Thursday, November 17, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Samantha Bowman
Central Washington
C • 6-3 • Sr. • Zillah, Wash.

Bowman received the first Player of the Week Award of the season after she averaged 18.5 points and 15 rebounds per game over two wins at the Northwest Nazarene Classic. She opened the season with a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds to go along with three assists, two steals and a block in Friday’s 84-63 win over Cal St. East Bay. She followed it up with another double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday’s 86-62 win over Stanislaus State. She also added four assists and two blocks against the Warriors.

Also Nominated: Kate Robertson (Alaska Anchorage), Cariann Kunkel (Montana State Billings), Cali McClave (Western Oregon), Jessica Wisotzki (Simon Fraser)

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• Alaska has yet to play a game this season and will open its regular season schedule on Wednesday when it faces UC Colorado Springs on the road.

• The Nanooks were picked to finish 10th in the GNAC Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

• First-year head coach Amy Donovan will look toward top returning scorers Pearle Green and Destiny Reimers to lead the team up the standings. Green paced the Nanooks last year, averaging 14.8 points per game while Reimers put up 11.4 points along with 5.8 rebounds per game.

• Alaska will face UC Colorado Springs on Wednesday before continuing its Colorado road trip at the Al Kaly Classic where the Nanooks will face CSU Pueblo on Friday and Colorado Christian on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage opened its season by going 3-0 to start the regular season. The Seawolves got an early start with an 86-58 win over La Sierra on Nov. 6 before heading to Honolulu where they secured a 79-70 win over Hawaii Pacific on Sunday and a 77-60 win over Chaminade on Monday.

• Senior guard Vishe’ Rabb has led the charge for the Seawolves through their first three games averaging 18.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48% from the field. Rabb was the top scorer for UAA with 21 points against La Sierra and 18 points against Chaminade. She was also tied for the team lead on Sunday while facing HPU with 17 points.

• Senior guard Jahanna Hajdukovich joined Rabb in leading UAA in scoring in Sunday’s win over Hawaii Pacific. Hajudukovich put up 17 points to go along with seven rebounds against the Sharks. She ranks second on the team, averaging 10.3 points per game. Hajudkovich’s 2.3 three-point buckets per game paces a Seawolves offense that ranks second in the conference and 21st in Division II with an average of 9.7 three-pointers per game.

• The Seawolves are ranked No. 14 in the D2SIDA Media Poll after the first week and also ranks No. 2 in the west region behind Western Washington.

• Alaska Anchorage will face will host the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout this week and will face UC Riverside on Friday before taking on either La Salle or Pepperdine on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington opened its season at the Northwest Nazarene Classic in Nampa, Idaho and took an 84-63 win over Cal St. East Bay on Friday before defeating Stanislaus State 86-62 on Saturday.

• The Wildcats were led by last season’s GNAC Tournament MVP Samantha Bowman who averaged 18.5 points, 15 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game across the weekend. She started the week with a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds on Friday against the Pioneers to go along with three assists and two blocks while shooting 66.7% from the field. Bowman followed that up with her second double-double of the season on Saturday with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Her performances earned her the first GNAC Player of the Week Award of the season.

• Freshman shooting guard Asher Cai is pacing CWU in scoring and ranks second in the conference with an average of 20 points per game. Cai’s eight three-pointers lead the GNAC and ranks 18th in Division II and her four three-pointers per game ranks 12th in the division while also leading the conference.

• The Wildcats lead the GNAC and rank  20th in Division II with a scoring margin of 22.5. They also lead the conference in scoring offense, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, rebounding offense, defensive rebounds and three-pointers made after the first weekend of the regular season.

• Central Washington will face MSU Denver on Friday in Salt Lake City before taking on Westminster (Utah) on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings started the season by sweeping its run of three games in Hawaii. The Yellowjackets took a pair of victories in the Malika Sports Challenge with a 73-64 win over Hawaii Pacific on Friday and an 85-43 victory over Chaminade on Saturday. They followed that up with a 72-61 win over Hawaii Hilo on Sunday to round out the road trip.

• The Yellowjackets were led by senior forward Cariann Kunkel who averaged 15.3 points and five rebounds per game. Kunkel chipped in for 18 points in Friday’s win over Hawaii Pacific, followed by a 10-point performance on Saturday and her second 18-point game of the week on Saturday.

• The Yellowjackets are ranked No.7 in the west region after their 3-0 start to the season and hold the third-best scoring margin in the conference.

• Montana State Billings will return home to face Minot State on Saturday before taking on Black Hills State on Tuesday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Nighthawks opened their season by going 1-1 at their own Northwest Nazarene Classic. The NNU women took a 63-55 win over Stanislaus State on Friday before dropping its game against Cal St. East Bay 73-66 on Saturday.

