Tuesday, January 24, 2023

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kortney Nelson
Montana State Billings
G • 5-8 • Jr. • Scobey, Mont.

Nelson earned Player of the Week honors after averaging 10.5 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 assists per game through two big wins for the Yellowjackets. Her biggest performance of the week came on Saturday when she posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds to help MSUB hand Western Washington its first loss in 15 games with a 73-61 victory in Billings.

Also Nominated: Ellen Silva (Alaska), Jahnna Hajdukovich (Alaska Anchorage), Samantha Bowman (Central Washington), Anjel Galbraith (Saint Martin’s), Ashley Alter (Seattle Pacific), Jessica Wisotzki (Simon Fraser), Avery Dykstra (Western Washington)

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• Alaska dropped a pair of games on the road last week at Saint Martin’s, 71-63, on Thursday and at Western Oregon, 81-67, on Saturday.

• Sophomore guard Sam Tolliver led the team offensively in both games, averaging 16 points per game while adding six rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks. Tolliver’s 17-point performance on Saturday against the Wolves was her high point of the week. She also finished with four rebounds, three steals and an assist.

• Junior guard Emma McKenney is the leading scorer for the Nanooks and ranks eighth in the GNAC at the halfway point of the season, averaging 14.7 points per game. McKenney has also been one of the best in the conference from long range. She leads the GNAC with 40 three-pointers made while her .482 three-point percentage ranks second in the conference and fifth in Division II.

• Alaska returns home this week to host Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage split its games for the second week in a row to close out the first half of the conference season, taking a 69-61 win at Western Oregon on Thursday before falling 66-65 at Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• Senior guard Jahnna Hajdukovich set a program record for the most three-pointers made on 10 or less attempts on Wednesday when she knocked down 7 of 9 from beyond the three-point arc. She led the Seawolves in scoring that night with 22 points and added two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Hajdukovich followed that up with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists on Saturday.

• As a team, the Seawolves led the GNAC and Division II with a 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio. They also rank third in the conference and 16th in the division with 16.9 assists per game.

• Alaska Anchorage begins a three-game homestand this week with games against Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington took a 79-77 overtime win against Northwest Nazarene in its only game of the week to regain third place in the GNAC standings.

• The Wildcats used a critical second period where they outscored the Nighthawks 23-10 to take a 35-26 lead into halftime after being held to just 12 points in the first frame.

• Regulation proved to not be enough as NNU forced overtime with a three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth period. Freshman guard Asher Cai stepped up big in overtime, knocking down three of CWU’s eight points and also coming up with a block.

• Senior center Samantha Bowman put on a show for the first time in the renovated Nicholson Pavilion and led all scorers with a double-double of 32 points and 22 rebounds. She also added four assists, two blocks and a steal. Bowman leads the GNAC and Division II in rebounds (284), rebounds per game (15.8), defensive rebounds per game (12.2) and is tied for the division lead with one triple-double to her name. Her 17 double-doubles leads GNAC and ranks second in Divsion II.

• Central Washington will remain home this week to host Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings solidified its second place in the GNAC standings with home wins over Simon Fraser, 69-67, on Thursday in overtime and nationally ranked Western Washington, 73-61, on Saturday.

• Junior guard Kortney Nelson was named the GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for her role in handing WWU its first conference loss of the season and ending the Vikings' 14-game win streak. Nelson finished Saturday’s game with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with six assists, four steals and a block. For the week, she averaged 10.5 points and eight rebounds per game.

• Ball management was a huge strength for the Yellowjackets in their win over the Vikings as they forced 24 turnovers and capitalized for 25 points on those opportunities.

• Senior forward Taryn Shelley led MSUB for the week with an average of 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line.

• Montana State Billings will hit the road this week to face Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene lost an overtime nailbiter at Central Washington, 79-77, in its only game of the week.

