Tuesday, January 31, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. - With just a month left in the season, the battles for the GNAC title and the six spots in the GNAC Championships hosted by Saint Martin’s are heating up.

One game separates Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage atop the GNAC standings. Both teams have won four regular season conference titles, tied for second most behind Seattle Pacific’s seven titles.

Alaska Anchorage is bidding for its third consecutive GNAC title to become the first GNAC team to win three in a row since SPU won its fourth consecutive GNAC title in 2010. With a win on Thursday, Alaska Anchorage will secure its spot in the GNAC Championships, and more importantly, keep its one-game lead over Western Washington.

The Vikings have won 11 games in a row since losing to UAA in Anchorage. They are looking for their first GNAC title since 2013 when they reached the national semifinals. The two teams will not meet again until the final weekend of the season on February 23. Western Washington can also clinch its berth into the GNAC Championships with a win on Thursday.

Simon Fraser isn’t far out of the picture with a two-game deficit to the Seawolves. The Clan, however, will play both Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage once more this season. Simon Fraser will also have a chance to secure its spot in the GNAC Championships this week with a pair of home wins against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.

The race for the other three spots in the GNAC Championships will take a little longer to determine, but Seattle Pacific, Alaska and Northwest Nazarene have the inside track.

Seattle Pacific started the year with an 11-game winning streak, but faltered against a tough GNAC schedule with five losses in seven games. The Falcons have since righted the ship with a pair of impressive road victories last week at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. The Falcons still have a long way to go to secure its playoff destiny, but a three-game lead over Concordia leaves Falcons in good position going into February.

Alaska has faced one of the toughest schedules of any team in the West Region, but still boasts a winning record at 10-9, following an impressive 66-42 against Montana State Billings last week. Tied for fifth in the GNAC standings, the Nanooks are looking for their first trip ever to the GNAC Championships behind the leadership of its senior duo of Kailee Skjold and Jordan Wilson. With a strong performance in February, Alaska could be making its case for a spot in the NCAA playoffs for the first time in program history.

Northwest Nazarene is tied with Alaska for fifth place with a 6-6 record in GNAC play. The Crusaders started the conference portion of their schedule with four consecutive wins, including a win over then-undefeated Seattle Pacific. The Crusaders are looking to reach the GNAC Championships for a second consecutive year under the leadership of first-year head coach Steve Steele.

Concordia is two games behind Alaska and Northwest Nazarene. The Cavaliers will play the Nanooks on Saturday as they make their bid for their first appearance in the GNAC Championships in their second year as a member of the conference.

GNAC TEAMS IN THE RANKINGS

Alaska Anchorage moved up to No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches Poll, while Simon Fraser got back into the top 25 at No. 24 followed by Western Washington at No. 25. It is the first ranking in the WBCA poll for Western Washington this year. The West Region is also represented in the top 25 by California Baptist from the PacWest at No. 7.

In the D2SIDA poll, Alaska Anchorage remained No. 2 with Ashland receiving all 15 first-place votes. Western Washington moved up to its highest ranking in 2016 at No. 13 and Simon Fraser moved up to No. 18, also its highest ranking this season.

In the D2SIDA West Region Rankings, Alaska Anchorage is the unanimous No. 1 for the sixth week in a row. California Baptist is the only team outside of the GNAC to crash the top four with Western Washington at No. 3 and Simon Fraser at No. 4. UC San Diego stayed put at No. 5 and Seattle Pacific dropped into a tie for sixth with Point Loma after previously having sole possession of the No. 6 slot. Hawaii Pacific, Chico State and Cal State East Bay rounded out the top 10.

The first set of NCAA Regional Rankings will come out in two weeks. Those rankings are used to help determine which eight teams will participate in the NCAA West Regional in March.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kiki Robertson
Alaska Anchorage
G • 5-7  • Sr. • Honolulu, Hawaii

Robertson helped the Seawolves extend their current win streak to 15 games with a pair of convincing wins against Alaska and Montana State Billings. In Tuesday’s 89-48 win over Alaska, Robertson tallied 12 points to go along with three rebounds, eight assists and two steals. The GNAC’s all-time leader in assists and steals then scored nine points to go along with four rebounds, five assists and five steals in Thursday’s 82-43 home victory over Montana State Billings. With that, Robertson moved into the top 10 in assists and steals in NCAA Division II this season.