• Northwest Nazarene sophomore guard McKenna Castledine averaged 13 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while going a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line. Castledine put up 16 points to go with three steals and two rebounds on Friday. She followed it up by chipping in for 10 points in Saturday’s loss.

• Senior guard Jordan Pinson also averaged 13 points per game over the weekend, putting up 11 in the win over Stanislaus State on Friday and 15 more on Saturday to go along with seven steals.

• The Nighthawks lead the conference and rank seventh in Division II with an average of 17.5 steals per game.

• Northwest Nazarene will hit the road this week to Salt Lake City, Utah where they will face host Westminster and MSU Denver in the Westminster Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s split its opening week while hosting the SMU Classic with a 63-39 win over Capilano on Saturday before taking a 57-45 loss to Cal Poly Humboldt on Sunday.

• Sophomore forward Rian Clear led the way for the Saints, averaging 12.5 points and six rebounds per game while shooting 50% from three-point range. She put up eight points with three rebounds in the win over Capilano before recording 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals in Saturday’s loss to Cal Poly Humboldt. She ranks 13th in the GNAC in scoring and is tied for 10th in the conference in rebounding.

• Junior guard Anjel Galbraith averaged 9.5 points, three assists and three steals per game while logging a team-leading 30 minutes through the opening weekend. Galbraith’s six steals rank third in the GNAC.

• The Saints’ .330 field goal defense ranks first out of teams that have played in the GNAC and 17th in Division II. Saint Martin’s also holds the second most defensive rebounds in the conference with 63.

• Saint Martin’s will head to Chico this week for the CCAA/GNAC Challenge and will face Sonoma State on Friday before taking on host Chico State on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific has yet to start its regular season after going 1-1 in a pair of exhibition games against University of Idaho and Pacific Lutheran.

• The Falcons come into the season predicted to finish seventh in the conference with starting positions up for grabs with only two starters returning.

• Senior forward Natalie Hoff is SPU’s leading returning scorer. She averaged 11 points per game last season while shooting 43.9% from the field and led the Falcons with 18 blocks.

• Seattle Pacific will get the regular season started at the West Region Crossover Classic in Bellingham. The Falcons will play Cal St. San Marcos on Friday before facing Azusa Pacific on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser started its regular season by sweeping its games at the PacWest/GNAC Challenge in Honolulu with a 78-46 win over host Chaminade on Friday and an 87-76 victory against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday.

• Junior guard/forward Jessica Wisotzki was a huge contributor for the Red Leafs, averaging 21.5 points, five rebounds and four assists per game while shooting a perfect 5-5  from three-point range and earning 13 trips to the charity stripe. She ranks second in the conference in scoring and fifth in the GNAC with a .591 field goal percentage.

• Sophomore forward Gemma Cutler was another standout for Simon Fraser on its Hawaii road trip, leading the team on Friday with a double-double of  22 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four blocks and a steal.

• The Red Leafs hold a +21.5 scoring margin that ranks second in the GNAC and 22md in Division II. They also hold the second-ranked rebounding margin in the conference at +17.5 which ranks fifth in the division.

• Simon Fraser will have the week off from NCAA competition this week, hosting its Alumni Game on Saturday before traveling to the Northwest Nazarene Thanksgiving Classic next week.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon took a pair of victories at the SMU Classic to open the season with a 75-69 win over Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday and an 86-51 decision over Capilano on Sunday.

• Junior guard Cali McClave led the way for the Wolves, averaging 18.5 points and four assists per game. She opened the week with 15 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist in the win over Cal Poly Humboldt. McClave followed that up with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals on Sunday against Capilano.

• The Wolves hold the No. 1 rebounding margin in the GNAC at +18.5 which ranks fourth in Division II. They also lead the conference and rank 12th in the division with an average of 20 assists per game.

• Western Oregon will be back in action this week at the GNAC.CCAA Conference Challenge in Chico and will face host Chico State on Friday before taking on Sonoma State on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington has yet to begin its regular season slate which kicks off when it hosts the West Region Crossover Classic this week.

• The Vikings come into the season predicted to finish at the top of the GNAC standings in the preseason coaches poll and are ranked No. 1 in the D2SIDA Media Poll with eight first-place votes. They are ranked No. 1 in the West Region Poll ahead of GNAC rival Alaska Anchorage.

• After a deep run that only came to an end in the Division II championship game, the hopes are high in Bellingham coming into the season. Western Washington returns the reigning NCAA West Regional Tournament MVP Brooke Walling to lead the team. Walling averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game to go along with 38 steals.

• Western Washington will get its season started when it hosts Azusa Pacific on Friday followed by Cal St. San Marcos on Saturday.