Friday, October 18, 2013

   2013-14 Preseason All-Conference Team

PORTLAND, Ore. – In addition to being selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2013-14 GNAC championship, Montana State Billings placed three players on the preseason all-conference team, the most of any GNAC school.

Topping the list of returning stars is Bobbi Knudsen, who has been voted preseason GNAC Player of the Year. The senior guard averaged 17.8 points per game last season, the second-highest total in the conference. 

Joining Knudsen on the preseason team is fellow unanimous selection Janiel Olson, who led the Yellowjackets in rebounds a season ago with nine per contest. Kayleen Goggins also appears on the 2013-14 preseason all-conference squad, as she averaged 11.6 points for MSU Billings last year.

Megan Hingston of Northwest Nazarene finished just behind Knudsen in the voting for 2013-14 preseason Player of the Year. The senior guard led the GNAC in scoring a season ago, averaging 18.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. 

Chelsie Luke also represents NNU on the preseason team, as she averaged in the double-digits in scoring with 14.7 points per game as a junior last season.

Simon Fraser’s top returner, Erin Chambers, is another unanimous selection to the 2013-14 preseason team, after averaging 13.5 points per contest and earning second-team All-GNAC honors as a sophomore. 

Representing Seattle Pacific on the 2013-14 preseason team are unanimous picks Katie Benson and Aubree Callen. Benson averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest in 2012-13, and was a first team All-GNAC selection as a junior. Callen ranked sixth in the conference in total assists last season with 106, while averaging 12.8 points per game in her junior campaign.

Chelsea Haskey earned unanimous selection to this year’s preseason team, after averaging 14 points and 6.3 rebounds last season for Saint Martin’s.  Haskey earned second team All-GNAC honors in 2012-13 as she averaged 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, both top-10 marks amongst GNAC competition.

Sydney Donaldson and Sarah Hill are the representatives for Western Washington on the preseason team. Donaldson shot better than .500 from the field and averaged 4.3 rebounds per contest last season, while Hill averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 25 starts.

For Central Washington, Jasmine Parker is a unanimous selection to the preseason team after leading the Wildcats in rebounds with 6.7 per game as a freshman last season. Also representing CWU is Jessica VanDyke, the Wildcats’ leading scorer as she averaged 12.7 points, while her 2.5 three-pointers per game was the second-highest average in the GNAC.

Kylie Burns of Alaska Anchorage landed a spot in the preseason rankings, returning as the Seawolves’ top scorer from a season ago. In 2012-13 Burns averaged 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds as a junior.

Melissa Fowler, one of Western Oregon’s two seniors, received the nod to the preseason team, the lone Wolf to receive the honor. Fowler averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds during her junior campaign in 2012-13.

Ten of the 15 players selected to the 2013-14 preseason all-conference team were unanimous picks, six being players returning from the 2012-13 top-10 conference scoring leaders. MSUB, SPU, CWU, WWU, and NNU each had multiple selections to the preseason team, which is composed of 10 seniors, four juniors and one sophomore.