By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – The final non-conference games of the year cover the next five days of action for Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball teams.
Action kicks off with a slate of four games on Tuesday, and at least one GNAC team is playing every day through Saturday to close out the calendar year of contests. After a set of five games on Saturday, all teams will be off for the winter break with their schedules resuming in the new year. Conference play returns in full force on Jan. 2, 2025, as the race towards the 2025 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships continues.
| This Week's GNAC Women's Basketball Schedule |
| GNAC Team |
Opponent(s) |
Location |
| RV Alaska Anchorage |
Hawaii Pacific/Daemen |
Honolulu, HI |
| Alaska Fairbanks |
Cal State East Bay/San Francisco State |
California |
| #24 Central Washington |
#9 Cal State Dominguez Hills/RV Cal State LA/Biola |
California |
| #3 Montana State Billings |
#23 Cal Poly Pomona/#16 Texas Tyler/#7 Lubbock Christian |
Las Vegas, NV |
| Northwest Nazarene |
MSU Denver/Westminster |
Salt Lake City, UT |
| Saint Martin's |
Multnomah |
Lacey, WA |
| Seattle Pacific |
Pacific Lutheran/Westminster/MSU Denver |
Washington/Utah |
| Western Oregon |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
Monmouth, OR |
| Western Washington |
Hawaii Hilo/Quincy |
Hilo, HI |
| GNAC In The National & Regional Rankings |
National top-25 rankings are released weekly by both the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (coach poll) and the D2 College Sports Communicators (media poll). The D2CSC also releases weekly regional top-10 rankings. Additional ranking information, including RPI projections, can be found in real time via
Inkblot Sports online here. The official NCAA regional rankings, which will eventually determine the eight-team field for the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships, will be released towards the end of the season beginning in February, 2025.
| WBCA National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
| Preseason (10/29) |
6. MSUB |
RV WWU |
|
| Week 1 (11/19) |
5. MSUB |
RV CWU |
|
| Week 2 (11/26) |
3. MSUB |
RV CWU |
|
| Week 3 (12/3) |
3. MSUB |
RV CWU |
|
| Week 4 (12/10) |
3. MSUB |
RV CWU |
RV UAA |
| Week 5 (12/17) |
3. MSUB |
24. CWU |
RV UAA |
| D2CSC National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Preseason (11/5) |
10. WWU |
20. MSUB |
| Week 1 (11/12) |
19. MSUB |
|
| Week 2 (11/19) |
15. MSUB |
|
| Week 3 (11/26) |
T10. MSUB |
|
| Week 4 (12/3) |
16. MSUB |
|
| Week 5 (12/10) |
12. MSUB |
|
| Week 6 (12/17) |
9. MSUB |
|
| D2CSC West Region Rankings |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Team 5 |
| Preseason (11/4) |
1. WWU |
3. MSUB |
7. UAA |
9. CWU |
|
| Week 1 (11/11) |
2. MSUB |
6. UAA |
T7. WWU |
T9. CWU |
RV SFU |
| Week 2 (11/18) |
2. MSUB |
6. CWU |
8. UAA |
9. SFU |
T10. WWU |
| Week 3 (11/25) |
1. MSUB |
6. UAA |
7. CWU |
8. SFU |
RV WWU |
| Week 4 (12/2) |
2. MSUB |
6. UAA |
7. CWU |
RV SFU |
RV SMU |
| Week 5 (12/9) |
2. MSUB |
6. UAA |
7. CWU |
10. SFU |
RV WWU |
| Week 6 (12/16) |
1. MSUB |
6. UAA |
7. CWU |
10. SFU |
|
| Date |
Player of the Week |
School |
| 11/4 |
Emilia Long |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 11/11 |
Sunny Huerta |
Central Washington |
| 11/18 |
Aspen Giese |
Montana State Billings |
| 11/25 |
Jada Travis |
Saint Martin's |
| 12/2 |
Alyson Deaver |
Western Washington |
| 12/9 |
Emilia Long |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 12/16 |
Aspen Giese |
Montana State Billings |
Dec. 16 GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
Aspen Giese – Montana State University Billings
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Giese led the Yellowjackets to a pair of wins last week, as they took down Rocky Mountain College 77-49 and Montana Western 79-53 to extend their winning streak to 10 games. Playing a key role in both wins, Giese kicked off her week by scoring a season-high 23 points while adding four rebounds, three steals a block and an assist against the Battlin’ Bears. Giese’s seven made threes in the game were a career best and tied for the most by any GNAC player this season. She followed with a dozen points, seven rebounds two steals and two assists in the game against the Bulldogs. Overall on the week Giese shot 57.9% from 3-point range (11-for-19) while averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. Giese leads the team with 13.5 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game, and her 2.8 made threes per game rank her fourth in the conference.
