Tuesday, January 28, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Having won six games in a row and 26 straight at home dating back to Jan. 2012, Western Washington’s women’s basketball team is set to host Montana State Billings in a clash that pits the top two teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings on Thursday evening at 5:15 p.m. Pacific time inside Sam Carver Gym. 

MSU Billings, recently named GNAC Team of the Week, has won four games in a row and is the other GNAC team with a perfect record at home this season (9-0). One of those victories inside Alterowitz Gym in Billings came in the form of an 82-69 triumph over Western Washington on Jan. 4, as senior guard Bobbi Knudsen unleashed for a career-high 37 points the last time the two teams met.

In another key matchup on Thursday, the two third-place teams will square off in Canada as Seattle Pacific takes on Simon Fraser at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time. SPU has won five games in a row while SFU has notched three straight thanks to back-to-back 30-point performances from Red Lion Player of the Week Erin Chambers.

On Saturday, the teams trade places as the Yellowjackets cross the border to take on the Clan and SPU challenges rival WWU in Bellingham with both games set for 5:15 p.m. Pacific.

After snapping a four-game losing skid last weekend, Northwest Nazarene travels north to challenge Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. The Wildcats of Central Washington also make the long trip this week, facing UAA on Thursday and UAF on Saturday at a special 2 p.m. Alaska start time.

Saint Martin’s will look to snap a three-game losing skid, while Western Oregon looks to snap its four-game dry spell as the two teams meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific time in Monmouth.

Despite a pair of losses last week, Alaska Anchorage remained in the top-five in the NCAA in scoring offense with a mark of 85.6 points per game (4th). The Seawolves also rank third in steals per game (15.4) and turnover margin at plus-8.41.

Seattle Pacific remained in the top-10 in blocks per game, checking in at No. 9 with an average of 5.1. 

From the foul line, no GNAC team is better than Northwest Nazarene, which ranks No. 3 across Division II with a percentage of 79.0. SPU is also in the top-10 in that category, landing No. 8 while shooting 77.5 percent on free-throws.

MSUB’s Knudsen, who leads the GNAC in assists with 6.0 per contest, ranks sixth in the NCAA in that category. The senior from Malta, Mont., also checks in at No. 22 in Division II in free-throw percentage with a mark of 88.7. Teammate Janiel Olson, who leads the GNAC in rebounding with 10.6 per game, is No. 17 in the NCAA in boards.

Central Washington senior guard Ally Schmitt remains in the top-10 in the NCAA in assists per game, contributing 5.7 (9th). 

With 64 points last week, SFU’s Chambers boosted her scoring average to 23.1 points per game, which ranks No. 5 in the land. SPU senior Katie Benson is also among NCAA leaders in the category with an average of 20.6 points per game.

UAA freshman Kiki Robertson is No. 2 in the NCAA in steals per game with 4.18, while NNU sophomore Taylor Simmons is close behind with 3.29 (8th).

RECAP

With a pair of victories last week, Montana State Billings (14-5, 7-2 GNAC) maintained a spot atop the conference standings as the Yellowjackets defeated Saint Martin’s 75-56 on Thursday and Western Oregon 79-57 on Saturday. Knudsen scored 35 points and contributed 13 assists, while Olson came through with a team-high 21 rebounds on the weekend. 

The Saints (11-7, 5-4) received a pair of big games from Krista Stabler, who scored 16 points on Thursday and 21 on Saturday in a 78-68 loss to Seattle Pacific. Both efforts came off of the bench and were team highs.

The Falcons (13-4, 6-3) received a league-high seventh double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) from Benson in Thursday’s 72-56 win over Western Oregon, and watched as the senior topped her mark with 24 points in the triumph over the Saints. Suzanna Ohlsen and Betsy Kingma each contributed 17 points on Saturday and accounted for all seven of SPU’s made 3-pointers in the win.

Western Oregon (5-12, 2-7) enjoyed two more big performances from Dana Goularte, who scored 27 on Thursday and 21 on Saturday to remain the third-leading scorer in the GNAC with 18.4 points per contest.

Chambers came through for Simon Fraser (12-5, 6-3) in a big way on Thursday, as the Clan needed every one of her 30 points against Alaska Fairbanks to escape with a narrow 75-73 victory. Meg Wilson was instrumental on Thursday as well, contributing 23 points and 10 rebounds for SFU. On Saturday, it took an even better performance from the conference’s leading scorer for SFU to get past Alaska Anchorage, as Chambers’ 34 points, five rebounds and three assists proved to be the deciding factor in a 78-74 triumph.

The Nanooks (8-9, 2-7) had four players score at least 13 points in the loss to SFU, headed by the 17-point effort of freshman Victoria Milton. On Saturday, Candace Prestwich stepped up off the bench with a season-high 19 points in a tough 92-80 loss to Western Washington in Bellingham. Freshman Jordan Wilson scored 33 points on the weekend for UAF and remained the fourth-leading scorer in the GNAC (17.2).

The Seawolves (12-5, 5-4) came up just short in both games last week, falling 76-70 on Thursday in Bellingham and by an even slimmer margin on Saturday in Burnaby. In each game, a quartet of UAA players scored in double figures with Robertson and Alli Madison leading the way with 29 points apiece.

Western Washington (11-6, 7-2) is now three games shy of the school record 29-straight home victories, as the Vikings maintained a share of first place with their victories last week. Taylor Peacocke was exceptional in both games, scoring 17 on Thursday and 18 two days later in a pair of stellar performances off of the bench. Senior and reigning Red Lion Player of the Week Sarah Hill came up just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards on Thursday, before completing the feat with an 11-point 12-rebound effort in Saturday’s win.

In its lone game of the week, Northwest Nazarene (11-6, 4-5) got back into the win column in dramatic fashion, as Ellen Ferrenburg took Ellensburg by storm and converted a layup as time expired to down Central Washington 66-64 on Saturday. Megan Hingston finished with her sixth double-double of the season, including 14 points and a dozen rebounds for the Crusaders. The Wildcats (6-11, 1-8) watched Jessica VanDyke led all scorers with 23 points and eclipse the school’s career 3-point field goal record as she converted from behind the arc for the 171st time. It was one of six successful 3-pointers in the game by the senior, and Jasmine Parker finished with her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.