Tuesday, February 25, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – The six women’s basketball teams that will compete in the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships have been determined, with much room for change among the top six over the final weekend of regular season play.

Maintaining the top spot in the GNAC standings is Montana State Billings, which fell out of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top-25 poll this week after cracking in at No. 25 last week.

In the first NCAA West Region rankings, four GNAC teams were seeded among the top-10, with MSUB claiming the No. 1 spot and Simon Fraser close behind at No. 2. Seattle Pacific checked in at No. 4 and Western Washington also made an appearance at No. 9. Of those four teams, SPU was the only to win both of its games last week, as the other three each split a pair of road contests.

The second of three NCAA West Region rankings are set for release on Wednesday, with the third rankings scheduled for March 5 before the NCAA selection show on March 9. The rankings will eventually determine the eight-team field for the NCAA West Region playoffs.

In the latest NCAA statistics through Feb. 23, Northwest Nazarene remained a premier free-throw shooting team, ranking fourth across Division II (78.9 percent). Montana State Billings was in the top-10 in several categories, including fewest fouls per game (14.9, 3rd), fewest turnovers per game (12.3, 5th), and rebounding margin (8.4, 9th).

Alaska Anchorage moved to the No. 1 spot in the NCAA in steals per game, generating a Division II-best 15.2 per contest. The Seawolves also boast the fifth-highest scoring offense in the land, averaging 82.4 points per contest, and have the third-best turnover margin at plus-7.50. 

Simon Fraser ranks in the top-10 in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 24.9 percent from long range (6th). Individually for SFU, junior guard/forward Erin Chambers leads the GNAC and ranks No. 7 in the NCAA in scoring, as she averages 22.7 points per game.

MSUB senior Bobbi Knudsen remained in the top-10 in Division II in assists per game (5.7, 6th), and teammate Janiel Olson checked in at No. 22 in rebounds per game (10.4).

From the foul line, no GNAC player is shooting better than Suzanna Ohlsen of Seattle Pacific, who ranks No. 9 in the NCAA at 90.4 percent. Chelsie Luke of Northwest Nazarene is close behind at 90.2 percent (10th).

UAA freshman Kiki Robertson has played a key role in the Seawolves’ NCAA-leading steal figure, as her personal average of 3.5 per game is the third-best mark across Division II.

RECAP 

Saint Martin’s (15-10, 9-7 GNAC) made a bold statement last week, defeating first-place Montana State Billings (21-6, 13-3) 69-59 on Saturday in Lacey to snap the Yellowjackets’ 11-game winning streak and more importantly clinch a GNAC postseason berth. Megan Wiedeman turned in a solid 14-point 15-rebound double-double in the win for SMU, and Chelsea Haskey paced the Saints with 17 points.

The win came two days after a 54-44 loss to Seattle Pacific (17-7, 10-6), a game in which the Falcons held the Saints to their lowest point total of the season. Ohlsen was a big reason the Falcons emerged victorious on the road, as she scored nearly half of SPU’s points with 25 on 10-of-12 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. 

Ohlsen followed with a strong 12-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist performance in a 76-64 win over Western Oregon (6-18, 3-13) on Saturday, and earned Red Lion Player of the Week honors for her efforts. SPU senior Katie Benson unleashed against WOU for 26 points and a dozen rebounds, while adding three assists and a pair of steals in her GNAC-leading eighth double-double of the season.

Alaska Anchorage (18-6, 11-5) proved it is in prime condition heading into the tournament, defeating both Western Washington (16-9, 12-5) and Simon Fraser (17-7, 12-5) at home last week. On Thursday, the Seawolves jumped out to a 39-25 halftime lead over SFU, and overcame 22 points by Chambers in the 87-71 victory.

UAA had a tougher challenge on Saturday against the Vikings, but Robertson, Jenna Buchanan and Jessica Madison each scored 14 points to counter the game-high 23 of WWU junior Katie Colard in the narrow 79-75 UAA triumph.

Viking senior Sarah Hill was outstanding last week as well, as she grabbed 30 total rebounds in a pair of double-doubles. On Thursday, she scored 18 points and had 14 boards to lead WWU to a 91-65 win over Alaska Fairbanks (9-15, 3-13), and on Saturday she had 12 more points and a game-high 16 rebounds in the loss to UAA. Colard also had 20 points in the Vikings’ win over the Nanooks, as six total WWU players topped double-digits in the scoring department. 

After falling on Thursday, SFU recovered with a hard-earned 69-67 win over UAF on Saturday to keep pace with WWU and MSUB in the conference standings. Chambers had 22 points for the second-straight game, and Katie Lowen added 12 with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

For UAF, freshman Kaillee Skjold had a big weekend, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds on Thursday, and following with 16 points and six more rebounds on Saturday in the Nanook losses.

Northwest Nazarene (14-10, 7-9) overcame a halftime deficit to beat Central Washington (6-18, 1-5) 55-53 in the teams’ only game of the week on Saturday. Luke paced the Crusaders with 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Jasmine Parker had 12 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks for the Wildcats. 

Despite a pair of losses, WOU junior Dana Goularte continued her impressive campaign, scoring 19 points with seven rebounds in the Wolves’ 77-67 loss to MSUB on Thursday. Goularte then scored 24 points with five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block on Saturday, while shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.

MSUB’s Knudsen logged 18 points in the Yellowjackets’ first game of the week, but her 19-point, 10-rebound double-double was not enough against SMU on Saturday. Senior Chelsea Banis also had a double-double against the Saints with 11 points and 14 rebounds, but MSUB received just three points from its bench in the team’s first loss since Jan. 11.