Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Two weeks of women's basketball action are in the books with three of the conference's top teams remaining undefeated. No. 6 Alaska Anchorage, 13th-ranked Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington all enter the Thanksgiving holiday with perfect 4-0 records as competition begins to pick up in earnest.

The Seawolves were one of just two teams to pick up a first place vote in the D2SIDA poll, while Central Washington joined them and Northwest Nazarene as teams to receive Top-25 votes.

Ryan McCarthy's UAA team played its first home contests of the season last week, collecting blowout victories over Cal State East Bay and Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Nighthawks, meanwhile, hit the road, taking to Salt Lake City to beat Colorado Christian and Westminster.

16 contests and multiple Thanksgiving-centered tournaments are on tap this week as the majority of the league plays their final non-conference tune-ups prior to the start of GNAC play.  

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kelsey Rogers (Western Washington, F, 6-1, So., Bothell, Wash.)

Rogers led the Vikings with 50 points in two games, shooting 71.4 percent from the field and 10 of 10 from the free throw line as the Vikings split at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Seattle. Rogers led all scorers with 26 points on 12 of 16 from the field to go with four rebounds in Friday’s 79-72 loss to UC San Diego. She then finished with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 12 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line in Saturday’s 77-74 win over Azusa Pacific.

Also Nominated: Kian McNair (Alaska Anchorage), Kassidy Malcolm (Central Washington), Kizzah Maltezo (Concordia), Taylor Cunningham (Montana State Billings), Ellie Logan (Northwest Nazarene), Samantha Beauchamp (Simon Fraser), Ali Nelke (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• The Nanooks took to Anchorage over the weekend and split a pair of contests in the Seawolf Hoops Classic.

• On the back of a 20-point performance by guard Kylie Wallace, Alaska was able to stave off Cal State Dominguez Hills for a 65-61 victory in the tournament opener. The win was the team’s third straight to start the year, its best start since the 2014-15 campaign.

• It’s Wallace who leads the team in scoring after two weeks of play. The junior is averaging 18.3 points per game, with forward Marian Wamsley following at a 13.0 points per game clip.

• Alaska returns to Fairbanks for its first home games of the season. The Nanooks will face Gannon at 3 p.m. on Friday before putting a lid on the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Crossover against Tampa on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage continued its hot start to the season with a pair of 16-point victories last week. The two games marked its first home contests of the season.

• The Seawolves tipped off their week with a 66-50 blowout of Cal State East Bay, then followed that up the next day with a 69-53 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Senior Kian McNair was named the Most Outstanding Player of the two-game Seawolf Hoops Classic, totaling 22 points, nine assists and seven steals over the weekend.

• The Seawolves lead the GNAC and are first nationally in steals with 62 through four games. Junior Yazmeen Goo is ranked No. 13 in Division II in steals per game (4.0). The guard also tops UAA with 13.0 points per game.

• Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 6 in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll and is one of just two teams to receive a first-place vote. The Seawolves are also slotted at sixth in the WBCA Coaches Poll.

• The team will stay at home for Thanksgiving, hosting a pair of games on Friday and Saturday inside the Alaska Airlines Center. It will battle Florida Tech on Friday at 5 p.m. before hosting Hawaii Pacific one day later.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats remained perfect to start the season, hosting the Central Washington Tournament and picking up victories over St. Cloud State and Cal State San Bernardino.

• Forward Kassidy Malcolm led the way, averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game over the weekend. The sophomore’s 16 points in Saturday’s victory over the Coyotes led all scorers.

• Also shining in the second week of play for CWU was junior Taylor Shaw. The forward finished scoring in double figures in both games and is leading the team with 17.8 points per game.

• The Wildcats received four votes in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll.

• Central Washington will be back in Ellensburg this week, hosting Holy Names on Wednesday evening in its final tuneup before the start of conference play. The Hawks are winless in their last 10 games against GNAC opponents. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion. 

CONCORDIA
• Concordia split its pair of games in a trip to Ellensburg for the Central Washington Tournament.

• A 68-62 victory against Cal State San Bernardino got the week started on a good note. Senior Keesha Sarman led the way with 14 points while guard Kizzah Maltezo hit two big free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the deal on the six-point victory.

• Maltezo is the team-leader in points, averaging 13.5 per game through two weeks of play.  

• The Cavaliers will be in action for just a single game this week. Playing their fifth straight game away from home to start the season, the team will take to Arcata, Calif. to face Humboldt State on Tuesday night.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets took to the court twice last week, splitting their two-game trip to the Midwest.

