Monday, January 26, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. - Jordan Wiley scored 41 points, connecting on 9-of-11 three-point shots as Western Oregon held on to first place at the midway point of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball race with a pair of road victories last weekend.  That has earned Wiley GNAC Player of the Week honors for Jan. 19-25.

Also earning weekly GNAC Player of the Week honors were Alaska Anchorage women's basketball player Keke Wright and track and field athletes Shannon Porter of Saint Martin's, Becki Duhamel and Armando Tafoya of Central Washington and Chase Cunningham of Northwest Nazarene.

Following is a recap of the accomplishments of last week's winners and a listing of honorable mention honorees:

Men's Basketball:  Jordan Wiley, Western Oregon (G, 6-6, Jr., McKenzie River, OR) scored 26 points in a 114-75 win at Simon Fraser and had 15 points including a key three-pointer with 1:49 left in a 90-87 victory at Western Washington as the Wolves completed the first half of the conference race with an 8-1 record and a one-game lead over Seattle Pacific and Central Washington.  Wiley shot 75.0 from the field (12-of-16) and also had nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in the two wins.  He made 7-of-8 three-pointers against SFU equaling the second highest total for three-pointers made in a game with just one miss in GNAC history. 

Honorable Mention - Almir Hadzisehovic, Alaska (F, 6-8, Jr., Belgrade, Serbia); Dom Williams, Central Washington (G, 5-11, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Tacoma CC); Tyler Idowu, Saint Martin's (F, 6-5, Sr., Oakland, CA); Erik Kinnney, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-4, Jr., Fairfield, CA); Ricardo Maxwell, Western Washington (5-10, Jr., Cincinnati, OH).

Women's Basketball: Keke Wright, Alaska Anchorage (F, 6-0 Sr., Las Vegas, NV) scored 37 points and also had 18 rebounds (12 offensively) in wins over Western Washington and Simon Fraser. In Thursday's 71-58 victory over the Vikings, she picked up seven of her 11 points in the second half while adding five rebounds.  She then added a career-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play in a 86-66 win over Simon Fraser Saturday. Her 10 offensive rebounds against SFU equaled the fourth highest single-game total in GNAC history.

Honorable Mention -  Benissa Bulaya, Alaska (G, 5-6, Sr., Sacramento, CA); Jasmine Parker, Central Washington (F/C, 6-0, Jr., Spokane, WA); Kayleen Goggins, Montana State Billings (F, 6-1, Sr., Shepherd, MT); Ellie Logan, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-9, Fr., Fossil, OR); Krista Stabler, Saint Martin’s (G, 5-6, Jr., Silverdale, WA); Suzanna Ohlsen, Seattle Pacific (G, 5-7, Sr., Monroe, WA); Erin Chambers, Simon Fraser (G/F, 6-1, Sr., Mission, BC); Sami Osborne, Western Oregon (G/F, 6-1, Fr., Eugene, OR); Jenni White, Western Washington (G, 5-5, Sr., Spokane, WA).

Women's Track & Field: Track - Shannon Porter, Saint Martin's (Jr., Vancouver, WA - Treasure Valley), running in just her first meet with the Saints, set a school record in the 3,000 meters finishing fourth in a time of 10:29.64 at the Washington State Open.  She also ran on SMU's 4x800 relay team which finished first in a school-record time of 10:48.68.   Field - Becki Duhamel, CWU (Sr., Wenatchee, WA - Lehigh) posted the second-best marks in GNAC history in both the shot put (45-11 1/4) and weight throw (57-0 1/4) finishing second and third, respectively, in those events Friday at the Idaho Intercollegiate.  Her marks were the best in the conference since 2009 when CWU's Krissy Tandle set the GNAC record in the shot put (48-9 1/2)  and since 2004 when Kristen Hepler of Western Oregon set the standard in the weight throw with a mark of 58-2 1/2. 

Honorable Mention - Caitlin Curtis, Northwest Nazarene (Sr., Portland, OR - David Douglas);  Aimee Rodes, Northwest Nazarene (So., Puyallup, WA); Kirby Neale, Saint Martin's (Jr., Coos Bay, OR).

Men's Track & Field: Track - Chase Cunningham, Northwest Nazarene (So., Kuna, ID) won the 3,000 meters as the Bronco Invitational in Nampa in a time of 8:52.11.  Field - Armando Tafoya, Central Washington (So,, George, WA - Quincy) posted the best mark in the GNAC this winter in the weight throw falling a quarter inch shy of the provisional national qualifying standard with a throw of 56-1 1/4.  He also had a put of 47-9 1/4 in the shot and finished third in both events Friday at the Idaho Intercollegiate.

Honorable Mention - Cole Hoberg, Northwest Nazarene (So., Prairie City, OR);  Frank Krause, Saint Martin's (Sr., Onalaska, WA); Matt Borton, Seattle Pacific.