Tuesday, November 27, 2018

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Wandersee
Alaska Anchorage
F/C • 6-2 • Sr. • Kodiak, Alaska

Wandersee was named the most valuable player of the DII Coast To Coast Classic after finishing with 32 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and three steals in the Seawolves’ wins over Florida Tech and Hawaii Pacific. Wandersee led UAA with 18 points on 7 of 14 from the field to go with nine rebounds and five blocks to beat Florida Tech on Friday, 66-56. She then finished with 14 points on 7 of 9 from the field with four rebounds and two assists in the 65-54 win on Saturday over Hawaii Pacific.

Also Nominated: Kassidy Malcolm (CWU), Kizzah Maltezo (CU), Hannah Collins (MSUB), Ellie Logan (NNU), Makenna Schultz (SMU), Sophie Swant (SFU), Anna Schwecke (WWU).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• The Nanooks played their first two home games of the season over the Thanksgiving break and were unable to come away with a victory against some tough competition.

• Alaska’s best performance of the week came in a nine-point defeat on Friday against Gannon. Forward Marian Wamsley led all scorers with 21 points in a game that was tied at halftime.

• It’s junior Kylie Wallace who leads the team in scoring after three weeks of play. The guard is averaging 15.2 points per game, with Wamsley following at a 13.8 points per game clip.

• Alaska will hit the road now for its first two games of the conference season. The Nanooks will face Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m. on Thursday before traveling to Ellensburg for a date with Central Washington two nights later.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage stayed perfect on the season with a pair of double-digit victories last week. The two games came in the DII Coast to Coast Classic against Florida Tech and Hawaii Pacific.

• The Seawolves got their week going with a 66-56 win against Florida Tech, then followed that up the next day with a 65-54 victory against their visitors from Hawaii. Senior Hannah Wandersee was named the Most Outstanding Player of the two-game tournament, totaling 32 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks over the weekend.

• Wandersee was named the GNAC Player of the Week after leading her team to the pair of victories. She is the team’s leader in scoring heading into GNAC play with 13.5 points per game.

• The Seawolves lead the GNAC and are 13th nationally in steals per game with a clip of 13.5 per game. Senior Kian McNair is ranked No. 35 in Division II in steals per game (3.0).  

• Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 3 in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll and is one of just four teams to receive a first-place vote. The Seawolves are also slotted at fourth in the WBCA Coaches Poll.

• The team will be back on the road this week, meeting the conference’s other two undefeated teams. The series of showdowns begins Thursday night at Central Washington and will continue on Saturday in Nampa against NNU.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats remained perfect to start the season, hosting Holy Names and handing the Hawks an 82-70 defeat.

• Upperclassmen Alexis Pana and Kaelie Flores led the way, pouring in 14 points apiece. Pana added five rebounds, four assists and four steals to hand Holy Names its 12th straight defeat against a GNAC opponent.

• The other Wildcat in double figures was forward Kassidy Malcolm, who totaled 12 points and 18 rebounds. Malcolm has been cleaning up the glass all season to the tune of a team-leading 9.4 boards per game.

• The Wildcats received 14 votes in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll.

• Central Washington will be back in action twice this week, hosting also-unbeaten Alaska Anchorage before putting a lid on its first week of GNAC play against Alaska. Both contests are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m inside Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia emerged victorious in its only game of the week, sneaking past Humboldt State to pick up a 72-71 victory on the road on Tuesday night.

• Guard Kizzah Maltezo shined for the Cavaliers, leading all scorers with a 27-point explosion. Those last points came with 11 seconds left as Maltezo calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to turn a 71-70 deficit into a 72-71 victory.

• Maltezo is the team-leader in points, averaging 16.2 per game through three weeks of play. On the glass, junior Iraide Juez has come up huge for CU. The forward has pulled down 44 rebounds in five games thus far.

• The Cavaliers will be in action twice this week, heading north for a pair of big contests. The week will start on Thursday evening at Seattle Pacific and conclude two nights later at Saint Martin’s.  

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets took to the court for just one counting contest last week, dispatching Valley City State for a 79-52 victory in Billings.

• Sophomore Hannah Collins led all scorers in the winning effort, pouring in 16 points in 27 minutes of action. Collins’ team jumped out to a 22-10 advantage after the first quarter and never looked back en route to the 27-point victory.

