Wednesday, January 4, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Ashley Alter
Seattle Pacific
G/F • 5-11 • Sr. • Stanwood, Wash.

Alter earned Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors after leading the Falcons in scoring through a pair of wins over NNU on Thursday and CWU on Saturday. She opened the week with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds in SPU’s 58-45 win over NNU and followed that up with an impressive 31 points in the win over CWU while shooting 52.6% from the field and 50% from three-point range. Alter averaged 24 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Her performances also earned her Division II Player of the Week recognition.

Also Nominated: Vishe’ Rabb (Alaska Anchorage), Cami Knishka (Northwest Nazarene), Gemma Cutler (Simon Fraser), Brooke Walling (Western Washington)

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• Alaska dropped its game at Simon Fraser, 89-78, on Thursday before falling 101-57 to nationally-ranked Western Washington on Saturday in Bellingham.

• Leading Nanooks scorers Emma McKenney and Ellen Silva both had strong nights against the Red Leafs despite the final score. McKenney knocked down 20 points to go with two rebounds, three assists and three steals. Silva finished just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

• On Saturday, McKenney recorded 17 points against the Vikings along with three assists and a steal.  She ranks six in the conference in scoring with an average of 16.4 points per game. McKenney’s .569 three-point percentage also ranks second in the GNAC.

• Alaska will return home this week to host in-state rival Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage split its week, dropping its game at Western Washington 104-51 on Thursday before bouncing back to an 86-69 win over Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Saturday.

• Senior guard Vishe’ Rabb and sophomore guard Jazzpher Evans led the way for the Seawolves with both averaging 13 points per game. Rabb led the team against the Vikings, putting up 13 points, three rebounds and a steal. Evans led the charge against SFU with a 17-point performance to go with two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

• Senior guard Rachel Ingram put together a solid performance of her own on Saturday, knocking down 15 points on 5 of 10 from the field, 3 of 7 from three-point range and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line to go along with five rebounds, an assist and a steal.

• The Seawolves lead the GNAC and Division II with a 1.43 assist-to-turnover ratio. They also lead the conference and rank fifth in the division with a turnover margin of 10.62.

• Alaska Anchorage will finish off its five-game road trip when it faces Alaska on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington took a 70-44 win at Montana State Billings on Thursday before dropping only its second game of the season,70-63, at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• The Wildcats played a close opening stanza against the Yellowjackets on Thursday before using a dominant second period where they outscored MSUB 29-5 to pull away for a comfortable win. Sophomore point guard Valerie Huerta led CWU offensively as she has all season with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal.

• Central Washington dropped its first conference game and just its second game of the season on Saturday despite senior center Samantha Bowman’s double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds. Huerta also connected for 16 points in the loss while freshman guard Asher Cai knocked down 14 points.

• Through the first 13 games of the season, the trio of Huerta, Bowman and Cai has averaged 54.8 points per game. All three players rank in the top 10 of conference scorers.

• Central Washington will host fellow nationally-ranked-rival Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday. Both games will be held at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington as renovation to Nicholson Pavilion continues.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped both of its final games of 2022 with a 70-44 loss to Central Washington on Thursday and a narrow 80-79 loss to Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

• Senior forward Cariann Kunkel led the way for the Yellowjackets last week, averaging 11 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

• Despite the loss, Saturday’s game was a much stronger performance from MSUB with four players in double-digit scoring while the team shot 44.1% from the field, 36.4% from three-point range and 86.4% from the charity stripe.

• The Yellowjackets lead the GNAC and rank 14th in Division II with a 78.2 free throw percentage. They are also third in the conference and 15th in the division with a 1.21 assist to turnover ratio.

• Montana State Billings will look to bounce back on the road at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene split its games last week, falling 58-45 at Seattle Pacific on Thursday before bouncing back to take a hard-fought 80-79 road win over Montana State Billings on Saturday.

