Tuesday, January 5, 2016
PORTLAND, Ore. – GNAC Insider returned for the first time since Dec. 1, airing its 77th episode Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Guests for the first show of 2016 were Western Washington center Kayla Bernsen, Alaska guard Joe Slocum and Western Oregon athletic director Barbara Dearing.
Bernsen is a senior center for the Western Washington women’s basketball team and was selected to the All-GNAC squad as a junior. This season she leads the Vikings with 7.3 rebounds per game and 23 blocks while ranking second with 11.6 points per game. She is third overall in the GNAC in blocks, fourth in field goal percentage (.577) and fifth in rebounding. Bernsen has led the Vikings to a 4-0 conference record and 8-4 overall, sitting in first place in the GNAC. Western Washington hosts Northwest Nazarene and in state rival Central Washington this week. Bernsen spoke about her senior season, the team's 4-0 start in GNAC play and her future aspirations playing basketball overseas and writing fictional stories.
Slocum is a senior guard for the Alaska men’s basketball team. He transferred to UAF from the City College of San Francisco after his sophomore campaign. This season, he has started all 12 games for the Nanooks, averaging 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and ranking seventh in the GNAC with 4.3 assists per game. The Nanooks are 10-2 overall and 4-0 in GNAC play after defeating Saint Martin’s and upsetting No. 8/19 ranked Seattle Pacific on the road this week. They take their six game winning streak back home against Western Washington and Simon Fraser. Slocum spoke about what he learned as a red shirt last season, transfering from the City College of San Francisco and the strong start to Alaska's season.
Dearing is in her third year as the Western Oregon athletic director. She joined Western Oregon after spending six years as a senior staff member at Portland State. Dearing currently serves on the NCAA Division I Softball Sport Committee and is the Co-chair of the NCAA West Regional Softball Advisory committee. Western Oregon men’s basketball will host Saint Martin’s on Saturday, televised on ROOT Sports. The men’s team has been ranked as high as No. 3 in Division II basketball this year after starting this season 9-0. Dearing spoke about what it takes to host a ROOT Sports game, the success of the WOU men's basketball team and former Western Oregon wide receiver Tyrell Williams' success in the NFL.
GNAC Insider is hosted by Rob Lowery airing live at 7 p.m. Pacific every Tuesday and is produced by the conference office. All episodes become available as free podcasts via iTunes. To listen to archived episodes go to GNAC.TV.