View the complete 2023-24 GNAC women’s basketball schedule online here.

WEST REGION SUCCESS: With non-conference action in the rearview mirror, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference solidified its place in the region with strong showings against regional competition from the CCAA and PacWest. Among the conference’s 10 teams, the GNAC went 18-11 against CCAA opponents and 14-12 against opponents from the PacWest. Western Washington and Simon Fraser combined for 14 of those 32 wins, with each team going 7-2.

BUZZING INTO THE NEW YEAR: Montana State Billings is the only remaining team undefeated in conference play after picking up a pair of wins last week to improve to 13-3 on the season (4-0 GNAC). The Yellowjackets come into the week on the back of an 82-73 win over regionally ranked Central Washington last Thursday and a dominant 81-52 victory over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, both on the road. Montana State Billings will return home this week to host Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

Now alone at the top of the GNAC standings and the D2CSC west region rankings, the No. 14 Yellowjackets are showing why they were picked as preseason favorites by conference coaches. Along with a stellar +14.4 scoring margin that ranks second in the league, MSUB has been one of the best passing teams in all of Division II. The ‘Jackets lead the GNAC and rank second in the division with a 1.44 assist to turnover ratio while also leading the conference and ranking 14th in the nation with 17.1 assists per game, showing that quality and quantity can go hand-in-hand.

Kola Bad Bear and Dyauni Boyce remain the top-scoring pair heading into the second week of the new year. Bad Bear leads the team with 16.3 points per game, a scoring rate that ranks her fifth in the GNAC. Boyce hasn’t been far off Bad Bear, scoring at a 14.9 points per-game pace to rank seventh in the conference. Against the Wildcats, Boyce flirted with perfection, missing just one field goal as she racked up 22 points on 9 of 10 from the field, including two three-pointers, and two free throws.

BITTER RIVALRY: As cold weather is set to dominate the Pacific Northwest this week, the rivalry between the Nanooks and the Seawolves is only set to raise the temperature in Anchorage on Saturday. Alaska Anchorage (8-5, 2-2 GNAC) comes into the week with renewed energy on the heels of a statement 61-54 victory over then No. 14 Western Washington last Thursday. The Seawolves followed up that performance with an 89-68 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday to extend their win streak to six games.

Thursday’s game also saw the return of senior guard Vishe’ Rabb from an ACL tear sustained in last year’s GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships. Rabb impressed on her return to the hardwood, scoring at almost a point-per -minute pace as she went 7 for 10 from the field to finish with 16 points in just 17 minutes of action. Along with her offensive output, the defense also got a bump from her presence as she snagged four rebounds and three steals.

Along with Rabb, junior guard Senya Rabouin made her mark in last week’s wins, earning GNAC Player of the Week honors for the first time since transferring from Central Arizona. Rabouin was clinical in both games last week, totaling 10 assists with zero turnovers while also pouring in 21 points to go with six assists and three rebounds against the Red Leafs.

The Nanooks (2-12, 0-4) come into Saturday’s rivalry match looking to repeat their upset from last year’s first meeting with UAA and snap a four-game skid. Alaska will look toward top scorers Kayla Johnson and Emma McKenney to bring the fight to the Seawolves on the road. Johnson ranks second on the team with 10.4 points per game and owns a .447 field goal percentage while McKenney ranks third on the team with 10.2 points per game.

WHICH WASHINGTON?: Two of the top teams in the conference will meet on Thursday as No. 21 Western Washington (10-3, 2-1) hosts regionally-ranked Central Washington (12-4, 3-1) in Bellingham. Both teams come into the matchup on the back of 1-1 weeks last time out. The Vikings fell 61-54 to UAA last Thursday before bouncing back with a decisive 86-45 win over UAF last Saturday. The Wildcats, meanwhile, dropped their game against then No. 17 MSUB 82-73 before taking a 71-61 win over SPU to wrap up the week.

Western Washington remains one of the best defensive teams in Division II and comes into the week holding opponents to an average of just 33.1% shooting from the field. They also lead the conference and rank 26th in the division with a +14.7 scoring margin through 13 games this season. Those numbers are all bolstered by the ever-dangerous Brooke Walling who paces the team with an average of 16.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Along with her raw numbers, Walling is the most efficient shooter in the conference with a .639 field goal percentage.

Central Washington, on the other hand, can boast that it has two of the top-scoring players in the nation in sophomore guard Asher Cai and junior guard Sunny Huerta. Cai leads the GNAC and ranks 5th in Division II with 20.6 points per game while Huerta sits right behind her, second in the conference and eighth in the division, with 20.3 points per contest.  As a team, the Wildcats have been extremely effective from the free throw line where they lead Division II with an .824 free throw percentage.

