Tuesday, February 18, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Having won 10-straight games, the Montana State Billings women’s basketball team broke into the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top-25 poll, checking in at No. 25.

The first NCAA Division II West Region poll will be released on Wednesday, ranking the top-10 teams in the region. The poll will eventually determine the NCAA postseason field, with the top-8 teams in the final selections on March 9 advancing to the playoffs. 

The Yellowjackets (20-5, 12-2 GNAC) currently hold a 1.5-game lead over second-place Simon Fraser and Western Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, with two weeks left on the regular season schedule.

SFU (16-6, 11-4) and WWU (15-8, 11-4) have each won four straight contests, while Alaska Anchorage (16-6, 9-5) has won two in a row and is currently in fourth place. Seattle Pacific (15-7, 8-6) and Saint Martin’s (14-9, 8-6) are tied for the fifth position in the conference standings, and Northwest Nazarene (13-10, 6-9) is still alive in the postseason hunt in seventh place.

This week, SFU and WWU will battle for positioning with a pair of tough road games each in Alaska. UAA hosts SFU on Thursday at 5:15 Alaska time, while Alaska Fairbanks (9-13, 3-11) welcomes WWU at the same start time in the first game of the week.

MSUB looks to clinch the regular season title with a pair of wins this week, as the ‘Jackets travel to Monmouth, Ore.,  on Thursday to face Western Oregon (6-16, 3-11), before heading north to Lacey, Wash., to take on SMU on Saturday. 

NNU will look to make one final postseason push, as its final three games are at home in Nampa beginning this Saturday against Central Washington (6-17, 1-14) at the Johnson Sports Center. 

In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, NNU remained in the top-5 in free-throw percentage, checking in at No. 4 with a mark of 78.9. MSUB ranked in the top-10 in several categories, including fewest fouls per game (14.7, 3rd), fewest turnovers per game (12.0, 3rd), and rebounding margin (8.5, 9th).

UAA continued its pace as one of the top-scoring teams in the NCAA, checking in at No. 6 in points per game with 82.4. The Seawolves also rank second in steals per game (15.1) and third in turnover margin (7.32). 

SFU checked in at No. 3 across Division II in 3-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 23.4 percent from downtown.

Individually, MSUB’s Bobbi Knudsen continued to pace the GNAC and rank among NCAA leaders in assists per game with 5.7 (7th), while NNU’s Chelsie Luke is the conference’s top free-throw shooter at 90.2 percent (10th in the NCAA).

GNAC-leading scorer Erin Chambers of SFU checked in at No. 6 in the NCAA in points per game with 22.7, and UAA freshman Kiki Robertson (3.64) and NNU sophomore Taylor Simmons (3.43) rank No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in steals per game.

RECAP

MSUB took care of business last week, riding seven 3-pointers by Quinn Peoples on Thursday to a 90-72 victory over visiting NNU. Peoples’ 23 points off the bench were a career-high, and Janiel Olson came through with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. On Saturday, the ‘Jackets kept rolling as Knudsen led all scorers with 18 points in a 60-39 triumph over Central Washington. The victories pushed the Yellowjackets’ spotless home record to 13-0 this season. 

Playing with its back against the wall after the loss to MSUB, NNU responded on Saturday with a crucial 75-67 win over Seattle Pacific, marking the first time in program history that the Crusaders have defeated the Falcons inside Brougham Pavilion. Senior Megan Hingston was instrumental in the win, scoring 20 points and adding four rebounds and an assist en route to earning Red Lion Player of the Week honors. Luke also had a big game against SPU, with 16 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes on the floor, and Simmons played all 40 while scoring nine and adding four assists, three steals and three rebounds. 

SPU senior Katie Benson scored 25 points in the loss, coming two days after her 20-point, eight-rebound performance in a 68-47 win over CWU on Thursday. The split on the week for SPU helped the Falcons stay tied for fifth with SMU as the race to lock up the final postseason berth begins to heat up.

While Chambers scored 23 points for SFU against WOU on Thursday, it was a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double by Rebecca Langmead that pushed the Clan to the 70-50 win over the Wolves. SFU totaled 70 points again two nights later, as Chambers notched 16, Kia Van Laare contributed 15 and Meg Wilson had 13 off the bench in the 70-59 win over Saint Martin’s.

WWU kept pace with SFU and MSUB, winning both of its games to extend its streak to four and make it 10 wins in its last 12 games overall. Senior Sarah Hill was dominant in both games, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards with three blocks, two steals and an assist in a 69-52 win over SMU on Thursday. Hill followed with a near double-double on Saturday, scoring 13 points and adding nine rebounds and five assists in the 63-55 win over WOU. Jenni White led all scorers with 17 points in the win over SMU, and also dished out nine assists.

The Saints snapped a three-game winning streak last week, losing some ground in the conference standings. Chelsea Haskey scored 14 points against WWU on Thursday but no other SMU player reached double figures in the defeat. On Saturday, Brooke Paulson came alive from the 3-point line, sinking four shots to pace the squad with a dozen points. Megan Wiedeman came off the bench with an impressive 11-point 16-rebound double-double in the loss.

Courtney Johnson went 3-of-5 from long range en route to a team-high 12 points for CWU in the loss to SPU on Thursday. On Saturday, Jasmine Parker had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, while Amber Moser added 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in the loss to MSUB.

Jenna Buchanan cut loose for 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal to propel UAA to a resounding 88-68 win over in-state rival UAF on Saturday. Buchanan, the current GNAC leader in 3-point shooting (.475) was 3-for-3 from downtown in the win. Alli Madison added 12 points and six assists, and Jessica Madison (11) and KeKe Wright (10) were UAA’s other double figure scorers. 

UAF freshman Victoria Milton paced the Nanooks with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Benissa Bulaya (13) and Autumn Childers (11) also reached double-digits in the loss.