Tuesday, December 3, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – With Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball set to begin on Thursday, a pair of GNAC schools are ranked in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top-25.

No. 6 Seattle Pacific (6-0) and No. 18 Northwest Nazarene were both ranked in last week’s poll, at No. 9 and No. 25, respectively. NNU is amongst NCAA leaders in field goal percentage, ranking No. 16 at .482, and free-throw percentage, ranking No. 4 at .828. SPU ranks No. 28 in field goal percentage defense at .342, and No. 21 in overall scoring defense at 55.3.

Individually, Alaska Anchorage freshman Kiki Robertson ranks No. 2 across Division II in steals per game with 5.33 and No. 6 in assists per game with 7.2. GNAC leading scorer Erin Chambers of Simon Fraser checks in at No. 16 in scoring average with 22.0 points per game, and Central Washington senior Jessica VanDyke ranks No. 11 in 3-point field goals per game with 3.80.

Montana State Billings senior Bobbi Knudsen is a perfect 21-for-21 from the free-throw line this season, and also ranks tied for 17th in assists per game with 6.0. 

THIS WEEK

Conference games begin this weekend, with Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings making the journey north to face Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. Central Washington and undefeated Northwest Nazarene visit Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s, while Western Washington takes on Simon Fraser on Saturday in Burnaby, B.C.

GNAC play resumes the first week of January following the holiday break. 

RECAP

Northwest Nazarene (6-0) remained perfect on the season thanks to a pair of victories in the Northwest Nazarene Invitational last week. Megan Hingston turned in 30 points on Saturday, propelling the Crusaders to a narrow 94-88 victory over Cal Baptist in their preseason finale.

VanDyke of Central Washington (3-2) also had a 30-point game against Cal Baptist in the Wildcats’ 92-66 victory. Western Oregon (2-3) picked up its first two wins of the season and simultaneously won the Capital City Classic tournament in Monmouth. Dana Goularte and Chantel Divilbiss averaged 15.0 and 13.5 points for the Wolves, respectively.

Alaska Anchorage (5-1) split a pair of contests against Division I competition last week in the Great Alaska Shootout, defeating UC Riverside but falling to Georgetown. Robertson paved the way for the Seawolves, averaging 16.5 points, dishing out 11 assists and contributing a GNAC-high 12 steals en route to earning Red Lion Player of the Week honors.

With its fifth consecutive victory, Montana State Billings (5-2) fended off a rough 0-2 start and enters GNAC play with momentum. The Yellowjackets took care of Montana State Northern on Wednesday and Knudsen’s double-double included a dozen points and 11 assists.

Simon Fraser (5-1) also extended its winning streak to five games, twice defeating the Academy of Art in Burnaby last week. Chambers averaged 23.5 points over the two games and grabbed a total of 17 rebounds for the Clan.

Western Washington (3-3) regained momentum by winning the Lynda Goodrich Classic and extending its home court win streak to 22-straight games. Tia Briggs led the Vikings with 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last week.

Alaska Fairbanks (6-2) capped off a positive start to 2013-14 with a pair of victories in three contests last week during the UAF North Star Invitational. Benissa Bulaya and Kaillee Skjold each averaged in double-figures, with 12.0 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.

Saint Martin’s (3-3) suffered a pair of defeats last week at the Lynda Goodrich Classic, falling to Northwest on Friday and Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. SMU’s Chelsea Haskey turned in 16.0 points per game and grabbed 5.5 rebounds on the weekend.