Category Archives: Basketball
Olympia Reign are Back for 2014, Kind of
Hey look at that, the International Basketball League released their 2014 season schedule and for the second season in a row, Olympia is being used as a team to round out the league’s schedule.
The Olympia Reign are scheduled to play six games, four at home at South Sound Sports Center in Tumwater beginning with an away and home set with the Bellingham Slam beginning on May 9th.
Reign owner Mark Felton ceased operations of the fledgling basketball team after Little Creek Casino decided not to renew their sponsorship shortly before the 2013 season. The Reign played their home games at the Skookum Creek Events Center at Little Creek in 2012 after the casino invested in a basketball court and went all in for the team. Without the sponsorship, the Reign were unable to afford to play at Little Creek or anywhere at all.
The league now operates the Reign and they played two games at SPSCC last year as a “branding team”, a term the IBL describes as an “opportunity…to determine market viability.” How they expect to determine market viability while playing two games at SPSCC last year and four games in a warehouse in Tumwater this year is a question that has yet to be answered. The IBL said in a tweet that there is new interest in the team but operating them in a limited fashion does not set them up for success.
In reality, the Olympia Reign will exist as a way to round out the IBL schedule since the league is down to two full time teams in the Northwest – the Bellingham Slam and the Vancouver Volcanoes. Olympia will make two trips to Bellingham while the Slam will travel to Tumwater once. The Volcanoes, the Salem Sabres and another team listed as Free Agent each will make appearances in town. Here is the 2014 schedule…
Friday, May 9th – @ Bellingham Slam – 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 10th – vs. Bellingham Slam – 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 17th – @ Bellingham Slam – 7:00 PM
Friday, May 23rd – vs. Vancouver Volcanoes – 7:00 PM
Friday, June 20th – vs. Salem Sabres – 7:00 PM
Saturday, June 21st – vs. Free Agent – 7:00 PM
The only teams in the IBL with a full schedule of games as of right now are the Slam and the Volcanoes (the only two teams that are even semi-professionally operated).
Though I expect the schedule will change multiple times before and after the season starts, as of right now the Salem Sabres will play six games, two at home. The Portland Chinooks have six games scheduled, all on the road. The Seattle Flight play three games on the road and two at home. The Lonestar Strikers are scheduled to play three games, all on the road over a weekend in June. Finally, the Santa Barbara Breakers play five games, three in a tiny gymnasium in Los Angeles (maybe, the address for Mount Carmel Park is wrong on the website) and two on the road. What a professional schedule!
Personally, I’m ready for the Olympia Reign to just go away, especially this “branding team” iteration of the team. Do it right or don’t do it at all, IBL.
Minor league basketball: it’s fantastic.
Today (3/8): Saints Softball Doubleheader; Clippers Softball Hosts NWAACC Tourney; GNAC Title Games
More computer problems this morning so here is a quick look at what is happening today…
College softball
SPSCC vs. Skagit Valley – The RAC – 11:00 AM
Saint Martin’s vs. Northwest Nazarene (DH) – SMU Soccer Field – Noon
SPSCC vs. Edmonds – The RAC – 3:00 PM
GNAC Basketball Championship Games
Men: #1 Seattle Pacific vs. #2 Western Washington
Women: #2 Western Washington vs. #4 Simon Fraser
Friday Scores: Saints Women Can’t Complete Comeback; Saints Softball Takes GNAC Openers
Angela Gelhar
Computer problems tonight. Despite photographing the whole Saint Martin’s/Western Washington game, I am having trouble editing and posting them and writing anything of any length about the game. Just know that it was a great one that saw the Saints make a big comeback only to run out of gas and see their season end.
GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships Semifinals
| Western Washington 81, Saint Martin’s 71 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Martin’s (18-11 overall) | 44 | 37 | 81 |
| Western Washington (18-9 overall) | 29 | 42 | 71 |
| SMU: Megan Wiedeman – 17 points, 15 rebs, Chelsea Haskey – 17 points | |||
College baseball
| Game 1: Dixie State 6, Saint Martin’s 3 – Box score | ||||||||||||
| St. George, UT |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU (2-11) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| DSU (8-9) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| W: Kody Christoffersen (1-1) L: Josh Moss (3-4) SMU: Alex Bielaski – 2-for-4, 2B, Lucas Besel – 1-for-3, Run, RBI |
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| Game 2: Saint Martin’s 14, Dixie State 3 – Box score | ||||||||||||
| St. George UT |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU (3-11) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 17 | 1 | ||
| DSU (8-10) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | ||
| W: Josh Sontag (1-1) L: Bronson Anderson (0-2) SMU: Alex Bielaski – 4-for-5, 5 RBIs, Lucas Besel – Grand Slam HR Spencer Dodd – 3-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBIs, Travis Shaw – 3-for-4, 2 runs |
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College softball
| Game 1: Saint Martin’s 10, Northwest Nazarene 2 – Box score | ||||||||||||
| Lacey, WA |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNU (0-1 GNAC) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||||
| SMU (1-0 GNAC) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| W: Sam Munger (4-3) L: Ashley Pesek (3-3) SMU: Taviah Jenkins – 3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs |
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| Game 2: Saint Martin’s 1, Northwest Nazarene 0 – Box score | ||||||||||||
| Lacey, WA |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNU (0-2 GNAC) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| SMU (2-0 GNAC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| W: Kaylee Lawson (2-2) L: Noelle Wright (1-9) SMU: Megan Miller – 1-for-2, RBI Lawson – 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 hits, 0 walks |
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Today (3/7): Saints Softball Opens Conference Play, Women’s Hoops Battles Vikings in GNAC Semis
College softball
Saint Martin’s vs. Northwest Nazarene (DH) – SMU Softball Field – 1:00 PM
Weather permitting, the Saint Martin’s softball teams opens GNAC play in search of a second straight conference title. The Saints are 4-5 overall this season while Northwest Nazarene comes into Lacey at 5-11 overall.
GNAC Women’s Basketball Semifinals at Marcus Pavilion
#6 Saint Martin’s vs. #2 Western Washington – 5:15 PM
#4 Simon Fraser vs. #1 Montana State-Billings – 7:30 PM
The Saint Martin’s women attempt to defend their home court once again when they face the #2 seed Western Washington in the first game of the GNAC Championships semifinals tipping off at 5:15 PM.
The Saints (18-10) pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament on either side so far when they knocked off the #3 seed Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday night. However, the Saints really frustrated the Seawolves this season defeating them twice in the regular season. There is just something about UAA that they figured out. Western Washington (17-9) is a tougher match-up for the Saints and took both regular season meetings, 79-73 in Lacey and 69-52 in Bellingham.
In the second game, the #1 seed Montana State-Billings (23-6) faces #4 Simon Fraser (18-8). The Clan pulled off the quarterfinals win over Seattle Pacific despite off nights from their two leading scorers, Erin Chambers and Katie Lowen. The Yellowjackets are the top team in the West region and feature Bobbi Knudsen, the GNAC Player of the Year but will be without the services of the GNAC’s top rebounder, Janiel Olson.
Today (3/6): Top Seeds in Action at GNAC Men’s Tourney Semis
GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships at Marcus Pavilion
#2 Western Washington vs. #3 Alaska – 5:15 PM
#1 Seattle Pacific vs. #5 Western Oregon – 7:30 PM
The semifinals of the GNAC men’s basketball tournament tip-off today at Marcus Pavilion and feature two upstarts in Alaska and Western Oregon and the long time superstars of the conference, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific.
