Wednesday, February 7, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – A quartet of 4.00 players lead 48 total selections to the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team, presented by Barnes and Noble College.

Spanning four different programs, the four top academic players for the 2023-24 season head up a field that includes 25 repeat honorees and a pair of four-time selections. Northwest Nazarene senior guard Cami Knishka sits at the intersection of both those honors as a four-time academic all-GNAC honoree and the owner of a 4.00 grade point average while pursuing a master’s degree in education. On the court, Knishka has been a valuable defensive player for the Nighthawks, snagging 1.6 steals per game to lead the team.

Alaska junior guard Destiny Reimers and Western Washington junior guard Maddy Grandbois both return to the all-academic team with 4.00 honors for the second straight year with Reimers making her third appearance on the squad. Reimers owns a perfect GPA as a rural development major at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has been one of the top-scoring players for the Nanooks outside of the classroom with an average of 10.5 points per game.

Grandbois has earned her 4.00 GPA at Western Washington University as a major in law with a concentration in diversity and justice while facilitating the offense for the Vikings. On the season, Grandbois is averaging 2.1 assists per game and ranks 11th in the conference with a +1.6 assist to turnover ratio through 17 games for WWU.

Seattle Pacific junior guard Hunter Beirne represents the Falcons with a 4.00 GPA as a major in teaching. The Mukilteo, Wash., native is also making her third appearance on the team. Beirne has been a consistent scoring presence for SPU, ranking third for the Falcons with 8.4 points per game while also pulling in 3.6 rebounds per contest.

Western Oregon’s Cali McClave makes her fourth consecutive selection to the academic all-GNAC team with a 3.68 GPA while majoring in community health. The senior guard has been among the league’s leading scorers this season and sits fourth in the conference with 17 points per game just over halfway through the conference slate. McClave also ranks second with 2.4 steals per contest and is seventh in the GNAC with 3.1 assists per game.

Montana State Billings leads all programs with eight players earning academic all-conference honors followed by Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon with six honorees apiece. To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic Teams, nominees must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 or greater on a 4.00 scale, be on the team roster for the full season and must be in their second year at the nominating institution.

Academic All-GNAC – Women’s Basketball – 2024

Total Selections: 48 | Fourth year: 2 Third year: 10 | Second year: 13 | Newcomers: 23

*-2022-23 All-Academic Selection | #-2021-22 All-Academic Selection | !-2020-21 All-Academic Selection