Tuesday, February 9, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time in conference history, a Great Northwest Athletic Conference team sits at the top of both the Division II men’s and women’s basketball polls in the same week.

Alaska Anchorage’s women returned to the top spot for the second time in three weeks, ascending to No. 1 in the latest USA Today/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll. The Seawolves picked up nine of a possible 22 first place votes and 580 total points, one point more than No. 2 Lubbock Christian.

The Western Oregon men, meanwhile, rose to the No. 1 poll position for the first time in school history and took the top spot in both Division II polls. The Wolves are No. 1 in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings, earning 11 of 16 first place votes and 394 total points. Western Oregon also assumed the No. 1 spot in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll, earning nine of 14 first place votes and 335 total points.

The Wolves took over the No. 1 spot in both polls from Augustana (S.D.), who saw a 17-game win streak snapped on Friday by Northern State.

Alaska Anchorage, who has been in the top-seven of both Division II polls all season, is currently riding a 14-game win streak. The Seawolves extended their streak with road wins over the weekend, beating Concordia, 59-32, on Thursday and Western Oregon, 77-42, on Saturday. Entering this week with a 26-1 overall record and 13-1 conference mark, Alaska Anchorage leads Division II in assists (562), assists per game (20.8), rebounds (1,145) and scoring margin (29.9) and are second in steals per game (14.5), three-point field goals made (233) and turnovers forced (24.96 per game).

Western Oregon, the defending GNAC regular season champion, is riding an 11-game win streak. The Wolves picked up two road wins last week in the Puget Sound region, scoring a 74-62 win over Saint Martin’s on Thursday before edging out Seattle Pacific in overtime on Saturday, 84-82. Western Oregon enters the week with a 20-2 overall record and 13-1 conference mark. They are ranked second in Division II in turnovers per game (9.4), third in turnover margin (5.4), fifth in fewest turnovers (206), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.52) and 19th in steals per game (9.0).

The Alaska Anchorage women play two games at home this weekend, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday. The Western Oregon men return home to host Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday. All GNAC basketball teams can be followed with live video and live stats at GNAC.tv.