Tuesday, January 8, 2019

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alexis Pana
Central Washington
G • 5-9 • Jr. • Hilo, Hawaii

Pana finished with 33 points, 14 assists, 12 rebounds and four steals as she led the Wildcats to a pair of road victories to re-open conference play. She finished with a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists to go with five rebounds and three steals in Thursday’s 78-65 win over Western Oregon. Pana then totaled 16 points in Saturday’s 66-58 win at Concordia. She also had five rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.

Also Nominated: Safiyyah Yasin (Alaska Anchorage), Abby Zhang (Concodia), Taryn Shelley (Montana State Billings), Avery Albrecht (Northwest Nazarene), Makenna Schultz (Saint Martin’s), Samantha Beauchamp (Simon Fraser), Natalie DeLonge (Western Oregon), Kelsey Rogers (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• The Nanooks were in action twice last week, competing well but dropping their contests against Western Washington and Simon Fraser.

• The team’s best performance came in a 59-57 defeat to the Vikings on Thursday. Playing in its first game in over a month, Alaska outscored the visitors by 16 in the second half but ultimately fell just short of a victory.

• Senior Marian Wamsley leads the team in scoring after the first two months of play. The forward is averaging 13.9 points per game, with junior guards Kylie Wallace and Sabrina Ungaro following at 11.5 points per game.

• The Nanooks will return to the floor for a pair of games this week. They will travel south to face rival Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday night, then cap the week hosting Montana State Billings on Saturday at 3 p.m.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage emerged from its re-opening of conference play unscathed. The team topped Simon Fraser 70-55 on Thursday night before blowing out Western Washington two days later.

• The 68-50 victory over the Vikings was made possible by forward Hannah Wandersee, who scored a game-high 17 points while tallying seven rebounds and four blocks. The senior was one of three Seawolves to finish the day scoring in double figures.

• Guard Yazmeen Goo is the team’s leader in scoring, averaging 13 points per game. She is also making a difference on the defensive end, notching four steals per game.

• The Seawolves lead the GNAC and are sixth nationally with 13.4 steals per game. Senior Kian McNair leads the conference with 3.25 steals per game.

• Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 14 in the latest WBCA Division II Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the D2SIDA Poll.

• The team will round out its four-game homestand this week, hosting Alaska on Tuesday night and Montana State Billings two days later. Both games are set to tip-off at 7 p.m. inside the Alaska Airlines Center.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats returned to their winning ways last week, going on the road and sweeping both Western Oregon (78-65) and Concordia (66-58).

• Guard Alexis Pana shined in the road trip, averaging 16.5 points and 7 assists per game. Her exploits earned her the title of GNAC Player of the Week, the team’s first such award of the season. Pana leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game.

• The team is shooting at one of the hottest clips in the country, making 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts thus far. That has Central Washington ranked first in the GNAC and fifth nationally.  

• The Wildcats three losses on the 2018-19 campaign have come to teams with a combined record of 28-9.

• They will be in action twice this week, hosting Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia dropped its first two games of January, falling to No. 3 Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and 8-3 Central Washington to cap the week.  

• Freshman Abby Zhang shined for the Cavaliers, leading the team with 13 points per game throughout the mini homestand.

• Guard Olivia Vazaldenos leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game through nine weeks of play. On the glass, senior Keesha Sarman tops CU with 7.3 rebounds per game.

• The Cavaliers are back in action twice this week, returning to the road to face Western Washington and Simon Fraser. Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets opened their calendar year with a road sweep of Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific.

• The highlight of the week came in a 72-64 victory against the then-first place Falcons. Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Taryn Shelley led Montana State Billings, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds. Shelley was one of three Yellowjackets to finish the afternoon scoring in double figures.

• A commitment to excellency on the offensive end of the floor has keyed MSUB thus far on the 2018-19 campaign. The team leads the GNAC and is ranked fourth nationally in fewest turnovers with just 126 through 10 games.

• Montana State Billings is back in action this week, playing at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday night before facing Alaska in Fairbanks two days later.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Nighthawks are the only unbeaten team remaining throughout the GNAC. Their latest victories came on the road, blowing out Concordia and Western Oregon to tip-off the month of January.

• Guard Avery Albrecht shined for NNU, leading her team with 21 points against the Cavaliers and 19 two days later in Monmouth against the Wolves. She is the team-leader in scoring at 13.3 points per game.

• The Nighthawks are now No. 3 in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll and 4th in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll. They are one of just four teams receiving first-place votes in the D2SIDA Poll.

• Northwest Nazarene will return home this week, putting its undefeated record to the test against Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s. Both games are set for 5:15 p.m. starts inside the Johnson Sports Center.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s came close but ended up on the wrong end of two tight, close contests to re-open conference play last week.

• The team’s best performance of the week came in a 68-64 defeat against rival Seattle Pacific on New Year’s Day in Lacey.

• Guard Makenna Schultz led SMU in the victory, compiling 20 points while logging 36 minutes. She was one of four Saints to finish scoring in double figures.  

• Sophomore Saniah Simpson-Patu has led Saint Martin’s this season, averaging 16.4 points per game as the month of January rolls on. Simpson-Patu leads the GNAC in scoring average.

• Saint Martin’s will be in action twice this week, taking to the road to face No, 3 Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Each contest will tip-off at 5:15 p.m.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific was in action twice last week, topping Saint Martin’s for a 68-64 win on the road before falling 72-64 at Montana State Billings. The split kept the Falcons in a tie for second near the top of the GNAC standings.

• The Falcons were led by a pair of explosive days from senior Cici West, who finished the week averaging 16 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

• Senior Riley Evans leads the team in scoring through nine weeks of play at a clip of 14.8 points per game.

• Seattle Pacific will be in action twice this week, staying on the road to face Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan took to the floor twice in the first week of January, traveling north for the team’s Alaska road trip. The journey resulted in a split of the pair, falling to Alaska Anchorage before handling Alaska in a 59-46 victory.

• Senior Sophie Swant led the team on the trip, averaging 10.5 points and five rebounds throughout the two games. She was the only scorer to finish in double figures in the 13-point win against the Nanooks.  

• Swant is at the top of the SFU scoring list after 11 games, averaging a clip of 13.9 points per game. Sophomore Jessica Jones is following closely behind at 13.7 per game.

• The team returns to the floor twice this week, hosting Western Oregon and Concordia in Burnaby.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon was in action twice last week, falling to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene to re-open conference play. The losses snapped a two-game winning streak for the Wolves.

• The play of forward Natalie DeLonge (14 points, 6.5 rebounds per game) was one of the bright spots for WOU over the two games.

• DeLonge leads Western Oregon with an average of 12.2 points per game. Sophomore Keyonna Jones is next on the team, scoring at a clip of 10.9 points per game.

• The Wolves hit the road now, taking on Simon Fraser on Thursday before coming back to the States to face Western Washington two nights later.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings emerged from their Alaska road trip with a two-game split last week.  

• The highlight came in Thursday’s 59-57 win at Alaska, where sophomore Kelsey Rogers led all scorers with 22 points.

• Rogers leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game after nine weeks of action. Two other Vikings, Dani Iwami (12.1 points per game) and Anna Schwecke (11.8), are scoring in double figures as the third month of the season continues.  

• The Vikings will return to the Lower 48 this week, starting with a date with Concordia on Thursday night. The week will then conclude against Western Oregon on Saturday at 7 p.m.