Tuesday, January 8, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. - GNAC Insider returned Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. (PST) with a full slate of guests to lift the lid on 2019.

Starting off the show was Grant Leep, the head men's basketball coach at Seattle Pacific. Leep has been the head coach of the Falcons since the 2016-17 season.

Prior to taking over at the head of the bench, he recorded a 164-51 record as the top assistant on Ryan Looney's staff. That run included two regular-season conference championships and three GNAC Championships titles.

This season, SPU is off to a hot 6-3 start (3-1 GNAC). Leep and company will be in action at home for a pair of games this week, coming on Thursday against Alaska and two days later against Alaska Anchorage.

Over in Nampa, the Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team is one of just seven remaining unbeatens nationally. The Nighthawks will put that perfect record to the test this week when hosting Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's at the Johnson Sports Center. 

The team has been led in part this year by senior Ellie Logan. The guard ranks second on the team in both scoring (10.8 points per game) and rebounds (5.6), this after missing all of last season with an ACL injury. Logan joined the show to talk about her return to the hardwood and her team's success on the 2018-19 campaign. 

GNAC Insider was also joined by Alaska Anchorage track and field head coach Michael Friess. Friess is the reigning GNAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year and will look to carry some of that success over into the indoor track and field season, which begins this week for UAA. The Seawolves will be in action on Saturday in Seattle, joining six other GNAC teams at the UW Indoor Preview.