Also Nominated: Lexi Tubbs (Northwest Nazarene), Rachel Albert (Western Washington)

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• Alaska bounced back from a tough loss to Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday to defeat Montana State Billings, 66-42, on Saturday.
• Kailee Skjold has a conference-best eight double-doubles this year, giving her 16 in her career. That is the most by a Nanook in the last decade. She is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game this year, which leads the GNAC.
• Jordan Wilson became the GNAC’s eighth all-time leading scorer last week with 1,628 career points. She needs just 17 more to equal Katie Benson from Seattle Pacific and 26 more to reach Amanda Dunbar from Western Washington.
• In the last 17 games, either Skjold or Wilson has recorded the game-high in rebounds or points.
• Saturday’s win over MSUB was Alaska’s largest margin of victory since the season opener against Academy of Art.
• Jaylee Mays has recorded 2.24 steals per game in her career, which ranks 14th in GNAC history. She had four steals last week against the two GNAC teams with the least turnovers per game.
• The Nanooks will host Western Oregon on Thursday and Concordia on Saturday. Alaska has a two-game lead on Concordia in the race for the six spots in the GNAC Championships.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• The Seawolves increased their GNAC-best winning streak to 15 games, beating Alaska and Montana State Billings by a combined margin of 80 points. The winning streak is tied for the eighth longest in conference history. The Seawolves’ longest streak since joining the GNAC is 22 wins in the 2008-09 season.
• Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 2 in both the WBCA Coaches Poll and the D2SIDA Media Poll. The Seawolves also remained the unanimous No. 1 in the D2SIDA West Region rankings.
• Alaska Anchorage has the nation’s leading defense, allowing just 51.3 points per game and 17 steals per game, which both lead Division II. The Seawolves also rank second in scoring margin, beating opponents by an average of 32.3 points per game.
• Autummn Williams is averaging 19.2 points per game, which ranks 21st in Division II. She also ranks 32nd in steals with 2.6 and 35th in field-goal percentage at 52.6 percent.
• Kiki Robertson was named GNAC Player of the Week after recording 13 assists and seven steals last week to move into the top 10 in the nation in both categories. Robertson also started her 116th career game on Thursday, which is now tied for second most starts in a career. She is 10 starts away from the all-time record with eight regular season games left on the schedule.
• The Seawolves play against Concordia on Thursday with a chance to clinch their fifth consecutive berth to the GNAC Championships. On Saturday, the Seawolves will host Western Oregon.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington earned a split last week with a 63-56 win at Saint Martin’s before falling to Seattle Pacific, 54-51. The Wildcats led SPU by as much as seven in the fourth quarter.
•Jasmin Edwards tallied nine assists last week to move into 16th in the GNAC’s all-time assists leaders list with 367.
• Taylor Baird registered 17 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to Seattle Pacific for her seventh double-double this season. It is also tied for sixth most rebounds in a single game in the GNAC this year.
• Seattle Pacific was the GNAC’s leader in rebounding margin, but Central Washington outrebounded the Falcons, 34-28.
• Sadie Mensing played a big role in the win over Saint Martin’s with a team-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block in the win.
• Central Washington will next travel to Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.

