Monday, November 27, 2023
by Evan O'Kelly

PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of high-octane scoring performances on the hardwood over the Thanksgiving weekend earned Central Washington’s Sunny Huerta and Seattle Pacific’s Shaw Anderson the GNAC Basketball Player of the Week awards.

Huerta earned GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after being named MVP of the Lynda Goodrich Classic in Bellingham, Wash., and piloting the Wildcats to a pair of victories. “Sunny has a great feel, and it’s very natural for her,” CWU head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley said on the guard’s scoring ability. “She’s extremely explosive and can handle the ball in a way where she can get to spots at any point. She is very hard to guard, and when you match that with having an aggressive mentality to go out and compete, she’s able to put these type of performances together.”

Anderson racked up a conference-high 62 points across the Falcons’ three games last week. “It’s a great honor to be recognized as preseason player of the year,” SPU head coach Keffrey Fazio said on Anderson’s preseason accolades. “That comes with a lot of pressure, and now there are some expectations. He faces a lot of double teams and opponents try a lot of different things against him. He never makes excuses about anything, and he is a great teammate. The way he scores is cool, but he does it in an efficient manner. He is handling the pressure well, and that’s what you get with a senior who has been starting in this league for four years.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Player of the Week – Sunny Huerta, Central Washington

Third-career Player of the Week, first this season.

Huerta kicked off her big weekend with 37 points against Hawaii Pacific, marking the highest single-game total by any GNAC player this season. Huerta made 14 of 21 shots (66.7%) while adding a season-high six assists in the victory. Huerta followed with a 30-point effort in CWU’s 73-59 win over Minnesota State Moorhead to give her 67 points on the week. Huerta shot 56.8% from the field (15-for-44), made all 12 of her free throws and posted an assist-turnover ratio of 1.6.

“Her skillset matched with her mentality is a scary combination for opposing teams,” said Richardson-Thornley. “I enjoy watching her develop that in both practice and games. I was proud of her for putting in back-to-back efforts this weekend, as these were two big wins for us.”

Also Nominated: Senya Rabouin, UAA; Emma Wass, UAF; Kola Bad Bear, MSUB; Anjel Galbraith, SMU; Jessica Wisotzki, SFU; Cali McClave, WOU; Brooke Walling, WWU.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Player of the Week – Shaw Anderson, Seattle Pacific

Sixth-career Player of the Week, first this season.

Anderson was instrumental in the Falcons’ 82-78 win over Sonoma State to start the week, making 11 of 18 shots on his way to 29 points. Anderson followed with 17 points against MSU Denver and 16 points against Regis and finished the week shooting an even 50.0% (23-for-46). Anderson added 16 rebounds, maintained an assist-turnover ratio of 1.1 and contributed three blocked shots while making 16 of 20 free throws (80.0%).

“When the game is close down the stretch we lean on him quite a bit,” said Fazio, after Anderson averaged 38.3 minutes including playing all 40 against MSU Denver. “That’s something he wants from a leadership standpoint, and we are just lucky he is on our team. He’s a really determined kid who has a lot of confidence, which comes from the work he puts into his game. The combination of being the talented player he is with having the unquestioned trust of your teammates is a special place for him to be operating from.”

Also Nominated: Sawyer Storms, UAA; Abdullahi Mohamed, UAF; Anjaylo Lloyd, CWU; Famous Lefthand, MSUB; Tru Allen, NNU; Marcel Stevens, SMU; Elliot Dimaculangan, SFU; Qiant Myers, WOU; Kai Johnson, WWU.