Tuesday, December 13, 2016

PORTLAND -- What has been a dominant non-conference season for the GNAC will wrap up this week with most teams on the road. Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene will be in Las Vegas for the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, Western Oregon and Saint Martin's will be touring California and Alaska Anchorage will take a trip to the Hawaiian Islands.

Saturday will feature two important out-of-region contests. Western Washington, ranked No. 4 in the West Region, will take on Angelo State, which is the No. 1 team in the South Central Region and ranked No. 4 nationally in the D2SIDA poll. Simultaneously, Seattle Pacific will face the South Region No. 1, Nova Southeastern, who will then play Simon Fraser on Monday.

Last week, Seattle Pacific and Central Washington both defeated Cal State L.A. at home. Overall, GNAC teams are 27-4 when welcoming a California team to a GNAC campus, including a perfect 5-0 record for Seattle Pacific who has beaten California teams in both Seattle and Bellingham.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Autummn Williams
Alaska Anchorage
F • 5-10  • Sr. • Rochester, N.Y.

Williams earned her second straight Player of the Week selection after leading the Seawolves to a 73-57 GNAC road win over Alaska on Saturday with 26 points. She connected on 11 of 16 shots from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.

ALASKA
• The Nanooks lost the first battle between the two Alaska schools, falling 73-57 to the top-ranked team in the West Region.
• Alaska has lost its last four games and is 4-6 on the season after facing one of the toughest schedules in the West Region. The Nanooks’ opponents have a combined record of 57-27 this season.
• Kailee Skjold had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. It was her fourth double-double this year which is the most in the GNAC. She averages 14.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Jordan Wilson scored a team-high 23 points against the Seawolves. She has scored at least 20 points in seven of the 10 games and has 22.1 points per game, which ranks sixth in the nation.
• The Nanooks only took two free throws against UAA and missed them both, but Alaska continues to be one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the nation, making 85.1 percent which ranks third nationally.
• The Nanooks will not play again until after Christmas on Dec. 29 at MSUB.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• The Seawolves defeated Alaska, which entered the week receiving votes in the West Region rankings, 73-57.
• Autummn Williams scored a game-high 26 points in the victory to earn GNAC Player of the Week for the second week in a row. This year, she ranks in the top 10 in the GNAC in steals, assists and points. She is the only player in the GNAC with that distinction.
• Kiki Robertson is the GNAC leader in steals and assists. She had three of each against Alaska.
• Alysha Devine is the Seawolves leader in rebounds with 4.5 per game and ranks second on the team in scoring with 8.9 per game.
• The Seawolves lead NCAA Division II in steals with 17.8 per game. They also rank second in assists (22.3), turnover margin (13.13) and turnovers forced (28.75).
• The Seawolves are ranked No. 1 in the West Region in the D2SIDA poll. Nationally, UAA is ranked No. 7 by D2SIDA and No. 8 by WBCA.
• Alaska Anchorage registered 37 steals in the 99-32 win over Post, which broke the GNAC record for team steals in a single game, which was set at 34 by Northwest Nazarene in 2001.
• The Seawolves will travel to Hawaii for three games this week.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington defeated Cal State L.A. 82-71 on Monday. The Golden Eagles enterred the game receiving votes in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll West Region rankings.
• The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Wildcats.
• Kortney Grattic led the team in scoring with 20 points. The senior got the bulk of her points from the free-throw line, making 12 of 12. That is the most free throws made without a miss in a single game in the GNAC this season.
• JonNae Richardson had 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench. She was one of five players on the team that scored in double figures.
• Taylor Baird recorded six rebounds to become the GNAC leader in rebounds once again with 86. She also has a conference-best 8.6 rebounds per game.
• The Wildcats will next travel to Idaho to play the Vandals in an exhibition as the last game before conference play resumes on Dec. 29.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia lost in an exhibition against NCAA Division I opponent Boise State on Saturday, 71-40. Boise State was undefeated at the time of the game.
• Danielle Hartzog scored 21 points in both contests the previous week to go along with seven assists and seven steals. She is averaging 12.0 points per game, which ranks 12th in the conference.
• Keesha Sarman scored 26 points, draining three shots from beyond the arc in the win over Saint Martin’s. She also had three steals and eight rebounds. Her 2.3 steals per game ranks sixth in the GNAC this year and leads Concordia.
• Jordyn Peacock had three blocks in the two games and now has 25 blocks this year. Her 3.13 blocks per game rank seventh in NCAA Division II this year. That accounts for over half of the team’s blocks and Concordia leads the conference in blocks with 49.
• Bailey Cartwright ranks in the top 10 in the conference in both blocks and rebounds. She is averaging 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game this season. Her 5.9 rebounds per game are a team best.
• The Cavaliers will play in the Seattle Pacific Tournament this weekend as the last action before Christmas. Concordia will play South Region No. 1 Nova Southeastern and then face Concordia-Irvine.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Crusaders did not play last week, but will go to Las Vegas this weekend for a pair of games.
• In the 81-68 win over Central Washington, Kate Cryderman made 5 of 8 shots from the field, 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and all four from the charity stripe for a team-best 16 points.
•  Lexi Tubbs added 14 points and seven rebounds, also making all four free throws she took. It was Tubbs’ season-high for points.
• The Crusaders have made 49.1 percent of their field goals this season, which is the best in the GNAC and ranks third in NCAA Division II. Northwest Nazarene also averages 81.3 points per game, which ranks 16th nationally.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets lost to Great Falls in an exhibition for their only game last week. They will not play again until conference play resumes after Christmas.
• In the nine games played, Tiana Hanson has led the team in scoring seven times, including each of the last six games, and in rebounding five times. Hanson is averaging 16.4 points per game and 5.9 rebounds with nine blocks. She ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring and sixth in rebounding.
• Rylee Kane recorded 13 points and seven assists in the win against Central Washington. Kane has 55 assists this year, which ranks third in the conference and 16th in NCAA Division II.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s did not play this week, but will go to California this week to play California Baptist and Cal State San Marcos.
• Baylee Olsen is the new GNAC record holder for most consecutive 3-pointers made with 11 earlier in the year.
• Makenna Schultz scored her season-high in points with 17 against Concordia in just 16 minutes of play. She went 6 for 9 from the field and 4 for 5 from beyond the arc and brought down two rebounds and had a steal in limited time off the bench.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons continued their perfect start to the season with a 54-48 win over Cal State L.A.
• The run is the fourth-best start in program history. The team’s best start to a season was 30-0 in the 2003-04 campaign.
• Seattle Pacific still boasts the best scoring defense in NCAA Division II, allowing only 46.8 points per game. The Falcons also have 11.9 steals per game, which ranks 23rd in the nation. They also rank third in field-goal defense with opponents making just 31.3 percent of all shots.
• The Falcons are ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region rankings and received a first-place vote. They moved up to No. 8 nationally in the D2SIDA poll and No. 14 in the WBCA poll.
• The Falcons will host No. 11 Nova Southeastern in the SPU Classic this week.
SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not play last week after earning a split in Alaska the previous week.
• Four players scored in double figures against Alaska, including a season-high 16 points by Tia Tsang.
• Elisa Homer has not played in the last five games.
•  Ellen Kett leads the team in assists with 70 and in rebounds with 63. Only one other player in the GNAC leads their team in both of those statistical categories.
• Meg Wilson leads the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game and has a team-high 24 steals this season.
• Freshman Ozi Nwabuko made 7 of 10 field goals against Alaska and now has a GNAC-best 65.7 field-goal percentage this season.
• For the fifth week in a row, the Clan is ranked No. 5 in the West Region rankings in the D2SIDA poll and are receiving votes in the national poll.
• Simon Fraser will play once more before Christmas, hosting No. 11 Nova Southeastern on Dec. 19.