• Junior guard Cami Knishka led the Nighthawks with an average of 14 points and five rebounds per game to go along with five steals across the two games. Knishka was the leading scorer in both contests for NNU with 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and an assist against the Falcons and followed that up with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals against the Yellowjackets.

• The Nighthawks rank second in the conference with an average of 12.3 steals per game and lead the GNAC while ranking No. 13 in Division II with 23.75 turnovers forced per game and a turnover margin of 7.50.

• Northwest Nazarene will return home this week to host Simon Fraser on Thursday and No. 6 Western Washington on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s played only one game last week, falling 77-68 at home to Western Oregon.

• Freshman guard Kiana Rios led all players with 24 points in the loss, going 8 for 16 from the field, 3 for 5 from three-point range and 5 for 6 from the free-throw line.

• Rios was joined in 20-plus scoring by junior guard Anjel Galbraith who put up 21 points to go along with one rebound, six assists and two steals. Galbraith leads the conference and ranks 12th in Division II with an average of 36.8 minutes played per game.

• Saint Martin’s will cap off a four-game home stand this week with games against Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific handed Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington their first conference losses of the season last week, beating the Nighthawks 58-45 on Thursday and the Wildcats 70-63 on Saturday.

• Senior guard/forward Ashley Alter was not only the class of the field in the conference last week, but also in the division as she averaged 24 points and 11.5 rebounds per game en route to earning GNAC Women’s Basketball and Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors. She opened the week with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds against NNU before exploding for 31 points against Central Washington to go along with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

• Senior forward Natalie Hoff led the charge for the Falcons on Thursday, recording a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two steals and an assist. She followed that up with a 14-point performance on Saturday where she added four rebounds and an assist.

• The Falcons’ impressive wins including a victory over nationally-ranked Central Washington earned SPU recognition as the GNAC Team of the Week.

• Seattle Pacific will begin a three-game stint on the road this week as it travels to face Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser split its final games of 2022 against the Alaska schools with an 89-78 win over the Nanooks on Thursday before falling 86-69 to the Seawolves on Saturday.

• Junior guard/forward Jessica Wisotzki put together a strong pair of performances, averaging 22 points per game while shooting 14 for 28 from the field, 4 for 10 from three-point range and a perfect 12 for 12 from the free-throw line. Wisotzki lead the GNAC and ranks second in Division II with an average of 24.1 points per game and a three-point percentage of 61.8%.

• Sophomore forward Gemma Cutler led the charge for the Red Leafs on Saturday, knocking down 23 points to go with nine rebounds, six blocks and an assist.

• As a team, Simon Fraser leads the conference and ranks seventh in Division II with a 38.9 three-point percentage.

• Simon Fraser will play a brief two-game road trip this week at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon took a 77-68 victory over Saint Martin’s on the road in its only game of the week on Saturday.

• Junior guard Cali McClave led the way for the Wolves in the win with 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. McClave shot 8 for 14 from the field, 4 for 7 from beyond the three-point arc and 3 for 4 from the free-throw line. She ranks eighth in the GNAC with an average of 16.1 points per game.

• The Wolves have been one of the best teams in the conference at forcing turnovers and rank third in GNAC with an average of 10.1 steals per game.

• Western Oregon will return home this week to face Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington erupted for a pair of dominant victories last week with a 104-51 win over Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and a 101-57 win over Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.

• Every player who suited up for the Vikings scored on Thursday, led by junior forward Brooke Walling and senior forward Katrina Gimmaka who both knocked down 18 points. Walling also made it a double-double against the Seawolves, pulling down 12 rebounds to go along with six assists and three blocks. As a team, WWU shot an impressive 66.1% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.

• On Saturday, freshman Mason Oberg led the way offensively with 18 points while sophomore center Reilly Truitt recorded a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds while also adding five steals and two assists.

• The Vikings rose to No. 6 in the WBCA Division II Poll and remain a No. 8 in the D2SIDA Media Poll while continuing to lead the D2SIDA Regional Poll.

• Western Washington will travel for a nationally-ranked showdown against Central Washington on Saturday before facing Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.