• Sophomore guard McKenna Castledine led five players in double-digit scoring for the Nighthawks with 15 points to go along with two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

• After being limited to just 10 points in the second period, NNU chipped away at the gap through the second half, culminating when Castledine hit a three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth period to force overtime.

• Clare Eubanks and Danika Starr both knocked down 13 points in the overtime loss. Eubanks added seven rebounds and an assist while Starr tallied six rebounds and a steal. Jordan Pinson and Loy Waid each added 12 points.

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

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s made it three conference wins in a row with home victories over Alaska, 71-63, on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage, 66-65, on Saturday.

• Junior guard Anjel Galbraith had yet another solid week leading the team with an average of 16 points, four rebounds and three steals per game. Her high point of the week came in Thursday’s win over Alaska where she knocked down 17 points to go with eight assists, six rebounds and six steals. Galbraith leads the GNAC and ranks 11th in Division II with an average of 37.37 minutes played per game.

• Saturday’s win over Alaska Anchorage marked the first time the Saints got the better of the Seawolves since 2014. The top scorers came to play against UAA and we led by Kiana Rios with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists on 4 for 5 from the field and a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line. Galbraith added 15 points while Sarah Lamet knocked down 15 to go with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

• Saint Martin’s begins a three-game road trip this week, facing Western Oregon on Saturday for its only game.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific split its week at home, falling 58-53 to Western Washington on Thursday before bouncing back with a 64-53 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday.

• Senior guard Ashley Alter led the Falcons with 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Alter picked up her second double-double of the season with a 15-point, 12-rebound performance on Saturday.  She also finished with three assists, a block and a steal against the Ref Leafs.

• The Falcons have the top defense in the GNAC, allowing just 57.1 points per game. They also rank third in the conference with 3.6 blocks per game and a rebounding margin of +8.2.

• Seattle Pacific will hit the road this week for games at Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser dropped a pair of games on the road last week, falling 69-67 in overtime to Montana State Billings on Thursday and 64-53 to Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• It was another strong week for the Wistozki sisters as they paced the team in scoring. Junior guard/forward Jessica Wisotzki led the pair with 19 points and four rebounds per game while sophomore guard Sophia Wisotzki averaged 16.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Both sisters put in 20-point performances with Sophia leading the Red Leafs on Thursday and Jessica leading them Saturday. Jessica paces the GNAC in scoring with 21.2 points per game.

• Sophomore forward Gemma Cutler leads the GNAC and Division II with 2.92 blocks per game. She added six more blocks to her total last week while averaging 10 points and four rebounds per game.

• Simon Fraser will make its only trip further north than Burnaby to face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon split its week at home, falling 69-61 to Alaska Anchorage on Thursday before bouncing back with an 81-67 win over Alaska on Saturday.

• Junior guard Cali McClave was a dominant offensive threat for the Wolves in both games, averaging 24 points per game. McClave opened the week with a 22-point performance to go with three rebounds, four assists and a steal against the Seawolves. She followed that up by leading all scorers in Saturday’s win with 26 points on 10 of 23 from the field. She also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Nanooks.

• Redshirt freshman Kiylynn Dawkins narrowly missed out on a double-double against UAA, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, two steals and an assist. Dawkins averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game across the week.

• Western Oregon will remain home for its only game of the week when it hosts Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington’s 14-game win streak came to an end last week.  The Vikings defeated Seattle Pacific 58-53 on Thursday and fell to Montana State Billings 73-61 on Saturday.

• The Vikings had to make a comeback to beat the Falcons on Thursday after being held to just six points in the second period. Steady scoring down the stretch helped WWU come up with the win led by senior guard Avery Dykstra’s 17-point performance. Sophomore center Truitt Reilly added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

• As a team, the Vikings lead Division II with a rebound margin of +12.7. They also lead the GNAC and rank fourth in the division with a .475 field goal percentage. Their .377 three-point percentage leads the conference and ranks sixth in Division II.

• Western Washington will aim to start a new streak starting with a trip north to face Alaska on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.