Tuesday, December 17, 2019

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samantha Bowman
Central Washington
C • 6-2 • So. • Zillah, Wash.

Bowman came up with a big double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds in the Wildcats’ 75-52 win over Cal State LA on Saturday. She connected on 6 of 10 from the field, 2 of 3 from three-point range and 3 of 3 from the free throw line to go with three blocks and an assist.

Also Nominated: Hannah Collins (Montana State Billings), Erin Jenkins (Northwest Nazarene), Tierney DeDonatis (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska did not play last week. The Nanooks went 1-1 at home in their opening games of conference play, topping Western Oregon, 81-76, in overtime on Dec. 5 before losing a tough game to Concordia, 70-67, on Dec. 7.

• Jocelyn Gandara averaged 30.5 points per game. She shot 50 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from beyond the arc. Gandara scored 27 points against the Wolves then followed with a GNAC season-high 34 points on 10 of 22 from the field against the Cavaliers.

• Sam Tolliver scored 18 points against the Wolves to go with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. She ranks 24th in Division II with 150 field goal attempts.

• The Nanooks rank 24th in Division II with 156 free throws made and 12th with 245 free throw attempts.

• Alaska will return to action after the new year as the Nanooks continue conference play at Saint Martin’s on Jan. 2.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage did not play last week. The Seawolves won both of their conference openers as they topped Concordia, 79-52, on Dec. 5 before completing a 73-41 rout of Western Oregon on Dec. 7.

• Rachel Ingram shined in just 12 minutes off the bench against the Cavaliers, scoring 21 points on 7 of 10 from the field. All 21 of Ingram’s points came from outside.

• Safiyyah Yasin led the Seawolves against the Wolves with 21 points, connecting on 7 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range. She also had three steals, two assists and a rebound in the win.

• Yazmeen Goo scored in double digits in both games. She opened the week with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists against the Cavs then recorded 16 points and four assists against the Wolves, connecting on 5 of 7 from the field.

• The Seawolves moved up two spots to No. 13 in the latest D2SIDA national poll and remain ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region poll.

• The Seawolves are 9-1 overall and will head to Honolulu to face Menlo on Wednesday and Northwest Missouri State on Thursday before wrapping up non-conference play at Hawaii Hilo on Sunday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington picked up the win in its only game of the week with a 75-52 victory over Cal State LA at home on Saturday.

• Three Wildcats scored in double digits. Taylor Shaw scored a game-high 24 points, connecting on 10 of 14 from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from three-point range while also pulling down five rebounds.

• Brianna Phiakhamngon also scored in double digits with 11 points to go with three rebounds and an assist against the Golden Eagles.

• Samantha Bowman was named the GNAC Player of the Week after she registered her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 17 rebounds to go with three blocks and an assist. Bowman made 6 of 10 from the field, 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line.

• Central Washington improved to 6-3 overall and is ranked tied for No. 8 in the latest D2SIDA West Region poll. Up next, the Wildcats will stay home to host Academy of Art on Tuesday before returning to conference play to host Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia did not play last week. The Cavaliers split their conference openers, losing 79-52 to Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 5 before edging out Alaska, 70-67, on Dec. 7 in Fairbanks.

• Riley Friauf registered a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Seawolves to go with three assists and two blocks. Friauf then scored 15 points and added seven rebounds against the Nanooks as she connected on 7 of 12 from the field.

• Abby Zhang was productive in 23 minutes off the bench as she put up 12 points against the Seawolves, making 4 of 10 from the field. All four of her made field goals were three-pointers.

• Olivia Vezaldenos led the Cavs against the Nanooks with 19 points while adding four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. She made 5 of 8 from three-point range and 4 of 6 from the free throw line. Vezaldenos leads the conference and ranks 18th in Division II with 30 three-pointers made.

• Concordia is now 2-8 overall and 1-1 in GNAC play. Up next, the Cavs will return to conference play at home as they host Simon Fraser on Jan. 2.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings won both of its games at home last week, scoring a 69-65 win over Rocky Mountain on Thursday and an 81-44 rout of Dickinson State on Sunday to close out non-conference play.

• Hannah Collins was the only Yellowjacket to score in double digits in both games. She opened the week with 19 points on 7 of 14 from the field and 2 of 5 from outside to go with six rebounds, two assists and a steal against Rocky Mountain. She followed that with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal against Dickinson State.

• Taylor Cunningham finished just short of a double-double against Rocky Mountain with 19 points and nine rebounds to go with two assists, a steal and a block. She also scored eight points to go with four rebounds and two assists against Dickinson State.

• Taryn Shelley registered her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds against Dickinson State, connecting on 7 of 11 from the field.

• Montana State Billings improved to 6-5 overall with the wins. The Yellowjackets will play an exhibition game at Montana on Friday then will return to conference play against Central Washington at home on Jan. 2.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene dismantled College of Idaho, 100-72, to win its only game of the week on Saturday.

