Monday, March 2, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – A record scoring performance by MSU Billings’ Antoine Hosley and a national leading rebound effort by Seattle Pacific and Matt Borton has earned the two players GNAC Men’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week honors.

The two are among 14 athletes to earn GNAC Player of the Week honors for their performances during the Week of Feb. 22 - March 1. 

Here is a recap of their performances and a listing of honorable mention selections:

Men’s Basketball: Antoine Hosley, MSU Billings (G, 6-0, Sr., Portland, OR – Utah Valley) and Matt Borton, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-5, Sr., Yakima, WA – West Valley) … Both Hosley and Borton put up unbelievable numbers as the GNAC regular-season came to a close.  Hosley scored a GNAC-record 50 points as the Yellowjackets forced playoff-bound Central Washington into overtime before losing 104-99.  In that game, Hosley made 16 of 25 shots, including 2-of-3 treys.  He also converted on 16 of 18 foul shots before fouling out late in the final period.  In two games, Hosley scored 64 points and shot 60.0 percent from the floor (21-of-35) and 90 percent from the foul line (18-of-20).   Borton scored 28 points and pulled down 30 rebounds in home wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene as SPU secured the No. 2 seed for the conference playoffs.   His efforts on the backboards helped SPU take the national lead in rebound margin (13.6).

Honorable Mention – Brian McGill, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-2, Jr., Clackamas, OR); Erik Kinney, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-4, Jr., Fairfield, CA); Trey Ingram, Saint Martin’s (G, 6-1, Fr., Scottsdale, AZ); Devon Alexander, Western Oregon (G, 6-1, Jr., Fontana, CA - Summit); Jeffrey Parker, Western Washington (F, 6-6, So., Richmond, CA – Salesian).

Women’s Basketball:  Megan Mullings, Alaska Anchorage (F, 6-1, Jr., Glendale, AZ) and Megan Wiedeman, Saint Martin’s (F, 6-0, Jr., Sammamish, WA) … Mullings scored 43 points, including a career-high 29 in a 83-70 defeat of No. 19 Seattle Pacific. In two wins, she made 11 of 16 shots (69.6) and also had 17 rebounds, 10 at the offensive end.  Defensively, she added four steals and blocked six shots. Wiedeman had a big day in the Saints overtime win over Northwest Nazarene Thursday, recording a double-double while breaking the SMU single-season record for blocked shots with 48. Wiedeman also had 2014-15 GNAC game-highs for rebounds (19) and blocked shots (6). She finished the week with 30 points on 50 percent shooting while pulling down 32 rebounds and blocking eight shots in two wins, helping the Saints reach the post-season.

Honorable Mention – Kaillee Skjold, Alaska (F, 5-11, So., Kasilof, AK); Kiki Robertson, Alaska Anchorage (G, 5-7, So., Honolulu, HI); Courtney Johnson, Central Washington (F, 6-0, Sr., Kent, WA); Kayleen Goggins, Montana State Billings (F, 6-1, Sr., Shepherd, MT); Kate Cryderman, Northwest Nazarene (F, 6-0, Jr., Kirkland, WA); Suzanna Ohlsen, Seattle Pacific (G, 5-7, Sr., Monroe, WA); Erin Chambers, Simon Fraser (F, 6-1, Sr., Mission, BC); Dana Goularte, Western Oregon (F, 6-0, Sr., Port Orchard, WA); Kiana Gandy, Western Washington (F, 5-10, So., Des Moines, WA).

Softball: Player – Emily Osborn, MSU Billings (1B, 5-8, Sr., Las Vegas, NV – Bonanza) had nine hits in 21 at bats, including two doubles and three home runs, as the Yellowjackets won four of six games in the College of Idaho/Northwest Nazarene Classic.  Osborn had a total of five RBIs including three in a 5-3 win Saturday against College of Idaho.  Pitcher – Jessyka MacDonald, MSU Billings (5-8, Sr., Billings, MT) recorded three victories and also earned a save, allowing just 10 hits in 15 innings.  She walked eight and fanned 12 in posting a 2.80 ERA in the tournament.

