Tuesday, December 16, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Eight GNAC teams will be playing in four tournaments this week, ending the non-conference portion of the 2014-15 season before conference play starts again the first of the year.

Four GNAC women’s basketball teams will head to Las Vegas this week to play in two tournaments and MSUB and Alaska Anchorage will each host one of their own.

Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific will kick things off on Wednesday when they play in the Las Vegas Challenge hosted by Dixie State. The Wolves and the Falcons will play in Orleans Arena, the site of the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference Championship tournaments.

These teams will be joined by Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene on Thursday as the two play in the Las Vegas South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.

The Vikings are 3-1 in the Holiday Hoops Classic since 2011 and have gone 11-5 since it started playing in Nevada in 2006.

Back in GNAC country, Montana State Billings will be joined by Central Washington Thursday and Friday as it hosts the MSUB Yellowjacket Classic.

CWU and MSUB, which beat 10th ranked Jamestown of the NAIA Saturday, will play South Dakota School of Mines and Montana Tech.

On Friday and Saturday, Alaska Anchorage will host its second tournament in a month in the Seawolf Hoops Classic. The ninth ranked Seawolves will play host to Alaska, Texas A&M Kingsville and Pacific (Ore.).

GNAC play starts up again on Jan. 1, 2015 highlighted by Seattle Pacific traveling to Western Washington and Simon Fraser hosting Montana State Billings.

The first game is a showdown of the two winningest programs in GNAC history while the SFU-MSUB game features the conference’s top two scorers in the Clans Erin Chambers and the Yellowjackets Kayleen Goggins.

The Jan. 3 matchup between Central Washington and Alaska Anchorage will be a defensive affair as the Seawolves rank 10th nationally in scoring defense while the Wildcats are 15th.

Notes:

• Western Washington’s exhibition victory over Portland State was the third win the GNAC has had over a Division I school this year. Alaska Anchorage beat Utah and Yale earlier this season. Because this game was an exhibition, head coach Carmen Dolfo remains at 499 career wins.
• Montana State Billings set a new school record making all 22 free throws in its win over 10th ranked Jamestown of the NAIA. The 100 percent effort from the line ranks second in the GNAC all-time behind NNU’s 23 in 2003.
• Saint Martin's notched its first home win of the season on Sunday, beating 7-2 Concordia 52-42. All three of the Saints wins this year have come against teams with winning records. 
• Seattle Pacific's Maddey Pflaumer was selected as the GNAC Player of the Week after her career night against Northwest.