CONCORDIA
• The Cavaliers got swept at home by Simon Fraser, 88-68 on Thursday, and Western Washington, 64-55 on Saturday.
• Jordyn Peacocke has 46 blocks this year and Bailey Cartwright has 20, which rank first and third in the conference respectively. As a team, Concordia leads the GNAC in blocks with 4.8 per game.
• Concordia ranks fifth in the conference in steals with 9.1 per game. Daniele Hartzog leads the way with 46 steals this season, which also ranks fifth in the conference.
• Cartwright tallied 11 rebounds last week and averages seven rebounds per game this season, which ranks fourth in the GNAC.
• Concordia will travel to Alaska this week to face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets got swept in its trip to the 49th state last week, falling to Alaska Anchorage, 82-43 on Thursday, and to Alaska, 66-42 on Saturday.
• Tiana Hanson scored more than a third of the teams points against Alaska Anchorage and was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.
• The 42 points against Alaska tied the team’s season low for scoring in a game. Marrissa Van Atta scored a team-high 10 points and also had six rebounds and two assists.
• The Yellowjackets will play against Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Crusaders earned a split at home with a 68-63 loss to Seattle Pacific on Thursday before beating Saint Martin’s 86-77 on Saturday to keep their conference record at .500.
• The Crusaders rank second in the conference with scoring and 20th in Division II with 78.3 points per game. They also have a team field-goal percentage of 44.5, which ranks 25th in Division II this season.
• Kaitlyn Merritt remained the national leader in assist-turnover ratio at 3.76 after recording eight assists with three turnovers last week.
• Merritt spreaded the ball evenly in the win against Saint Martin’s with no player scoring more than 13 of the 86 total points in the game.
• Ellie Logan tallied 11 points, five assists and two steals in the win over the Saints.
• The Crusaders will travel to Simon Fraser on Thursday and then play at Western Washington on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints’ losing streak increased to five games after falling to Central Washington, 63-56, and Northwest Nazarene, 86-77.
• The Saints made 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc, which was the fourth-best single game 3-point percentage in the GNAC this season. Hannah Reynolds led that effort, going 3 for 4 from 3-point territory en route to a game-high 20 points.
• Elin Johansson tallied 18 points against Central Washington. She now ranks eighth in the GNAC in scoring with 13.8 points per game.
• The Saints will next play against Seattle Pacific on Tuesday before traveling to Montana State Billings for a Thursday game.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons started the second half of the conference season with a sweep at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington, coming back from fourth-quarter deficits in both games.
• The wins ended a four-game skid for the Falcons and gives them sole possession of fourth place in the GNAC again.
• Seattle Pacific held Northwest Nazarene 15 points below their scoring average and only gave up 51 points against Central Washington. On the season, SPU allows 56.3 points per game, which ranks 15th in Division II.
• Courtney Hollander returned to action after missing a game with injury. She turned in a double-double performance against Central Washington with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• Against Northwest Nazarene, Seattle Pacific got a measure of revenge from Jordan McPhee. The guard was held to just eight points in the first meeting, but she exploded for 20 points and eight rebounds in the win on Thursday.
• Seattle Pacific will travel to Saint Martin’s on Thursday and then play at Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser defeated Concordia 88-68 on Thursday and then beat Western Oregon, 60-49 on Saturday, improving the Clan’s winning streak to three games.
• The Clan reached its highest ranking this season in the D2SIDA Media Poll, coming in at No. 18. Simon Fraser is also back into the top 25 in the WBCA Coaches Poll at No. 24. In the D2SIDA West Region Rankings, Simon Fraser remained No. 4.
• With her 13 assists against Saint Martin’s last week, Ellen Kett became the all-time GNAC leader in 10-assist games with 11 in her career, including two this season.
• As a team, Simon Fraser ranks 18th in Division II in field goal percentage, making 45 percent of all shot attempts.
• Elisa Homer cracked the career top-20 list in the GNAC for 3-pointers made with 174, which is tied for 17th and leads all active players.
• Simon Fraser will host NNU on Thursday and CWU on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon got swept at home last week by Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.
• Shelby Snook scored 19 of the team’s 45 points in the loss to Western Washington, making 7 of 13 shots from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.
• Snook now leads the Wolves with 15.2 points per game this season, which ranks fifth in the GNAC.
• Jasmine Miller ranks 11th in the conference in field-goal percentage, making 75 of 152 shots from the field this season.
• The Wolves will travel to Alaska this week to play Alaska on Thursday and at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. The Wolves upset Alaska in the lone Friday game this season after the game was moved for weather concerns.
• The Wolves are tied for eighth place in the conference with Central Washington and Montana State Billings.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings boosted their winning streak to 11 games last week with wins over Western Oregon and Concordia. The Vikings used a 15-point third-quarter performance by Taylor Peacocke to get the come-from-behind victory against Concordia.
• Western Washington reached its highest ranking this season in the D2SIDA poll, coming in at No. 13. They also cracked the top 25 in the WBCA Coaches Poll for the first time this year. The Vikings are No. 3 in the D2SIDA West Region Rankings.
• After scoring 38 points last week, including 29 in the win against Concordia, Taylor Peacocke remained Division II’s leading scorer with 23.3 points per game. Peacocke became Western Washington’s all-time leading scorer in the GNAC era with 1,660 career points, surpassing Amanda Dunbar’s 1,654. She currently is fifth in GNAC history and needs 36 more points to equal Rose Shaw from Central Washington.
• Western Washington is beating its opponents by an average of 16.2 points per game, which ranks 16th in the nation this year and second in the GNAC. The Vikings are also making 80.6 percent of free-throw attempts, which ranks fourth in the nation.
• The Vikings will host Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.