• Northwest Nazarene forced 31 turnovers for 32 points in the 28-point victory. The Nighthawks bench also scored 40 points against the Yotes.

• Erin Jenkins scored 17 points on 7 of 10 from the field and 1 of 2 from three-point range to go with four steals, two assists and two rebounds. Avery Albrecht also contributed with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Albrecht connected on 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.

• Marina Valles scored 16 points, connecting on 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line, to go with six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Valles ranks fourth in Division II with 4.3 steals per game.

• The Nighthawks lead Division II with 169 steals while ranking second with 16.9 steals per game and sixth with 25.50 turnovers forced per game.

• The Nighthawks improved to 7-3 overall and are tied for No. 10 with Western Washington in the latest D2SIDA West Region Rankings. The Nighthawks will head into the holiday break after they host Central Washington in conference action on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s topped Northwest Christian, 83-50, at home on Saturday in its only game of the week.

• The Saints got off to a hot start as they shot 66.7 percent from both the field and three-point range in the first half to break away with an early lead.

• Four Saints scored in double digits, led by Tierney DeDonatis’ 26 points. DeDonatis shot 9 of 12 from the field, 6 of 7 from three-point range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line while adding five assists, two rebounds and two steals.

• Bria Thames also went off for a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds to go with four assists and four steals. She connected on 8 of 14 from the field.

• Janealle Sutterlict tallied 10 points, six assists and five rebounds while Mallory Vivola recorded 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.

• Saint Martin’s is now 4-4 overall on the season. Up next, the Saints will finish non-conference play as they host Vancouver Island on Wednesday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons picked up their first win of the season with an 80-67 victory over Cal State LA on Monday.

• Hailee Bennett finished just shy of a double-double with 29 points and nine rebounds. She made 7 of 13 from the field, 4 of 7 from outside and 11 of 12 from the free throw line.

• Ashlynn Burgess picked up her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with an assist and a steal. Burgess connected on 7 of 10 from the field. She ranks 15th in the GNAC with 12.1 points per game and 13th with six rebounds per game while also ranking fourth with a .547 field goal percentage.

• Ashley Alter also scored in double digits against the Golden Eagles with 12 points, two rebounds and two steals, shooting 4 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line.

• The Falcons are now 1-8 overall on the season. Up next, the Falcons will close out non-conference play as they host Academy of Art on Thursday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not play last week. The Clan opened GNAC play with an exciting 64-60 win at home over Western Washington on Dec. 3 then lost a tough 73-70 game to Montana State Billings on Dec. 5.

• The Clan outscored the Vikings 15-10 in the fourth quarter to preserve the win. Georgia Swant headlined the victory as she scored 20 points and added two assists and a steal. Swant was perfect in the game as she connected on 8 of 8 from the field and 3 of 3 from outside and made her only free throw attempt.

• Jessica Jones was two rebounds shy of a double-double with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists against the Vikings. Jones also recorded 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in the loss to the Yellowjackets.

• Simon Fraser is 6-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Clan will return to GNAC play after the holidays as it travels to play at Concordia on Jan. 2.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon was down 34-20 at halftime but outscored Corban, 39-22, in the second half to preserve the 59-56 come-from-behind victory at home on Monday.

• The Wolves scored 21 points off of 20 forced turnovers and scored 28 points in the paint in the come-from-behind win over the Warriors.

• Keyonna Jones led the Wolves with 16 points on 8 of 11 from the field. She also had four assists, three rebounds and three blocks in the game. Jones ranks 10th in the conference with a .774 free throw percentage.

• Shariah Green scored 14 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. She connected on 6 of 18 from the field and 1 of 3 from outside. Green scored the game-winning bucket with 3.9 seconds remaining.

• Amber Winkler ranks second in the conference with 1.88 blocked shots per game.

• Western Oregon will play an exhibition game at Boise State on Wednesday then will return to conference play at home as they host Western Washington on Jan. 2.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington did not play last week. The Vikings lost a tough GNAC opener, 64-60, at Simon Fraser on Dec. 3 then bounced back to top Montana State Billings, 81-61, on Dec. 5.

• Emma Duff emerged for the Vikings with a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds against the Clan, making 7 of 16 from the field. She then scored 24 points and added eight rebounds and a steal in the win over the Yellowjackets.

• Anna Schwecke averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last week while shooting 62.5 percent from the field. She scored 17 points against the Clan then followed with 21 points against the Yellowjackets. Schwecke made 8 of 13 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free throw line while adding nine rebounds, an assist and a steal against MSUB.

• Western Washington is ranked tied for No. 10 in the latest D2SIDA West Region rankings. The Vikings will face Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Thursday and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Saturday in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.