Tuesday, December 27, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Valerie Huerta
Central Washington  
G • 5-4 • So. • Whittier, Calif.

Huerta earned her second GANC Player of the Week award after setting two conference records. In Central Washington’s win over Walla Walla, set the GNAC single game record with 46 points, breaking the previous record of 45 points from 2008. She also knocked down 18 of 29 shots from the field, setting another conference record from that same game. Huerta was also named the Division II Conference Information Directors Association’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Also Nominated: Elaina Mack (Alaska Anchorage), Kortney Nelson (Montana State Billings), Clare Eubanks (Northwest Nazarene), Mason Oberg (Western Washington)

AROUND THE GNAC

ALASKA
• Alaska won a pair of non-conference home wins over Multnomah, 84-49 on Dec. 9 and 85-55 on Dec. 12 the last time the Nanooks were in action.

• Sophomore forward Ellen Silva led the way for the Nanooks on Dec. 9, putting up a double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds while shooting a perfect 10 for 10 from the field and knocking down all but one of her five attempts from the free-throw line. Between the wins, Silva shot 92% from the field, only missing one shot, and averaged 16 points,10 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

• Junior guard Emma McKenney led UAF that week, averaging 19 points, three rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. McKenney was particularly dangerous from long range, shooting 63% from beyond the three-point arc across both wins.

• Rebounding has been a strength for the Nanooks early in the season. They rank third in the GNAC with an average of 43.8 offensive rebounds per game and rank fifth in the conference with a rebounding margin of +7.4

• Alaska will be back on the court Thursday to face Simon Fraser in Burnaby before continuing the road trip on Saturday at Western Washington.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage dropped only its second game of the season 88-58 at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 18 before bouncing back with a monster-win 110-29 at Bethesda (Calif.) on Dec. 19.

• The Seawolves set a program record for the greatest scoring margin in a road win with their 81-point margin against Bethesda. Junior guard Hayley Berfield led the offensive onslaught for UAA, posting 23 points to lead five Seawolves in the double digits.

• Coming out of the holiday break, Alaska Anchorage leads the GNAC and Division II with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.56. The Seawolves also lead the conference and rank top five nationally in assists per game, three-point attempts per game, three-pointers per game, turnover margin and turnovers per game.

• Senior guard Vishe’ Rabb has paced the Seawolves in scoring this season, leading the team with an average of 17.6 points per game while shooting 43% from the field and 36.8% from three-point range. Rabb has also been one of the top rebounding players on the team and is No. 2 on the UAA roster with an average of 7.4 rebounds per game.

• Alaska Anchorage will return to the court on Thursday to resume conference competition on the road at Western Washington before playing Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Saturday for a New Year’s Eve matinee.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington took pair of wins and a pair of GNAC records in non-conference wins over Whitman, 79-52, on Dec. 17 and Walla Walla. 92-44, on Dec. 19.

• In the win over Whitman, senior forward Samantha Bowman set the conference single-game record with 31 rebounds, surpassing the previous mark of 29 set by SMU’s Bria Thames against Concordia in 2010 and equaled by Bowman against Concordia (Calif.) in 2021.

• Sophomore guard Valerie Huerta followed up her teammate’s record with her own the next game, knocking down a GNAC-record 46 points against Walla Walla to overhaul the previous record of 45 points by WOU’s Leamy Bankey in 2008.

• The Wildcats’ record-setting week earned them GNAC Team of the Week honors while Huerta was also named the Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season.

• Central Washington will dive back into conference action this week with games on the road against Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings split its games at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas with a 68-57 win over Texas A&M Kingsville on Dec. 16 before falling 60-58 to Lubbock Christian on Dec. 17.

• Senior forward Cariann Kunkel led the way for the Yellowjackets during the tournament, averaging 11.5 points and four rebounds per game.