Honorable Mention - Alyssa Nitschelm, Northwest Nazarene (SS, 5-3, So., Redmond, OR); Ashley Pesek, Northwest Nazarene (P, 5-9, So., Redmond, OR); Lindsay Miller, Saint Martin’s (P/OF, 5-7, Fr., Damascus, OR – Corbett); Mary Dettling, Saint Martin’s (OF, 5-0, So., Reno, NV – Reed). 

Baseball: Player - Darren Honeysett, Central Washington (OF, 6-0, Jr., Port Coquitlam, BC) hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in two wins over MSU Billings. Honeysett, who now leads the GNAC in slugging percentage at .871, also scored four runs and stole three bases. Pitcher – Riley Moore, Saint Martin’s (RHP, 5-9, Fr., Sherwood, OR)pitched a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win over the Wolves this weekend. In his seven innings pitched, Moore allowed only 4 hits while striking out five in his first win of the season.

Honorable Mention – Brandon Williams, Central Washington (RHP, 6-0, Sr., Aubrun, WA); Jake Campeau, Montana State Billings (RHP, 6-5, Sr., Walla Walla, WA); Trevor Nix, Montana State Billings (C, 5-11, Sr., Tigard, OR); Josh Hatfield, Northwest Nazarene (OF, 5-10, Jr., Meridian, ID); Jake Reppert, Northwest Nazarene (LHP, 6-5, Sr., Monroe, WA); Adam Eskil, Saint Martin’s (UTL, 5-11, Fr., Walla Walla, WA); Mac Gridley, Western Oregon (1B, 6-4, Jr., Federal Way, WA); Darrien Moran, Western Oregon (LHP, 6-0, Jr., Federal Way, WA).

Men’s Indoor Track & Field:  Track – Badane Sultessa, Western Oregon (Jr., Portland, OR – Centennial/Clackamas CC) ran the second fastest time in GNAC history in the 800 Saturday at the Seattle Pacific Qualifier.  Sultessa was clocked in a time of 1:51.22. That time ranks 14th in NCAA Division II and makes him a probable qualifier for the NCAA Indoor national meet next week.  Field – Gordon Kordas, Western Washington (So., Blaine, OR) pole vaulted 15-8 ¼ at the SPU Qualifier at the Dempsey Indoor.  That performance ranks ninth in GNAC history.

Honorable Mention – Brady Beagley, Western Oregon (Sr., Grants Pass, OR – Valley); Keegan Allen, Western Oregon (Fr., Monmouth, OR – Dallas).

Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Track – Lynelle Decker, Seattle Pacific (Jr., Vancouver, WA – Mountain View) came up big in two races at the SPU Final Qualifier, running a 2:13 800-meter split in the distance medley relay (a two-second improvement over her time in her last DMR race) to put the Falcons in 13th place nationally and on the cusp of getting into the NCAAs.  An hour later, she  delivered a career-best time of 2:11.51, moving into 12th place on the national list assuring her of a third straight trip to indoor nationals.  Field – Becki Duhamel, Central Washington (Sr., Wenatchee, WA) added 7 ½ inches to her career best mark, now at 46-7 ¼, in the shot put.  That is the second best put in GNAC history.

Honorable Mention – Rochelle Pappel, Western Oregon (Jr., Veneta, OR – Churchill & Lane CC).

Men’s Golf: Matthew Hedges, Saint Martin’s (Fr., Ashland, OR) had a 54-hole score of 214, shooting rounds of 74, 72 and 68 to finish tied for seventh in the Cal State San Bernardino Invitational and lead the Saints to a 10th place team finish in the tournament at the Arrowhead Country Club.

Women’s Golf: Jennifer Liedes, Saint Martin’s (Jr., Olympia, WA)  carded a 36-hole total of 155 to tie for ninth place and lead the Saints to a 10th place finish in the St. Edward’s Invitational at Austin, Tex.