Wednesday, November 13, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – With the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball season officially underway, seven teams are slated for action in five different states this weekend.

Seattle Pacific (2-0) is set to host the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic, a men’s and women’s tournament that runs all day Friday and Saturday in Seattle. Central Washington (0-0), the lone GNAC school yet to play a game this season, will make its debut on Friday against Point Loma Nazarene in the Classic.

SPU hosts Montana Tech on Friday and Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday as the Falcons look to continue their hot start and push their win streak to four with a pair of victories.

Northwest Nazarene (1-0) got its season off to a hot start Tuesday as 27 points from senior guard Megan Hingston helped head coach Ryan Bragdon to his first career coaching victory. “It feels great, I’ll take any win,” Bragdon commented on the 94-77 triumph over NNU rival College of Idaho. 

Alaska Fairbanks (1-0) will head to Hawaii for a pair of games this weekend, after freshman Jordan Wilson made a bold statement with a double-double in her first career collegiate game. Wilson knocked down 10-of-11 shots for 27 points, and grabbed 12 rebounds as UAF won its season-opener for the first time since its 2009-10 campaign. Wilson was named Red Lion Player of the Week for her effort.

Western Oregon (0-2) hosts Division III opponent Pacific Lutheran on Saturday, while Alaska Anchorage (1-0) heads west to take on BYU-Hawaii.

Montana State Billings (1-2) hosts Chadron State on Saturday after dropping its first two contests of the 2013-14 season. The Yellowjackets receieved six-of-10 first-place votes in the GNAC preseason coaches’ poll, and will look to build momentum after their first win of the season on Sunday in the finale of the CCA Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif.

After starting its season 1-1, Saint Martin’s has this weekend off before resuming play on Nov. 23 as it hosts Northwest. SMU struggled in its first game at the WOU Phoenix Inn Shootout, losing to Academy of the Art 69-55. The Saints recovered on Saturday however, handing Notre Dame de Namur a 74-56 defeat as four Saints scored in double figures.

Simon Fraser (1-1) nearly forced overtime in its first contest against Cal Poly Pomona, but a last-second shot was off target as the Clan dropped their season opener. SFU is also off this weekend, resuming play with back-to-back contests against San Francisco State on Nov. 22-23.

Western Washington (1-1), ranked No. 6 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association preseason top-25, looked solid in its first game beating Fresno Pacific by 29 points in the Fresno West Region Crossover Classic last week. Next up for WWU is a California trip on Nov. 22-23, as the Vikings visit Azusa Pacific and UC San Diego in the Azusa West Region Crossover Classic.