Monday, January 6, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – A Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball showdown between visiting Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific that will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS highlights a full week of conference action as the season is in full swing. 

The Yellowjackets, coming off two straight victories, challenge the Falcons inside their home court Brougham Pavilion as SPU looks to snap a three-game losing skid. The broadcast on ROOT SPORTS is the first of eight GNAC men’s and women’s basketball games that will air live on the northwest sports network throughout the season, and is set to begin on Saturday at 3 p.m. Pacific time.

In the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top-25, Northwest Nazarene fell one spot to No. 18, while Seattle Pacific dropped into the ‘others receiving votes’ category after a pair of losses. 

Saint Martin’s ranks No. 4 across NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .322 from the field. The Saints’ scoring defense is also in the top-10 in the NCAA, as their average allowance of 54.2 points is eighth-best. 

Alaska Anchorage is near the NCAA leaders in scoring offense, ranking No. 6 with 86.8 points per game. The Seawolves rank No. 3 in steals per game with 16.2 and turnover margin (8.92), and No. 5 in 3-point field goal defense at .219. 

Northwest Nazarene is the best free-throw shooting team in the GNAC and ranks fourth across all of Division II with a percentage of 78.8.

Individually, Ally Schmitt of Central Washington ranks in the top-5 across Division II in assists per game with 6.8. Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State Billings is right behind with an average of 6.0, and UAA’s Kiki Robertson is No. 8 with 5.8 in the same category. Knudsen also ranks No. 4 in free-throw percentage with a mark of .941 (28-of-31), and Robertson ranks No. 1 in the NCAA in steals per game with 4.5.

Katie Benson of Seattle Pacific, the GNAC’s leading scorer, ranks No. 15 across Division II in points per game with 21.3.

RECAP

Saint Martin’s (9-3, 3-0 GNAC) picked up in 2014 right where it left off 2013 as the Saints won their sixth straight game with a 77-46 triumph over Western Oregon (4-7, 1-2). The point total was the Wolves’ lowest of the season, and marked the fifth time that SMU’s GNAC-leading scoring defense has allowed less than 50 points in a game in 2013-14. SMU’s opponents currently average just 54.2 points per game. Liz Mills and Brooke Paulson each had 18 points for SMU in the victory.

Montana State Billings (10-4, 3-1) earned a pair of big victories as Bobbi Knudsen turned in 55 points in the two games including a career-high 37 points against Western Washington on Saturday. The point total was the highest so far this season by any individual, and Knudsen is averaging the sixth-most points in the GNAC with 16.2 per game. Knudsen was named Red Lion Player of the Week for the fifth time in her career for her efforts.

Taylor Simmons of Northwest Nazarene (10-2, 3-1) wasn’t satisfied with a career-high 24 points on Thursday, as the sophomore repeated her point total on Saturday as NNU defeated Alaska Anchorage (10-2, 3-1) and Alaska Fairbanks (7-5, 1-3) in Nampa last week. Simmons contributed 13 of the Crusaders’ GNAC record-setting total of 38 made free-throws against the Seawolves on Thursday, and made 27-of-28 overall. Megan Hingston added 35 points and 23 rebounds in the victories as NNU remained perfect at home (8-0). 

The Seawolves recovered from the defeat at NNU with a two-point win over Central Washington on Saturday. Kylie Burns contributed 39 points for UAA while Robertson had a team-high nine steals on the weekend.

Western Washington (5-6, 1-2) earned a split last week as the Vikings beat Seattle Pacific (8-4, 1-3) on the road on Thursday before losing to MSU Billings on Saturday. Katie Colard converted eight 3-pointers and 43 total points for the Vikings, and Jenni White dished out a team-high 13 assists last week.

Jordan Wilson of UAF continued her impressive freshman campaign, turning in a game-high 26 points in the Nanooks’ loss at NNU and 13 in their win over CWU (5-7, 0-4).

Simon Fraser (8-3, 2-1) handed SPU its third-straight home loss on Saturday, as the Clan topped the Falcons 63-60. Erin Chambers led the way with 15 points and Katie Lowen was close behind with 14.