WESTERN OREGON
• The Wolves lost to Southern Oregon 50-72 in their only game last week.
• Western Oregon will play Humboldt State on Saturday, which is its last game before Christmas.
• Jasmine Miller had a second consecutive double-double against Southern Oregon with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Savannah Heugly got her first start of the year and scored a team-best 13 points to go along with four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
• Shelby Snook is WOU’s leading scorer with 16.1 points per game. She has made half of her 3-point field goal attempts, making 21 of 42.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings did not play this week after returning from their trip to Alaska.
• The Vikings scored 100 points against Alaska, becoming the first team this year to score triple digits. Six Vikings scored in double digits in the victory.
• Nikki Corbett came off the bench and was perfect from the field against Alaska, making all four shots taken.
• Hannah Stepanovich was the team’s leading scorer wtih 21 points, making 7 of 9 shots from the field and was a perfect 7 for 7 from the charity stripe. She has now made 41 of 43 free throws this year, which is the 10th-best free-throw percentage in the nation.
• As a team, Western Washington ranks seventh in the nation in free-throw percentage. Taylor Peacocke has taken the bulk of those free throws, making 54 of 62. Stipanovich is getting to the free-throw line at the fastest rate, taking a free throw nearly every three minutes of play.
• In the D2SIDA poll, Western Washington is ranked No. 23 in the nation and No. 4 in the West Region.
• Western Washington will resume play in Las Vegas for the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. The Vikings will play against No. 4 Angelo State on Saturday.