• The Yellowjackets have been a solid defensive team this season and lead the GNAC in scoring defense allowing an average of only 54.1 points per game. They also hold the No. 2 scoring margin in the conference at +16.9.

• Montana State Billings will host Central Washington on Thursday before facing Northwest Nazarene in Billings on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene dropped a pair of non-conference games in California before the holiday break, falling 80-78 to Cal Poly Humboldt on Dec. 17 and 57-54 to San Francisco State on Dec. 19.

• The Nighthawks came up just short at Cal Poly Humboldt despite junior forward Clare Eubanks’ career-high 27 points to go along with three rebounds and two blocks. She was one of three NNU players to score in the double digits.

• The Nighthawks have pounced on opponent’s mistakes all season and rank second in the GNAC with an average of 12.5 steals per game. They also hold the second-ranked turnover margin in the conference with a +8.60 margin. Their 24.4 turnovers forced per game leads the conference and ranks 10th in Division II.

• Northwest Nazarene will continue its road trip on Thursday against Seattle Pacific and Saturday at Montana State Billings.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s blew away Evergreen State 101-60 in its last game on Dec. 10.

• Junior guard Anjel Galbraith earned her first GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week award of the season that week as she flirted with a triple-double and finished the game with 30-points, five rebounds, nine assists and six steals.

• Galbraith led four SMU players to score in the double-digits along with Kiana Rios, Lauryn Morris and Avery Oaster. Rios also cracked the 20-point mark, scoring 26 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and four steals. All 10 players who played for the Saints scored.

• Saint Martin’s will be back in action for New Year’s Eve when it hosts Western Oregon on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific split its last two games before the holiday break with a 68-48 win at Holy Names on Dec. 14 before dropping a close game at home to Stanislaus State 63-62 on Dec. 17.

• Sophomore guard Hunter Beirne led the way for SPU in its win over Holy Names with 12 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Maya Hoff also put together a strong night with 10 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

• The Falcons rank third in the GNAC, only allowing an average of 57.4 points per game. They have been effective at stopping opponents from long range and rank fourth in the conference, holding opposition to just 36.6% from beyond the three-point arc.

• Seattle Pacific will be back in action this week hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser has not played since Dec. 3 when it dropped its GNAC season-opener 69-60 to Western Washington at home.

• The Red Leafs were led by the Wisotzki sisters who both put up double-digit points against the Vikings. Junior guard/forward Jessica Wisotzki led the way in points, connecting for 20 to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

• Sophomore guard Sophia Wisotzki wasn’t far behind her sister with 17 points and matched her with three rebounds while also adding four assists and three steals.

• Simon Fraser will face the Alaska schools this week, hosting the Nanooks on Thursday and the Seawolves on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon dropped both games the last time it played with a 100-58 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 16 and a 66-64 loss to Cal State San Bernardino on Dec. 18.

• Junior guard Cali McClave has been the leading force for the Wolves, averaging 15.4 points per game while shooting 28.8% from the field. She also leads the team with an average of 32.8 minutes played per game.

• McClave is joined by senior guard Princy Paaluhi-Caulk in averaging double-digit scoring for WOU. Paaluhi-Caulk is averaging 11.0 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. She also averages 6.5 rebounds per game.

• Western Oregon will be back in action for New Year’s Eve, traveling to face Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington took a pair of wins at the Hoops in Hawaii Classic with a 77-70 win over Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 16 and a 76-73 victory over Fairmont State on Dec. 18. The Vikings’ final scheduled game of the tournament against Chaminade was canceled due to health and safety protocols.

• Redshirt freshman Mason Oberg led the way for the Vikings in the tournament averaging 14.5 points and three assists per game en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Oberg shot 10 for 19 from the field, 5 for 13 from three-point range and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line across the two wins.

• Junior forward Brooke Walling leads the team on the season with an average of 13 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 50% from three-point range. She also leads the Vikings with an average of 9.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

• Western Washington will be back at home this week to face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and Alaska on Saturday.