Saturday, March 2, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Clinching its ninth conference tournament appearance in the event’s nine-year history, Alaska Anchorage enters as the No. 1 seed in the 2019 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships that begin Thursday at Western Washington University’s Carver Gymnasium.

The top-seeded Seawolves enter the postseason as the hottest team in the conference after winning their fifth consecutive regular-season title. Winners of 20 straight games, UAA topped fifth-ranked Northwest Nazarene for a 64-55 victory on Thursday to help clinch the league championship.

The Nighthawks will make their sixth postseason appearance and are back in the GNAC Championships one year after winning a share of the regular-season title. Both Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene will receive first-round byes by virtue of entering the tournament as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively.

Simon Fraser is the No. 3 seed with a 13-7 GNAC record. The Clan have qualified for the postseason event in each of their nine years in the conference. They have already proven to be a dangerous and worthy opponent this season, knocking off NNU when it was ranked No. 1 in the nation back in January.

Simon Fraser will take on No. 6 seed and host Western Washington in Thursday’s second quarterfinal game at 2:15 p.m. The Vikings enter the tournament with plenty of momentum after having won back-to-back games in the final week of the regular season.

Central Washington is the No. 4 seed after clinching its trip to Bellingham in the penultimate week of the regular season. The Wildcats will take on No. 5 Concordia, which is making its first-ever GNAC Championships appearance after joining the league in 2015. That contest will tip-off the event at 12 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.

The semifinals will be played on Friday with Alaska Anchorage taking on the winner of Central Washington and Concordia at Noon. Northwest Nazarene will then take on the winner of Simon Fraser and Western Washington at 2:15 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 5:20 p.m. on Saturday with the winner receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Championships. The tournament is being held in conjunction with the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships and tickets can be purchased at gnachooptickets.com.

GNAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Carver Gymnasium, Bellingham, Wash.

Thurs., Mar. 7
No. 4 Central Washington vs. No. 5 Concordia, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Simon Fraser vs. No. 6 Western Washington, 2:15 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 8
Winner of 4/5 Game vs. No. 1 Alaska Anchorage, 12 p.m.
Winner of 3/6 Game vs. No. 2 Northwest Nazarene, 2:15 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 9
Championship Game, 5:20 p.m.