Monday, November 15, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – There may not have been a bigger performance at the start of this year’s women’s basketball season than what Central Washington’s Samantha Bowman put together.

The junior forward was named the GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after she averaged 20 points and 20 rebounds per game in two season-opening road victories for the Wildcats. Bowman opened the season with 23 points and 23 rebounds, making 11 of 14 from the field in Friday’s 67-66 win at Stanislaus State. The next night, Bowman added 21 points and 17 rebounds, shooting 8 of 11 from the field and 5 of 5 from three-point range, to go with eight blocks in a 68-55 win at Cal State East Bay.

In the two games, Bowman shot 76 percent from the field (19-25) and 5 of 6 from the three-point line. Of her 40 rebounds, 15 were on the offensive glass.

Western Oregon junior guard Cameron Cranston earned the first Men’s Basketball Player of the Week award for the season after he averaged 19.5 points and six rebounds in the Wolves’ two opening games. Cranston led all scorers with 25 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in Friday’s 82-78 overtime loss to Cal State San Bernardino. He then turned in 14 points and five rebounds with two steals and an assist in Saturday’s 82-60 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay.

All three conference football programs split awards in the final week of the regular season. Central Washington freshman quarterback Quincy Glapser was named the Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 18 of 25 passes for 289 yards in the Wildcats’ 70-0 rout of Simon Fraser. It was the first back-to-back five-touchdown performance for a CWU quarterback since 2017. Glasper also rushed eight times for 32 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Western Oregon junior linebacker Jaylin Parnell earned the Defensive Player of the Week award after he came up with six solo tackles, four tackles for loss for 13 yards and three sacks for 12 yards in the Wolves’ 55-16 win over Lincoln (Calif.).

Simon Fraser junior Aidan Pearce received Special Teams Player of the Week after he returned five kickoffs for 93 yards against Central Washington, averaging 18.6 yards per return.

Simon Fraser senior forward Connor Glennon was named the final Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week of the season for his heroics in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime win over Western Washington that moved SFU into second place in the conference standings. Glennon scored the game-winning penalty kick in the 99th minute and also assisted on the opening goal in the 68th minute.

Northwest Nazarene senior defender Lorenzo Valentini was named the Defensive Player of the Week for his role in anchoring the Nighthawks defense in a pair of shutout victories. The team allowed just four shots and one shot on goal in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Montana State Billings. The Nighthawks then held No. 22 Seattle Pacific to 11 shots and four on frame in a 2-0 upset. Valentini played all 180 minutes in the final weekend.

Western Washington junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and Montana State Billings senior right-side hitter Bayli Monck shared the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award. Gunterman averaged 3.55 kills, 4.45 digs and 0.55 blocks per set in three WWU victories that clinched the conference title. Her week was topped by a double-double of 13 kills and 21 digs in Monday’s four-set win over Alaska Anchorage and 17 kills and eight digs in Saturday’s win at Seattle Pacific.

Monck averaged 3.86 kills, 4.57 digs, 0.57 blocks and 0.43 aces per set in the final home weekend for the Yellowjackets. Her week was topped by a 21-kill, 16-dig performance that led MSUB to a four-set win over Simon Fraser on Saturday. Monck finished with six kills and 16 digs against Western Washington on Thursday to become the fifth player in MSUB history to accumulate 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Western Oregon freshman middle blocker Bella MacLellan was named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after she averaged two blocks per set in a weekend split. MacLellan finished with eight blocks and three digs in Thursday’s four-set win over Northwest Nazarene. She then compiled 10 blocks with four kills in Saturday’s five-set loss to Central Washington.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 12
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE
Quincy Glasper (Central Washington, QB, 6-3, Fr., Stockton, Calif. – Bear Creek): Glasper completed 18 of 25 passes for 289 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed eight times for 32 yards and two more touchdowns in Central Washington’s 70-0 rout of Simon Fraser to end the regular season. It was Glasper’s second straight game with five passing touchdowns, the first CWU player to accomplish the feat since 2017. Also Nominated: Gannon Winker (Western Oregon).

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE
Jaylin Parnell (Western Oregon, LB, 6-0, Jr., Medford, Ore. – South Medford): Parnell led the WOU defense in Saturday’s 55-16 over Lincoln (Calif.), finishing with six solo tackles, four tackles for loss for 13 yards and three sacks for 12 yards. Also Nominated: Jahleel Breland (Central Washington), Justice Kremler (Simon Fraser).

FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS
Aidan Pearce (Simon Fraser, WR, 6-1, Jr., North Vancouver, B.C. – Argyle): Pearce had five kickoff returns for Simon Fraser for 93 yards, averaging 18.6 yards per return in Saturday’s 70-0 loss at Central Washington. Also Nominated: Joey Sinclair (Western Oregon).

MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE
Connor Glennon (Simon Fraser, F, 5-10, Sr., Vernon, B.C. – WL Seaton): Glennon put home the overtime game-winning penalty kick goal in the 99th minute for a 2-1 win over Western Washington on Saturday. Glennon also assisted on SFU’s opening goal in the 68th minute as the win allowed Simon Fraser to finish second in the GNAC standings. Also Nominated: Lucas Juodkunaitis (Northwest Nazarene), Jason Fairhurst (Saint Martin’s), Drew Farnsworth (Western Washington).

MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE
Lorenzo Valentini (Northwest Nazarene, D, 6-7, Sr., Saarbrücken, Germany – Gymnasium am Rotenbühl): Valentini anchored the Northwest Nazarene defense in a pair of shutouts to end the season. Valentini and the Nighthawks allowed four total shots and one on goal to Montana State Billings in Thursday’s 2-0 win. The Nighthawks then held Seattle Pacific to 11 shots, four on frame, in Saturday’s 1-0 upset win. Valentini played all 180 minutes over the week. Also Nominated: Jose Marques (Saint Martin’s), Aidan Bain (Simon Fraser), Brandon Locke (Western Washington).

VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE
Bayli Monck (Montana State Billings, RS, 5-10, Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo. – Vista Ridge): Monck averaged 3.86 kills, 4.57 digs, 0.57 blocks and 0.43 aces per set as MSUB split in its final home matches of the season. Monck closed the week with a double-double of 21 kills and 16 digs with three blocks and two aces in Saturday’s four-set win over Simon Fraser. She opened with six kills, 16 digs, a block and an ace in Thursday’s three-set loss to Western Washington. In the process, Monck became the fifth player in MSUB history with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.

Gabby Gunterman (Western Washington, OH, 5-10, Jr., Lake Stevens, Wash. – Lake Stevens): Gunterman average 3.55 kills, 4.45 digs and 0.55 blocks per set in three matches as the Vikings clinched the GNAC championship. She opened the week with a double-double of 13 kills and 21 digs in Monday’s four-set win over Alaska Anchorage. After finishing with nine kills, 20 digs and four blocks in Thursday’s three-set sweep at Montana State Billings, Gunterman posted 17 kills and eight digs in Saturday’s four-set win at Seattle Pacific. Also Nominated: AveRee Reynolds (Alaska), Tia Andaya (Central Washington), Emily Gooding (Saint Martin’s), Julia Tays (Simon Fraser), Bailee Hartsook (Western Oregon).

VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE
Bella MacLellan (Western Oregon, MB, 6-0, Fr., Santa Ana, Calif. – Foothill): MacLellan averaged two blocks per set as the Wolves secured a split in their final home weekend of the season. MacLellan finished with eight blocks and three digs in Thursday’s four-set win over Northwest Nazarene. She then turned in 10 blocks with four kills in Saturday’s five-set loss to Central Washington. Also Nominated: Emily Moorhead (Alaska), Hannah Stires (Central Washington), Hannah Hayden (Montana State Billings), Maddy Gooding (Saint Martin’s), Bianca Te (Simon Fraser), Chloe Roetcisoender (Western Washington).

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Cameron Cranston (Western Oregon, G, 6-6, Jr., Vancouver, Wash. – Union): Cranston averaged 19.5 points and six rebounds as Western Oregon opened the season in the Bay Area. Cranston led all players with 25 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in Friday’s 82-78 overtime loss to Cal State San Bernardino. He then turned in 14 points and five rebounds with two steals and an assist in Saturday’s 82-60 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay. Also Nominated: Quin Barnard (Alaska), Carrington Wiggins (Montana State Billings), James Nelson (Northwest Nazarene), Brett Reed (Saint Martin’s), Jasdeep Singh (Simon Fraser), Daniel Hornbuckle (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Samantha Bowman (Central Washington, C, 6-3, Jr., Zillah, Wash. – Zillah): Bowman was huge in the Wildcats’ two season-opening road wins, averaging 22 points and 20 rebounds per game. Bowman opened the season with 23 points and 23 rebounds in Friday’s 67-66 win over Stanislaus State, making 11 of 14 from the field. She followed that performance up with 21 points and 17 rebounds on 8 of 11 from the field and 5 of 5 from three-point range to go with eight blocks in Saturday’s 68-55 win at Cal State East Bay. Of her 40 rebounds on the week, 15 were on the offensive glass. Bowman finished the week shooting 76 percent from the field (19-25) and 5 of 6 from three-point range. Also Nominated: Addison Gardner (Montana State Billings), Emily Nelson (Saint Martin’s), Jessica Wisotzki (Simon Fraser), Meadow Aragon (Western Oregon), Emma Duff (Western Washington).