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

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.

IN THE NATIONAL PICTURE: Heading into the final stretch of the season every GNAC team features top performers that rank among the elite players in Division II this season. Along with strong individual efforts across the conference, over half of the GNAC’s women’s basketball programs rank in the top 30 of at least one NCAA statistical category.

LIGHTS-OUT ‘CATS: Central Washington (17-10, 8-7 GNAC) has been one of the highest-scoring teams in the conference and earned selection as the GNAC Team of the Week after sweeping its Alaska road trip last time out. The Wildcats’ offense is paced by sophomore guard Asher Cai with 20.6 points per game to rank seventh in Division II. Cai also features among the division’s rebounding leaders, checking in at No. 23 with 243 boards this season. As a team, Central Washington ranks 12th in the nation with an average of 8.3 three-pointers per game and is 27th with a .351 three-point percentage.

SMOOTH SAILING: Western Washington (20-4, 13-2) has locked in its place in the GNAC standings ahead of its big game against first-place Montana State Billings this Thursday. The Vikings feature in the top 10 of several NCAA statical categories, including field goal percentage (3rd), assists per game (5th) and blocks per game (8th) while also cracking in the top 30 of a number of additional categories. Individually, senior forward Brooke Walling checks in at No. 12 in the nation with 12 double doubles while also ranking sixth with a .610 field goal percentage.

SMALL DETAILS, BIG IMPACT: Montana State Billings (22-4, 13-1) has been a contender for the regular season title all season and comes into the week ranked No. 11 WBCA national rankings. In addition to headline statistical numbers, the Yellowjackets have been a perfect example of doing the little things right. The ‘Jackets lead the GNAC and rank third in Division II with a 1.30 assist to turnover ratio and are second in the nation with a .808 free throw percentage. There have been few players better than Dyauni Boyce when it comes to shooting from the free-throw line. The junior forward ranks second in the league and is 24th in the division with a .869 free throw percentage.

SEAWOLVES SUPPORT: Alaska Anchorage (15-8, 9-5) has all but punched its ticket to the GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships and will face Saint Martin’s for its lone game of the week. The Seawolves have benefitted from not only a strong starting lineup, but one of the best supporting casts in all of Division II. Alaska Anchorage leads the league and ranks 14th in the division with 29.3 bench points per game. The Seawolves also pull in 15.4 offensive rebounds per game to rank 18th in Division II. Junior forward/center Tori Hollingshead ranks among the nation’s best defensive players, checking in at No. 25 in Division II with 1.96 blocks per game and No. 30 with 3.7 offensive rebounds per contest.

SEEING RED: Simon Fraser (15-12, 8-7) is firmly in the fight for a playoff spot and comes into the week as one of the best blocking teams in all of Division II, checking in at No. 2 in the division with 5.7 blocks per game. That effort has been led by Gemma Cutler who ranks 6th individually in the division with 2.96 blocks per contest. Offensively, Sophia Wisotzki ranks 35th in Division II with 161 total field goals made.

FLYING IN FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Northwest Nazarene (9-13, 6-9) still has a chance to make the postseason as it sits seventh in the conference standings heading into this week’s games. The Nighthawks will be back home this week as they play their lone game of the week against Central Washington on Saturday. Junior guard/forward Madeline Gebers continues to excel as one of the best three-point shooters in the country, ranking first in the GNAC and 6th in Division II with a .452 three-point percentage. Gebers also ranks 32nd in the division with an average of 2.55 three-pointers per game.

ALL ABOARD: Alaska (4-20, 2-12) might not be in the midst of a playoff hunt, but does remain one of the top rebounding teams in the country. The Nanooks pull in 29.2 defensive rebounds per game to rank 19th in Division II while also snagging an average of 40.38 total rebounds per game to rank 50th in the division. The rebounding effort has been led by senior forward Emma Wass who ranks second in the conference and 14th in the division with an average of 7.4 defensive rebounds per contest.

CONSTANT PRESENCE: Saint Martin’s (5-16, 3-11) is led by one of the busiest players in the conference in senior Anjel Galbraith. The Vallejo, Calif., native leads the conference and checks in at No. 16 in Division II playing an average of 36.54 minutes per night. Galbraith puts those minutes to good use, also leading the Saints with 10.9 points, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Saint Martin’s will be back in Lacey this week as it hosts the Alaska schools for its final home games of the season. The Saints will host the Seawolves on Thursday and the Nanooks on Saturday.

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.

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the first NCAA regional rankings have been released with teams under consideration organized by alphabetical order. Alaska Anchorage, Montana State Billings and Western Washington all feature among the west region teams being considered heading into the penultimate week of the conference slate.

Montana State Billings and Western Washington both remain in the top 25 of the WBCA national rankings heading into their Thursday rematch. The Yellowjackets stayed put at No. 11 after taking a 66-55 win over Seattle Pacific last Saturday while the Vikings rose two places in the poll to No. 13 after taking an 85-63 win over Saint Martin’s in their final home game of the regular season. In the D2CSC regional rankings, Central Washington leapfrogged Alaska Anchorage and moved up to No. 9 after defeating the now No. 10 Seawolves, 72-65, last Saturday.

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

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.

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