• Four Yellowjackets finished the day scoring in double figures, including a 13-point outburst off the bench for guard Brina Hull. Freshman Taryn Shelley had a big day on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds in just 15 minutes on the floor.

• Montana State Billings will return to action twice this week, playing at Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene picked up a pair of wins last week at the Azusa Pacific Thanksgiving Classic.

• The Nighthawks continued their hot start to the season with a 14-point victory at No. 21 Azusa Pacific on Friday. They then followed that up with a 97-64 win against Biola.  The effort earned the Nighthawks a share of GNAC Team of the Week honors with their male counterparts.

• Guard Ellie Logan shined for NNU, averaging 14 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The senior was one of six Nighthawks who had at least one game scoring in double figures.

• The Nighthawks continue to climb in the national rankings and are now No. 10 in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll. The team is slotted at 15th in the WBCA Coaches Poll.

• Northwest Nazarene will return home for the start of conference play, getting things started on Thursday night against Alaska. It will then stay in Nampa for a Top-10 showdown with No. 3  Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 7 p.m.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints were unable to secure a victory in the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic, dropping a tight game against Minnesota-Crookston on Friday before falling to Mary to close the tournament.

• The losses came on the heels of a record-setting offensive performance in their last game, a 107-103 loss at Dixie State. The 103 points set an NCAA-era school record for Saint Martin’s.

• This week’s best shot at a win came in Friday’s hard fought, 70-65 loss to the Golden Eagles. The team took a 12-point lead into the locker rooms at halftime but was unable to withstand a second half comeback.

• Guard Makenna Schultz has led SMU this season, averaging 20.2 points per game heading into the start of conference play. Schultz leads the league in scoring and is ranked 45th nationally.

• Saint Martin’s is back in Lacey this week, playing host to Western Oregon on Thursday evening before a Saturday night date with Concordia. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 5:15 p.m.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific was in action for just a single game last week, rolling to an 84-73 victory over visiting Holy Names.

• The Falcons were led by an explosive night from guard Riley Evans, who finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The team was able to overcome a slow start offensively and turn a 11-point halftime deficit into an 11-point win.

• Evans leads the team in scoring through three weeks of play at a clip of 17.2 points per game.

• The Falcons will stay at home this week, hosting Concordia and Western Oregon in their first conference games of the season. 

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan were in action twice last week, picking up a pair of good wins against Hawaii Pacific and Florida Tech. The team scored 82 points in each victory, running its record to 4-1 on the season.

• Saturday’s 82-80 win over the Panthers was an overtime thriller, with SFU ultimately pulling out the victory on a couple of key stops and two big free throws from junior Tayler Drynan.

• Senior Sophie Swant is at the top of the SFU scoring list after three games, averaging a clip of 15 points per game. The forward had 14 points in the win against Florida Tech.

• Simon Fraser will play in the GNAC’s first conference game of the season on Tuesday against Western Washington in Burnaby. The team will then finish the week two nights later against Montana State Billings.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon was off last week in preparation for the beginning of GNAC play.

• The team’s last game featured its first victory of the season, a 69-64 win over Colorado Mesa on Nov. 17. Freshman Tresai McCarver led WOU with 19 points off the bench in the winning effort.

• Forward Ali Nelke leads the Wolves into conference play with an average of 9.3 points and seven rebounds per game. Natalie DeLonge is next on the team with 9.0 points per game.

• The Wolves will return to the floor on Thursday night in Lacey, battling Saint Martin’s before heading to Seattle Pacific two days later.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings pulled out a pair of tight victories in the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic last week.

• Friday’s opener was a thriller that finished with Western Washington edging out Mary for a 73-72 win. Sophomore Kelsey Rogers, the reigning GNAC Player of the Week, paced her team with a 23-point performance.

• Rogers leads the team into GNAC competition with an average of 15.3 points per game. Two other Vikings, Dani Iwami (14.8 per game) and Anna Schwecke (11.3), are scoring in double figures as the first month of the season winds to a close.  

• The Vikings will be back in action Tuesday night, making the short trip north of the border to face Simon Fraser. They will then return home to close out the week against Montana State Billings on Saturday.