Dec. 31, 2014
Contact: Nathan Webber
(503)305-8756/[email protected]
After a Successful Non-Conference Stint, Winning Teams Square-Off in 2015
PORTLAND, Ore. – GNAC conference play resumes this
week as seven teams with winning records do battle on
the hardwood.
Six of the nine conference matches will feature teams
with .500 or better records.
On New Year’s Day, Central Washington will travel to
Alaska and Montana State Billings will play Simon
Fraser. Western Washington will try to avenge its home
loss last year to Seattle Pacific on Jan. 1 as well.
The No. 3 team in the nation, Alaska Anchorage, will
host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before playing
the countries 15th best defense in CWU Saturday.
Last year’s regular season champion and GNAC
tournament champion will face each other Saturday as
Western Washington hosts MSUB.
Nineteenth-ranked Seattle Pacific plays a tough road
game against Simon Fraser to finish out the second
week of the conference season.
Looking back at non-conference games in 2014, GNAC
teams won 65 percent of them with a record of 57-31.
The GNAC finished strong winning two-thirds of its nonconference games in December including going 12-4 in
the four tournaments played before Christmas.
Alaska, Alaska Anchorage, Montana State Billings, Saint
Martin’s, Seattle Pacific, Western Oregon and Western
Washington all won or shared at least one tournament
title.
Five players won MVP honors in these tournaments and
Seattle Pacific’s Suzanna Ohlsen was the MVP at both
the Sodexo Tip-off Classic and West Region Crossover
Classic.
Two GNAC teams knocked off Division I opponents.
Western Washington beat Portland State 75-64 the
second week of December while Alaska Anchorage had
two DI victories over Utah and Yale.
Five different conference teams were ranked in the top
10 in the West Region according to the D2SIDA poll at
some point in 2014. Alaska Anchorage and Seattle
Pacific are currently 1-2 on the ballot.
Standings and Schedule
GNAC
Team
#3 Alaska Anchorage
Central Washington
Simon Fraser
#19 Seattle Pacific
MSU Billings
Western Oregon
Northwest Nazarene
Western Washington
Alaska
Saint Martin’s
Overall
W
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
W
12
7
5
9
9
4
3
6
8
3
L
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
L
0
3
4
1
3
6
8
4
4
7
UPCOMING GAMES
THURSDAY, JAN. 1
Central Washington at Alaska, 5:15 p.m.
Northwest Nazarene at Alaska Anchorage, 5:15 p.m.
Montana State Billings at Simon Fraser, 7 p.m.
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 3
Northwest Nazarene at Alaska, 1 p.m.
Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon, 2 p.m.
Central Washington at Alaska Anchorage, 5:15 p.m.
Montana State Billings at Western Washington, 7 p.m.
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7 p.m.
Around the GNAC
Western Washington head coach Carmen Dolfo earned her
500th victory at WWU on Dec. 19 in a 71-50 win over
Southern Indiana. Dolfo becomes the first coach in the
Pacific Northwest to record 500 wins at a four-year
institution.
Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Dana Goularte became
one of a seemingly ever growing list of players to reach
1,000 career points in 2014. She scored a career-high 27
points in the Wolves victory over Dixie State to become the
third player this year to reach this landmark. Western
Washington’s Katie Colard should become the next player
to accomplish this as she is currently stands with 998 career
points.
Five GNAC teams currently have at least a two-game win
streak. UAA’s 12 straight wins not only leads the GNAC, but
the nation as well.