EMERALD DAYS: After dropping a pair of contests last week, Seattle Pacific (5-9, 2-2) will return home this week to kick off a three-game homestand. The Falcons will face Western Oregon (9-5, 2-1) on Thursday before hosting Saint Martin’s (2-8, 0-3) on Saturday to begin a stretch at home set to equal their longest of the season. The stint in Seattle should be a welcome return for the Falcons who are an undefeated 4-0 at Royal Brougham Pavilion this season.

Seattle Pacific sits just outside the GNAC playoff picture in seventh place coming into the week and will look to leapfrog the fourth-place Wolves with a win on Thursday. The Falcons come into the matchup as one of the better defensive teams in the conference, allowing an average of just 60.6 points per game, but are still looking to fire up the offense early in the conference slate. Junior forward Olivia Mayer has been an offensive bright spot for the team this season, leading SPU with 13.2 points per game to rank 10th in the GNAC while also pulling in a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Western Oregon comes into the week surging on a six-game win streak, the team’s longest since 2001, and looking to end the Falcons’ perfect home record. The Wolves captured a 54-50 win over Saint Martin’s last Saturday to give themselves a winning GNAC record for the first time this season. Senior guard Cali McClave continues to be a key leader for WOU and leads the team with 15.9 points per game to rank 10th in the conference. McClave has also been one of the best defensive players for Western Oregon and leads the GNAC with 2.6 steals per game. Sophomore forward Kiylynn Dawkins comes into the week riding a streak of her own with a double-double in each of the Wolves’ last five games.

The Saints are still looking to notch their first GNAC win of the season coming into the week and will face Montana State Billings on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s tilt with the Falcons. One of the main strengths for the Saints this season has been their blocking game. As a team, SMU ranks third in the conference with 3.8 blocks per game. Sophomore forward Sarah Lamet spearheads that defensive effort, leading the team and ranking fifth in the GNAC with 1.3 blocks per game while Anjel Galbraith heads up the Saints’ offense with 11.4 points per contest.

SEEING RED: Northwest Nazarene (5-6, 2-2) will make its annual trip north of the border to face Simon Fraser (9-7, 1-2) in Burnaby as the Nighthawks aim to establish a winning conference record and the Red Leafs look to bring theirs back to .500. Both teams come into the meeting on the back of splitting their games last week. The Red Leafs picked up a road win at Alaska, 85-74, while the Nighthawks narrowly defeated Seattle Pacific, 50-47, in Nampa.

Simon Fraser has generally performed better away from home this season but will look to turn that around as it aims to jump into the top six of the GNAC standings. The Wisotzki sisters have been the leading force for the SFU offense, with senior Jessica Wisotzki third in the conference with 18 points per game followed by junior Sophia Wisotzki in eighth with 14.7 points per game. Defensively, the Red Leafs also have one of the best defensive players in the conference in junior forward Gemma Cutler who leads the GNAC and ranks third in Division II with 44 blocks.

Northwest Nazarene’s biggest offensive weapon this season had been its long-range shooting. That effort has been led by junior Madeline Gebers with a conference-leading .481 three-point field goal percentage that also ranks eighth in the division. Gebers’ long-range scoring also sees her ranked 11th in the GNAC with 12.9 points per game as NNU’s top-scoring player. Defensively, senior guard Emma Clark has been one of the best players for NNU, leading the Nighthawks with 5.3 rebounds per game and ranking second on the squad with 1.3 steals per contest.

The WBCA Division II rankings and the D2CSC rankings are released every Tuesday throughout the season and are the two leading polls nationally. The WBCA top-25 is voted on by a panel of coaches, while the D2CSC top-25 is a poll constructed by sports information directors at Division II schools.

Montana State Billings is being rewarded for its consistency and its status as the only remaining undefeated team in GNAC competition. The Yellowjackets cracked the top 10 for the first time this season in the D2CSC national rankings, passing Western Washington and rising six places from the last poll. They also leapfrogged the Vikings for the first time since late November to rank No. 14 in the WBCA national rankings. It was a second straight week for MSUB at the top of the D2CSC regional rankings.

Western Washington dipped to 21st in the WBCA national rankings after going 1-1 last week. The Vikings did move up in the D2CSC national rankings, however, jumping to No. 16, three spots higher than the last poll on Dec. 18. Western Washington retained its place in the D2CSC regional rankings at No. 2. Central Washington made it an identical ranking for all GNAC teams in the west region rankings by staying put at No. 6 after a 1-1 week of its own.

The 2023-24 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships will be held March 7-9 at Nicholson Pavilion on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The top-six teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings will advance to the single-elimination tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.

2023 Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational
Nov. 24-25 at Fairbanks, Alaska (Alaska, Host)
Alaska: Ellen Silva, F; Emma Wass, F

 Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.