The Vikings (19-7 overall) and Nanooks (18-9 overall) open the proceedings at 5:15 PM. The two teams split their season series. UAF has given Western fits this season holding them to their two lowest point totals of the season with a 65-61 win in Fairbanks and a 53-51 loss in Bellingham. Black Hills alum Anye Turner is a dose of energy and athleticism for the Vikings.
The #1 seed Falcons (24-5 overall) take on the #5 seed Wolves (18-11 overall) in the second semifinals game tentatively scheduled to tip at 7:30. These two teams also split their season series. WOU took a 74-70 win in Monmouth against the then 11th ranked Division II team in the nation but SPU was without the services of one of their stars, Patrick Simon. With Simon back, the Falcons took an easy 79-47 win in Seattle on February 1st. Since that loss, Western Oregon has won seven of their last eight games.
If you cannot make it to Marcus Pavilion, you can watch all the games all tournament long on GNAC TV where I, Brandon Sparks, will be providing color commentary.
Saints Sink Seawolves’ Season
The Angela Gelhar Fan Club
| Saint Martin’s 58, Alaska Anchorage 48 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Martin’s (18-10 overall) | 33 | 25 | 58 |
| Alaska Anchorage (19-8 overall) | 23 | 25 | 48 |
| SMU: Angela Gelhar – 21 points, Megan Wiedeman – 17 rebounds | |||
Angela Gelhar hit back-to-back three pointers at the 1:57 and 1:16 marks of the second half and Saint Martin’s held Alaska Anchorage scoreless over the last 2 1/2 minutes and pulled the GNAC Championships first round upset, 58-48, in front of a rowdy home court crowd at Marcus Pavilion. Gelhar continued to feast on Seawolves this season posting 21 points tonight after scoring 36 and 12 in their two regular season meetings.
The #3 seed Alaska Anchorage jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the first half but the #6 seed Saints held the Seawolves scoreless for the next eight minutes. A pair of Brooke Paulson free throws capped off a 15 point run to give the Saints a 24-16 lead with 3:41 left to play and took a ten point lead into the half, 33-23.
The Saints kept UAA at arms length and never allowed them to get within five points until an Alli Madison layup with four minutes left cut the lead to three. On the next Saints possession, Chelsea Haskey missed a layup and then fouled out with 2:38 left. Kiki Robertson hit one of her two free throws on the Haskey foul and the Seawolves found themselves down by just two, 50-48. But it was the last point that the Seawolves would score and Gelhar drained her two threes on the next two Saints possessions and Megan Wiedeman sank two free throws to seal the deal.
Wiedeman scored eight points and pulled down a whopping 17 rebounds in the win while Jordyn Richardson chipped in 10 points including a three pointer that gave the Saints an 11 point lead at the 10:18 mark of the second half. Haskey pulled in eleven boards and racked up a pair of blocks and eight points before she was disqualified.
With their third win over Alaska Anchorage this season, the Saints moved to 18-10 overall and secured a date with #2 seed Western Washington on Friday night at 5:15 PM.
Other GNAC Championship Scores
Women’s basketball
#4 Simon Fraser 87, #5 Seattle Pacific 79 – More
Men’s basketball
#3 Alaska 69, #6 Montana State-Billings 59 – More
#5 Western Oregon 94, #4 Alaska Anchorage 88 – More
Today (3/5): Saints Battle Seawolves in GNAC Tourney at Marcus Pavilion
GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships at Marcus Pavilion
#3 Alaska Anchorage vs. #6 Saint Martin’s – 5:15 PM
#4 Simon Fraser vs. #5 Seattle Pacific – 7:30 PM
For the GNAC tourney preview, click here. You can watch live on GNAC TV with me, Brandon Sparks, on color commentary for the Simon Fraser/Seattle Pacific game. Oly Sports will have a full photo gallery of the Saint Martin’s/Alaska Anchorage game on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships at Marcus Pavilion
#3 Alaska vs. #6 Montana State-Billings – 12:00 PM
#4 Alaska Anchorage vs. #5 Western Oregon – 2:15 PM
For the GNAC tourney preview, click here. I will also be on the call for the men’s tournament as well.
2014 GNAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Preview
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament returns to Saint Martin’s and tips off the tourney on Wednesday, March 5th at noon, continues with the semifinals on Thursday, March 7th and wraps up with the championship game on Saturday, March 8th at 5:15 PM.
The men’s tournament is top heavy with Seattle Pacific and Western Washington the odds on favorites but the two Alaska schools each have their own thing going that could easily spoil the fun for the Falcons or Vikings. Western Oregon finished with the same conference records as Alaska Anchorage but they don’t seem like the same caliber and Montana State-Billings barely made the tourney on a two game losing streak to non-playoff clubs.
For ticket info click here but if you can’t make it to the Pavilion, you can hear Rob Lowery, the voice of Central Washington basketball, and me, Brandon Sparks, on the call of the game for GNAC TV.
Team capsules
1. Seattle Pacific (24-5 overall, 15-3 GNAC)
Top players: David Downs- Sr.-G (20.1 ppg, 4.7 apg, 75 3-pointers), Patrick Simon-Sr.-F (16.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 53.6% 3-Point %)
Key wins: 76-60 @ Western Washington, 91-88 vs. Western Washington
Key losses: 70-74 @ Western Oregon, 69-73 @ Saint Martin’s
The Falcons feature the GNAC Player of the Year in senior David Downs and first team all-GNAC forward Patrick Simon. Both have hit 75 three pointers this season and Simon leads the nation at 53.6% from behind the arc. Simon is the key for the Falcons. When he missed a pair of GNAC tilts in early January, the Falcons dropped two games back-to-back to Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.
Teams also have to contend with the 2012-2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Riley Stockton. SPU allows just 66.4 points per game, the lowest in the GNAC.
Why they will win: The star power of David Downs and Patrick Simon.
Why they won’t: Downs or Simon struggles and nobody picks up the slack.
2. Western Washington (19-7 Overall, 13-5 GNAC)
Top players: Richard Woodworth-Sr.-G (17.5 ppg, 4 apg), Austin Bragg-Sr.-C (17.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 48 blocks)
Key wins: 104-89 @ Alaska Anchorage, 53-51 vs. Alaska
Key losses: 60-76 vs. Seattle Pacific, 85-88 @ Western Oregon
Oly area alumni: Anye Turner-Jr.-Black Hills HS
Western Washington is the leading scoring team (87.3 ppg), is #1 in rebounding (39.0 rpg) and #1 in blocks (5.7 bpg). They do just about everything well, it’s remarkable that they weren’t able to stick with Seattle Pacific in either of their games this year.
Five Vikings average in double-digit scoring: Woodworth (17.5), Bragg (17.5), Jeffrey Parker (11.5), Robert Harris (11.0) and Joey Schreiber (10.8). Black Hills alum Anye Turner is right behind them with nine points per game. He also adds 7.5 boards per game and has racked up 38 blocks and 31 steals.
Why they will win: Fast paced, balanced offense.
Why they won’t: They turnover the ball at a high rate.
3. Alaska (17-9 overall, 12-6 GNAC)
Top players: Ronnie Baker-Sr.-G (14.7 ppg, 38 steals), Andrew Kelly-Sr.-F (12.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 22 blocks)
Key wins: 65-61 vs. Western Washington, 70-68 vs. Alaska Anchorage
Key losses: 60-70 @ Simon Fraser, 70-71 vs. Western Oregon
Alaska doesn’t score a whole lot of points (71.3, 9th in GNAC) but they don’t give up very many either (67.4, 2nd in GNAC). The Nanooks forced 390 turnovers and Andrew Kelly was named the Defensive Player of the Year thanks to 37 steals and 22 blocked shots. He also is the second leading scorer for UAF at 12.7 points per game.
Five Nanooks scored in double-digits this season but then it drops off dramatically. Joe Slocum avaerages 10.4 points per game but then the next highest average is Mike Stepovich at 2.9 ppg. Ronnie Baker leads them with 14.7 points per game.
Why they will win: Their stout defense.
Why they won’t: Severe lack of depth.
4. Alaska Anchorage (17-12 overall, 10-8 GNAC)
Top players: Travis Thompson-Sr.-G (21.5 ppg, 107 3-pointers), Kyle Fossman- Sr.-G (15.8 ppg, 107 3-pointers), Brian McGill-So.-G (15.8 ppg, 5.9 apg)
Key win: 96-76 vs. Alaska
Key losses: 67-75 @ MSU-Billings, 62-75 vs. MSU-Billings, 88-95 vs. Central Washington
Alaska Anchorage fires away hoisting nearly 250 more three pointers than the next team. And they make a lot of them, 378 to be exact. Comparatively, Northwest Nazarene is second in the league in made three pointers and they made just 254. Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman accounted for 214 of the Seawolves’ three pointers. Thompson, back for his junior season after taking the 2012-2013 season off, averaged 21.5 points per game, good enough for second in the conference behind the one man scoring machine of Mark McLaughlin.
Why they will win: Thompson and Fossman knock down their shots
Why they won’t: Thompson and Fossman don’t knock down their shots
5. Western Oregon (17-11 overall, 10-8 GNAC)
Top player: Rodney Webster-Sr.-G (14.8 ppg, 44 steals), Andy Avgi-So.F (13.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
Key win: 71-70 @ Alaska, 88-85 @ Western Washington
Key losses: 77-85 @ Northwest Nazarene, 103-106 (2OT) @ Central Washington, 73-79 @ Saint Martin’s
The fifth and sixth seeds are very strange and streaky teams. Western Oregon managed to knock off Alaska and Western Washington but also dropped games to each of the three non-playoff squads. The Wolves are led by their sixth man, Rodney Webster. He comes off the bench and transforms their energy level instantly. The sudden change of pace that Webster provides is remarkable.
Western Oregon forced the most turnovers of any team in the GNAC this season (413) and leads the conference in steals (259, 9.3 per game). They took the least amount of three pointers (503), made the least amount of three pointers (163) and shot the worst from behind the arc (32%).
Why they will win: They drive their opponent crazy with their pressure.
Why they won’t: Teams take away Webster.
6. Montana State Billings (12-14 overall, 8-10 GNAC)
Top players: Jonathan Mesghna-Sr.-F (15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Austin Hudson-Jr.-F (14.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg), Kalob Hatcher-Sr.-G (12.5 ppg, 7.7 apg)
Key wins: 75-67 vs. Alaska Anchorage, 75-62 @ Alaska Anchorage, 102-101 (OT) vs. Western Washington, 72-70 (OT) vs. Seattle Pacific
Key losses: 70-83 vs. Saint Martin’s, 60-66 @ Northwest Nazarene, 88-91 @ Central Washington
Like Western Oregon, the Yellowjackets are unbelievably streaky. They beat Alaska Anchorage twice and knocked off both Western Washington and Seattle Pacific but lost to Saint Martin’s and then backed into the playoffs with a pair of losses to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. They only made the playoffs based on a tiebreaker with the Wildcats.
Jonathan Mesghna led the Yellowjackets with 15.2 points per game and the senior forward that is on his fourth team in four seasons (Central Wyoming, North Dakota State College of Science and Divison I University of Maine) was named the GNAC’s Newcomer of the Year. Kalob Hatcher led the GNAC with 200 assists.
Why they will win: Mesghna, Hatcher and Austin Hudson put it together
Why they won’t: Meshgna and Hudson shutdown forcing Hatcher into a scoring rolle.
Tournament schedule
Thursday, March 5th
#3 Alaska vs. #6 Montana State-Billings – 12:00 PM
#4 Alaska Anchorage vs. #5 Western Oregon – 2:15 PM
Thursday, March 6th
#2 Western Washington vs. UAF/MSUB winner – 5:15 PM
#1 Seattle Pacific vs. UAA/WOU winner – 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 8th
GNAC Championship Game – 5:15 PM
Predictions
Wednesday: Both of the Alaska schools will advance relatively easily. Western Oregon plays solidly Alaska Anchorage knock down far too many three pointers for the Wolves to recover from.
Friday: Western Washington’s up-tempo pace will be too much for the Nanooks and Seattle Pacific’s defense prevents the Seawolves from getting good looks from behind the arc.
Saturday: The Falcons lead for much of the game before the Vikings turn it on in the end, erase a deficit, and hit the game winner with less than a minute less.
Vikings 78, Falcons 75
Heuer, Clark Honored by CCC; Haskey Named to GNAC Second Team
Monica Heuer with Brittany Gray
Outgoing Evergreen women’s basketball head coach Monica Heuer was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year and Geoducks senior guard Sammi Clark was named to the all-conference team today.
Heuer led the Geoducks to the second most wins in program history with their 14-12 record and finished fifth in the CCC at 10-8. They fell to Southern Oregon on the road in the first round of the conference tournament. The Geoducks were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the preseason poll. In 13 seasons at the helm of the Evergreen program, Heuer went 111-257 and went to the playoffs seven times but never won a postseason game.
Senior Sammi Clark scored 15 points per game, good enough for third in the conference, and dished out 4.4 assists per game as the floor general for the Geoducks. She rarely came off of the court this season playing over 37 minutes per game, first in the CCC. She finished her three year career at Evergreen as the all time assists leader with 290 and finished with 969 points after transferring from Edmonds Community College as a sophomore.
Evergreen senior Jessica Denmon and junior Brittany Gray were also given honorable mention by the CCC.
Also garnering all-CCC honors: Rainier grad and Southern Oregon sophomore Kristen Schoenherr. She scored 14.8 points per game in her sophomore year for the Raiders.
The full CCC all-conference teams can be found here.
Evan Coulter
The Saint Martin’s basketball teams each had one player named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Conference teams. Chelsea Haskey was named to the second team today and Evan Coulter was given honorable mention yesterday.
Haskey scored 13 points per game and hauled in 6.8 rebounds per game in her senior season for the Saints leading them to a 17-10 overall record, a sixth place finish and a conference tournament playoff spot at 11-7. She also racked up 40 steals and 32 blocks on defense. Haskey scored her 1,000 career point earlier this season and has a chance to add to her totals when the Saints take on Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday at 5:15 in the first round of the GNAC Tournament.
The full GNAC all-conference teams can be found here.
2014 GNAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament returns to Saint Martin’s for the third straight year (and the last time for at least one season) beginning on Wednesday, March 5th, with the semifinals on Friday, March 8th and wrapping up with the championship game on Saturday, March 9th.
Without one dominant team, the GNAC tourney is wide open. Montana State Billings won the regular season title but injuries have left them a bit depleted and vulnerable. Just two game separated the remaining five teams and even the sixth seed, Saint Martin’s, scored upsets of the Yellowjackets, Alaska Anchorage (twice) and Simon Fraser.
Speaking of the Saints, they qualified for the tournament for the first time since Marcus Pavilion has hosted the tournament and will play in front of a home crowd in the opening game on Wednesday at 5:15 PM. They take on a team that they have more than frustrated twice this season, Alaska Anchorage, with a semifinals date with Western Washington on the line.
Ticket information can be found here but if you can’t make it to the Pavilion, you can hear Rob Lowery, the voice of Central Washington basketball, and me, Brandon Sparks, on the call of the game for GNAC TV.
Team capsules
1. Montana State Billings (23-6 overall, 15-3 GNAC)
Top players: Bobbi Knudsen-Sr.-G (17.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.9 apg), Kayleen Goggins-Jr.-F (10.8 ppg), Chelsea Banis-Sr -C (10.4 ppg, 56% field goal %, 5.8 rpg)
Key wins: 82-69 vs. Western Washington, 71-63 @ Western Washington
Key losses: 59-90 @ Alaska Anchorage, 59-69 @ Saint Martin’s
Montana State-Billings secured the #1 seed on Thursday with a 104-77 win over Alaska and finished the regular season with a 75-72 win over Alaska Anchorage on Saturday but they did so with an extremely thin and banged up roster. Junior Janiel Olsen, the GNAC’s leading rebounder at 10.4 boards per game, missed the last three games of the regular season and is likely out for the tournament leaving them with just eight healthy players.
Bobbi Knudsen is the fourth leading scorer in the GNAC at 17 points per game and leads the league in assists with 5.9 per game and does just about everything well. But she’s been a bit off over the last three games. She went 8-for-26 from the field in a loss to Saint Martin’s and 3-for-13 on Saturday against Alaska Anchorage. She has also played the most minutes of any player in the GNAC with 1005 over 29 games.
Why they will win: 3-Point shooting (made 226 threes, tops in GNAC).
Why they won’t: Injuries, depth.
2. Western Washington (17-9 Overall, 13-5 GNAC)
Top players: Katie Colard-Jr.-G (13.9 ppg, 40% 3PT), Sarah Hill-Sr.-F (10.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 50 blocks)
Key wins: 92-80 vs. Alaska Anchorage, 72-63 vs. Simon Fraser
Key losses: 62-68 vs. Seattle Pacific, 75-79 @ Alaska Anchorage
Western Washington is #2 in the GNAC scoring 74.5 points per game and the fourth best defensive team in the conference allowing 65.5 points per game. The Vikings are the best shooting team at 46% and the best 3-point shooting team at 36%.
Katie Colard has made 74 three pointers, best in the GNAC, and leads WWU with 13.9 points per game. The Vikings are as balanced as can be with six players scoring over nine points per game and have been led in scoring by eight different players this season. Sarah Hill is third in the conference with nine rebounds per game.
Why they will win: Offensive efficiency.
Why they won’t: If they go cold from the three point line.
3. Alaska Anchorage (19-7 overall, 12-6 GNAC)
Top players: Kylie Burns-Sr.-F (12.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 39% 3PT), Kiki Robertson-Fr.-G (10.8 ppg, 5.1 apg)
Key wins: 83-75 (2OT) vs. Divison I UC Riverside, 90-59 vs. MSU-Billings, 79-75 vs. Western Washington
Key losses: 78-86 vs. Saint Martin’s, 46-56 @ Saint Martin’s
Alaska Anchorage is the top scoring team in the GNAC by a wide margin. They score 81.8 points per game, seven better than the #2 team, Western Washington. They play a lot faster and take a lot more shots than anybody else in the conference putting up 1839 shots in 26 games. They don’t shoot particularly great from the field at just 40% but are the second best three point shooting team at 33%. They are fantastic on defense having forced 618 turnovers on 14.7 steals per game.
Another balanced scoring team, they have had seven different players lead them in scoring this season. Alli Madison leads the Seawolves in scoring (13.2 ppg) but hasn’t played a lot over the last couple of weeks after an injury.
Why they will win: Their fast paced, high pressure style.
Why they won’t: Not making shots off of that fast paced, high pressure style.
4. Simon Fraser (17-8 overall, 12-6 GNAC)
Top players: Erin Chambers-Jr.-F (22.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Katie Lowen-Jr.-G (11 ppg)
Key wins: 62-58 vs. Western Washington, 78-74 vs. Alaska Anchorage
Key losses: 54-63 vs. Central Washington, 71-73 @ Saint Martin’s
Erin Chambers. That’s Simon Fraser for you this year. Erin Chambers. She leads the GNAC in scoring with 22.7 points per game and has led the Clan in 20 of their 25 games. She is going to take a lot of shots and score a lot of points. The key to stopping the Clan seems to be to limit the effectiveness of anybody else, especially Katie Lowen. The second leading scorer on the team and the only other player in double-digits (11 points per game) has mostly had her worst games in their losses.
And the team that featured the best rebounder in the GNAC over the last three years, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, has the second least rebounds this season pulling down 911 boards while their opponents have hauled in 998.
Why they will win: Erin Chambers.
Why they won’t: Lack of rebounding, second scorer.
5. Seattle Pacific (18-8 overall, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Katie Benson-Sr.-F (19.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 50% FG), Suzanna Ohlsen-Jr.-G (13.9 ppg, 3.8 apg)
Key wins: 63-57 vs. MSU-Billings, 68-62 @ Western Washington
Key loss: 67-75 vs. Northwest Nazarene
Seattle Pacific has the GNAC’s best all around player, Katie Benson (19.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg), and a stout defense that allows just 63 points per game. They don’t score a whole lot of points at 68.5 points per game and Suzanna Ohlsen (13.9 ppg) is the only other player that averages in double-digit scoring for the Falcons.
Why they will win: Katie Benson and defense.
Why they won’t: Nobody that can score outside of Benson, Ohlsen and Betsy Kingma.
6. Saint Martin’s (17-10, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Chelsea Haskey-Sr.-C (13 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Angela Gelhar-Jr.-G (10.6 ppg)
Key wins: 85-78 @ Alaska Anchorage, 73-71 vs. Simon Fraser, 56-46 vs. Alaska Anchorage, 69-59 vs. MSU-Billings
Key loss: 64-78 @ Alaska
The Saints are the best defensive team in the conference holding their opponents to just 60.4 points per game and 36% shooting and are playing on their home court where they lost just two games all season. Conversely, they are ninth out of ten teams in scoring at 64.6 points per game and are the worst shooting team at just 35%. Chelsea Haskey leads the Saints with 13 points per game and Angela Gelhar scores 10 and has the ability to dramatically heat up.
SMU draws Alaska Anchorage, who they have had their way with this season. They scored a huge road win in Anchorage and then thoroughly drove the Seawolves crazy in a 54-44 win in Lacey.
Why they will win: Defense, home court advantage.
Why they won’t: No matter how few points they allow, they have to score.
Tournament schedule
Wednesday, March 5th
#3 Alaska Anchorage vs. #6 Saint Martin’s – 5:15 PM
#4 Simon Fraser vs. #5 Seattle Pacific – 7:30 PM
Friday, March 7th
#2 Western Washington vs. UAA/SMU winner – 5:15 PM
#1 Montana State-Billings vs. SFU/SPU winner – 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 8th
GNAC Championship Game – 7:30 PM
Predictions
Wednesday: I hate to do it, but I can’t see Alaska Anchorage losing a third time to Saint Martin’s, especially after the verbal beating they took from their coach after their disastrous loss in Lacey.
Simon Fraser swept Seattle Pacific in the regular season and in a battle of the GNAC’s two top scorers – Chambers and Benson – I’ll take the Falcons and their defense to figure out the Clan.
Friday: The Vikings and Seawolves split their season series and this game, like much of the tournament, is a toss up. Western has only been playing eight players recently and if Alli Madison is back and healthy for Alaska Anchorage, I think they will wear out Western.
The injury to Janiel Olson and Montana State-Billings’ lack of healthy, in uniform players worries me. But they have won 13 of their last 14 games and I think that Bobbi Knudsen and the rest of the healthy Yellowjackets will knock off Seattle Pacific.
Saturday: Just one week after Montana State-Billings knocked off Alaska Anchorage in the regular season finale, the Seawolves and their deep, healthy bench win the GNAC tournament in a close, hard fought game.
Seawolves 77, Yellowjackets 69
Oly Sports 