MSUB Head Coach Kevin Woodin: “Aspen had a terrific week, especially offensively from the 3-point line. She has the ability to score at all three levels. Her teammates created great looks for her and she consistently knocked down shots in both games last week. Aspen is an elite two-way player who is effective on both ends. In addition, her senior leadership has been an important key to our team’s success.”
Also Nominated: Hunter Beirne, Seattle Pacific; Natalie Brown, Western Oregon.
The 2025 GNAC Men’s and Women's Basketball Championships will be held March 6-8 at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in
Lacey, Wash. The top six teams in the GNAC standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the GNAC Championships (tiebreakers will be applied as necessary). The top two seeds earn byes to the semifinal round. The quarterfinal round will match the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in one game and the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the other game. Quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals. Semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the championship. The winners of the GNAC Championships will automatically qualify for their respective NCAA Division II Championships events.
| 2024-25 All-Tournament Selections |
D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead
Nov. 1-3 at Billings, Mont. (Montana State Billings, Host)
MSU Billings: Dyauni Boyce; Aspen Giese
D2CCA Canadian Tipoff Classic
Nov. 1-3 at Langley, B.C. (Simon Fraser, Host)
Simon Fraser: Sophia Wisotzki
Seattle Pacific: Layne Kearns
Mt. McKinley Banks North Star Invitational
Nov. 15-16 at Fairbanks, Alaska (Alaska Fairbanks, Host
Alaska Fairbanks: Kayla Johnson; Taylor Pilot
Western Oregon: Natalie Brown
| 2024-25 GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team |
| Preseason Player of the Year: Sunny Huerta, Central Washington University |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Height |
Year |
Hometown |
Previous School |
| Tori Hollingshead |
Alaska Anchorage |
Forward/Center |
6-3 |
Senior |
Orem, Utah |
Umpqua CC |
| Sunny Huerta |
Central Washington |
Guard |
5-4 |
Senior |
Whittier, Calif. |
Saint Paul |
| Asher Cai |
Central Washington |
Guard |
5-9 |
Junior |
Colfax, Wash. |
Colfax |
| Capri Sims |
Central Washington |
Forward |
6-0 |
Sophomore |
Post Falls, Idaho |
Post Falls |
| Dyauni Boyce |
Montana State Billings |
Forward |
5-11 |
Senior |
Winifred, Mont. |
Winifred |
| Aspen Giese |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
5-8 |
Senior |
Fort Benton, Mont. |
Fort Benton |
| Kortney Nelson |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
5-8 |
Senior |
Scobey, Mont. |
Scobey |
| Kendall Clark |
Northwest Nazarene |
Guard/Forward |
5-10 |
Sophomore |
Melba, Idaho |
Melba |
| Madeline Gebers |
Northwest Nazarene |
Guard/Forward |
6-0 |
Senior |
Kennewick, Wash. |
Spokane Falls CC |
| Sarah Lamet |
Saint Martin's |
Forward |
6-4 |
Junior |
Tigard, Ore. |
Tigard |
| Hunter Beirne |
Seattle Pacific |
Guard |
5-7 |
Senior |
Mukilteo, Wash. |
Kamiak |
| Schuyler Berry |
Seattle Pacific |
Center |
6-3 |
Senior |
Portland, Ore. |
Grant |
| Sophia Wisotzki |
Simon Fraser |
Guard |
5-10 |
Senior |
Langley, B.C. |
Walnut Grove Secondary |
| Mason Oberg |
Western Washington |
Guard |
5-5 |
Junior |
Vancouver, Wash. |
Union |
| Olivia Wikstrom |
Western Washington |
Guard |
6-1 |
Senior |
Bainbridge Island, Wash. |
Bainbridge |