• The victory came on Friday night at Chadron State where Montana State Billings jumped out to a 20-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The final was 67-59, running its record to a perfect 2-0 at the time.

• Four Yellowjackets finished in double figures, led by 15-point performances from junior forwards Taylor Cunningham and Janessa Williams. Williams came off the bench for her 15-point outburst, which was a career-high for the Clancy, Mont. product.

• Montana State Billings will return to action once this week, taking on Valley City State in the Yellowjacket Classic. That game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off on Friday afternoon.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene picked up a pair of wins last week in the Westminster College Tournament.

• The conference coaches’ preseason favorite, the Nighthawks continued their hot start to the season with an 80-75 victory over Colorado Christian on Friday. They then followed that up with a 15-point win at Westminster.

• Guard Ellie Logan shined for NNU, averaging 16.5 points and six rebounds per game. The senior was one of six Nighthawks who had at least one game scoring in double figures.

• The Nighthawks are ranked No. 13 in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, up from their preseason spot at No. 16. The team is slotted at 20th in the WBCA Coaches Poll.

• Northwest Nazarene will be in Southern California for the Thanksgiving holiday, starting on Friday evening at Azusa Pacific. It will then stay in the Canyon City for a date with Biola on Saturday at 4 p.m.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints dropped their first games of the season last week, coming in tight fashion down in Utah against Colorado Mesa and Dixie State.

• Saint Martin’s set an NCAA-era school record for points in a game in its 107-103 loss against the Trailblazers. The Saints took undefeated Dixie State to triple overtime but ultimately emerged on the short end of the four-point defeat. It was just the third triple-overtime game in GNAC women’s basketball history.

• Guard Makenna Schultz led the way for SMU against the Trailblazers, topping all scorers with 37 points. Forwards Saniah Simpson (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Megan Nilsson (13 points, 13 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for the Saints.

• Saint Martin’s is headed to Bellingham this weekend for the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic, taking on Minnesota-Crookston and Mary on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific dropped a pair of close contests in its second week of play at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.

• The Falcons hosted their home opener against Azusa Pacific on Friday, dropping a 67-58 decision to the Cougars. The team then returned to the floor one day later and fell to UC San Diego, 83-72.

• Guard Jaylee Albert paced SPU, averaging 19.5 points and three rebounds per game. It’s fellow guard Riley Evans who leads the team in points through two weeks, scoring at a clip of 14.3 per game.

• The Falcons are staying home for their only game of the week. They will welcome in Holy Names to Seattle on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan were in action just once last week, finishing their first road trip of the season with a victory at Point Loma. The win improved their record to 3-1, marking the third straight season in which the program has opened with a mark of 2-1.

• Three players finished in double figures in the victory. Simon Fraser was able to dig out of a one-point deficit at the end of the third quarter, ultimately leaving La Jolla with a 67-59 win.

• Senior Sophie Swant is at the top of the SFU scoring list after three games, averaging a clip of 16.3 per game. The forward led all scorers in Monday’s victory over the Sea Lions with 17 points.

• Simon Fraser heads up to Anchorage now for the UAA Thanksgiving Tournament. It will take on Hawaii Pacific on Friday afternoon before meeting Florida Tech to cap the tournament at 2:30 p.m. (AKT) on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon split its two contests in the second week of the season, falling to Dixie State before defeating Colorado Mesa at the Dixie State Tournament.

• The team jumped out to an early 16-point lead on Saturday and never looked back en route to its first victory of the season against the Mavericks.

• Freshman Tresai McCarver led the Wolves in their trip to St. George, averaging 12 points and 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench for Holli Howard-Carpenter’s team.

• Western Oregon is off this week in preparation for its first GNAC road trip of the season, coming on Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 against Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific up in Washington.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings split their two games last week in a very competitive trip to Seattle for the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.

• After a tight, 79-72 defeat against UC San Diego on Friday, Western Washington bounced back to edge Azusa Pacific by three points in overtime one day later.

• The overtime victory will be remembered for some time in Bellingham as guard Lexie Bland buried a corner three as time expired to knock off the Cougars. Bland peppered the stat sheet in the victory, scoring nine points to go along with four points and four assists.

• Sophomore Kelsey Rogers was named the GNAC Player of the Week after collecting 50 points in the two contests. She finished the tournament shooting a white-hot 71.4 percent from the field.  

• The Vikings will be back home this weekend, hosting Mary and Minnesota-Crookston in the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic.