2.2 treys made per game ranks sixth in conference history.
• Autumn Childers has the unique distinction of leading her team in both blocks and assists. She has eight blocks and 62 assists this year.
• Alaska will travel to Washington this week to play at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and then on Saturday at Seattle Pacific, which is ranked No. 5 in the West Region.
• The Nanooks are currently tied for sixth place in the conference standings. The top six teams in the conference will go to Saint Martin’s to compete for the conference’s automatic bid at the GNAC Championships.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage swept its opponents last week with a 86-48 win over Central Washington on Thursday and a 101-69 win over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. It was the second time this year the Seawolves reached triple digits and the fourth time a GNAC team has done so this year.
• The Seawolves now have a GNAC-best 11-game winning streak.
• The Seawolves are ranked No. 2 in the national D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 5 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. In the West Region, the Seawolves were the unanimous No. 1 selection D2SIDA.
• Kiki Robertson became the GNAC’s all-time leader in steals after recording the 332nd of her career in the win over Northwest Nazarene. She broke the record that Taylor Simmons from Northwest Nazarene held for one year. The previous record set by Alysson Kollmann from NNU in 2003 stood for 13 years. She also started in her 112th game, surpassing MSU Billings’ Janiel Olson for fourth most career starts in conference history.
• The Seawolves have the third-ranked defense in Division II, allowing 51.9 points per game. They also rank second in scoring margin, winning by an average of 32.5 points per game.
• Alaska Anchorage leads Division II in steals per game with 17.4.They also lead in turnovers forced with 28.56 per game.
• Autummn Williams scored a GNAC-best 42 points and led the Seawolves in scoring for a fourth consecutive game. Her 18.3 points per game ranks 37th in Division II.
• Tara Thompson is the GNAC leader in 3-point percentage this year, making 46.7 percent, which ranks eighth in Division II. Her career percentage of 39.7 ranks 12th all-time in the GNAC.
• Kimijah King went 6 for 6 from the field against Northwest Nazarene, marking the fourth time this year a GNAC player has made at least six field goals without a miss in a game.
• Alaska Anchorage will play at Seattle Pacific on Thursday. For one week earlier this year, they were both ranked in the top 10 of the D2SIDA Media Poll. Seattle Pacific is now ranked No. 5 in the West Region.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats lost both games in its trip to Alaska, falling to Alaska Anchorage, 86-48, on Thursday and Alaska, 69-56, on Saturday.
• Jasmin Edwards had three assists this week, giving her 349 career assists, moving up to No. 17 in GNAC history. Her 4.99 assists per game also ranks sixth. She ranks in the top 50 in Division II for assists per game this year.
• Taylor Baird ranks 28th in the nation in field-goal percentage, making 53.2 percent of her field goals taken. Her six double-doubles also rank 39th in Division II.
• Baird led the team in scoring in both games in Alaska. She has led CWU in scoring in eight games this year.
• The Wildcats will host Western Oregon and Concordia this week. The Wildcats are a game behind both teams in the conference standings right now.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia got a split last week with a 55-46 win on Tuesday against Western Oregon. The Cavaliers lost on Thursday to Montana State Billings, 69-65.
• In the win against Western Oregon, Concordia had three players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 13 points by Kizzah Maltezo off the bench. Bailey Cartwright added 12 points and nine rebounds in the victory.
• Danielle Hartzog hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and the Cavaliers didn’t trail for the rest of the game.
• Jordyn Peacock has 37 blocks this year, leading the conference. As a team, Concordia has 4.75 blocks per game, which also leads the conference.
• Danielle Hartzog was two points away from equaling her season-high in points with 19 in the loss to Montana State Billings. She is the team’s leading scorer with 12.9 points per game.
• Concordia has seven players averaging at least six points per game.
• Concordia will play at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and then play at Central Washington on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets won consecutive games for the first time last week since November, beating Concordia on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday to earn the Red Lion/GNAC Team of the Week honor.
• Rylee Kane scored a GNAC-best 42 points last week, equalling her career-high of 17 points against Concordia before shattering that with 25 points in the win against Western Oregon. Kane also ranks 20th in the nation in assists per game with 5.7.
• Tiana Hanson made 19 free throws without a miss last week, moving into 10th place all-time in the GNAC record book in career free-throw percentage up to .852. It was the most free throws made in a week without a miss in the GNAC this year. She has a long way to go to reach the GNAC record of 78 consecutive free throws made.
• Kane made 12 field goals against Western Oregon, which was one shy of the GNAC season-high this year. Her 24 field-goal attempts tied the season-high.
• The Yellowjackets will travel to Simon Fraser and Western Washington.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene pulled out an 84-77 overtime victory on Thursday at Alaska before losing on Saturday to Alaska Anchorage, 101-69.
• Lexi Tubbs recorded a double-double in the overtime win against Alaska with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ellie Logan tallied a team-high 17 points along with eight rebounds.
• Logan went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line last week and now has a career free-throw percentage of .854, which leads all active players in the GNAC and ranks ninth all-time.
• Kaitlyn Merritt tallied eight assists last week. Her assist-turnover ratio this year is 3.38, which leads the GNAC and ranks fifth in Division II.
•The Crusaders recorded 53 rebounds in the overtime victory over Alaska, which was one rebound shy of the GNAC season-high for single game rebounds by a team.
• Northwest Nazarene’s 69 points against Alaska Anchorage marked just the third time this year that the Crusaders have been held under 70 points this season.
• The Crusaders will host Concordia on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
• Northwest Nazarene is tied for fourth with Concordia in the GNAC standings. The top six teams in the conference advance to the GNAC Championships.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s got swept last week in their road trip to Western Washington and Simon Fraser. The Saints are now 0-8 in road games this season.
• The Saints lead the GNAC in 3-point defense with opponents only making 27.7 percent of shots from 3-point range.
• Elin Johansson led the Saints in scoring in both games with 15 against Western Washington and 12 against Simon Fraser. Johansson is now averaging a team-best 13.8 points per game.
• Hannah Reynolds leads the team in assists with 51 this year. She recorded three assists in the two losses last week.
• This week, Saint Martin’s will host the two Alaska schools, facing the Nanooks on Thursday and then hosting No. 2 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.
• Saint Martin’s will be this year’s host of the GNAC Championships. The top six teams in the conference will advance to the tournament.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific got swept on the road last week, losing to Simon Fraser, 71-61 on Thursday, and Western Washington, 71-53 on Saturday.
• The Falcons have only allowed opponents to score more than 70 points in a game three times this season and those are the team’s only three losses this year.
• Seattle Pacific is ranked No. 5 in the D2SIDA West Region Rankings and is receiving votes in the national polls.
• The Falcons made 20 of 23 free throws in the two games to become the GNAC leader in free-throw percentage at 79.7, which also ranks third in Division II.
• The Falcons’ 39.4 rebounds per game leads the conference. Courtney Hollander leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 per game, which ranks third in the conference.
• Brianne Lasconia led the team in scoring for the first time this year against Western Washington with 10 points.
• Julia Haining registered a GNAC-best 22 rebounds off the bench last week and also added four blocks.
• Seattle Pacific will play against No. 2 Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and then will host Alaska on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser swept Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific last week, beating the No. 14 Falcons, 71-61. The Clan now has a conference-best 16 wins this season.
• The Clan has the only undefeated home record in the conference at 8-0.
• Simon Fraser received its first national ranking of the season in the WBCA Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 22. The Clan is No. 21 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 4 in the West Region.
• Meg Wilson was named GNAC Player of the Week after making 9 of 12 field goals against Northwest Nazarene. That boosted her career field-goal percentage to .537, which ranks eighth in GNAC history. Wilson also has 188 steals now, cracking the top 20 in the conference’s history.
• Elisa Homer went 6 for 9 from 3-point range in the Clan’s two wins this week, boosting her 3-pointers made per game in her career up to 2.43, which ranks third in GNAC history.
• Ellen Kett tied the GNAC season-high for assists in a single game with 13 against Saint Martin’s. Kett now has 558 career assists, which ranks second in GNAC history and 7.1 assists per game this season, which ranks fourth in Division II.
• Freshman Ozi Nwabuko is the conference’s leader in field-goal percentage, making 62.6 percent of her attempts.
•  Samantha Beauchamp had four blocks against Saint Martin’s. She now has 1.34 blocks per game in her career, which ranks 14th in GNAC history.
• Simon Fraser made 14 field goals from beyond the arc against Saint Martin’s, which would have been the season-high in the GNAC had Western Oregon not made 15 just an hour earlier.
• Simon Fraser will host Western Washington in a battle for second place on Tuesday and then will host Montana State Billings on Thursday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon got swept last week, extending the Wolves’ losing streak to four games. The Wolves lost at Concordia, 55-46 on Tuesday, and at Montana State Billings, 74-67 on Saturday.
• Despite the loss to MSUB, Shelby Snook had one of the best single-game performances of the 2016-17 season with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Snook made eight 3-pointers in the game, which is the most in the GNAC this season in a single game.
• As a team, the Wolves made 15 field goals from beyond the arc in the loss, setting the new GNAC season high. The Wolves were two shy of the all-time GNAC single game record.
• Jasmine Miller has a team-best 88 rebounds for the Wolves this year. She ranks ninth in the GNAC in rebounding.
• Western Oregon will travel to Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings’ extended their winning streak to seven games with wins over Saint Martin’s and No. 14 Seattle Pacific last week, beating the Falcons, 71-53.
• Western Washington is ranked No. 3 in the West Region in the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 17 in the national poll.
• Taylor Peacocke remained the nation’s leading scorer with 22.4 points per game. She now has 1554 career points, which ranks 10th in GNAC history. With five points against Simon Fraser on Tuesday, she will move into the ninth position.
• Western Washington is now the GNAC leader in field-goal percentage, making 46.1 percent per game. The Vikings also lead in field-goal defense, allowing opponents to make only 36.3 percent of field goals.
• Tia Briggs scored a team-high 35 points last week and made 11 of 21 field goals in the win against Seattle Pacific. Briggs’ career field-goal percentage is now .516, which ranks 17th in GNAC history.  Briggs was 11 for 13 from the charity stripe against Seattle Pacific. Her 11 made free throws are tied for third most in a single game in the GNAC this year.
• Briggs had a double-double against Seattle Pacific with 25 points and 10 rebounds, which were both team highs. It was her first time this season leading the team in scoring.
• Hannah Stipanovich leads the GNAC in free-throw percantage, making 90.6 percent. That ranks eighth in Division II this season.
• Western Washington will play at Simon Fraser in a battle for second place in the conference on Tuesday before returning home to host Montana State Billings on Saturday.