By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After the first 10 minutes on Thursday night at Sam Carver Gym, the Northwest Nazarene women’s basketball team had just eight points.
 
“Our players didn’t panic,” said NNU head coach Steve Steele. “We have been unfortunate enough to start several games down by a decent margin, so we have been in that position before. We tried to stay solid on the defensive side so their lead didn’t get bigger. From an offensive standpoint, we needed to try to get downhill more.”
 
The Nighthawks turned things around and rallied for a 63-51 triumph over the Vikings (9-6, 4-2), out-scoring their opposition 39-28 in a much-improved second half. “WWU is a good defensive team, and you have to earn good shots against them,” said Steele, whose team shot 53.8% in the second half compared to just 25.0% in the first half. “We were impatient to start the game, but did a better job of being more patient and sharing the ball as the game went on.”
 
NNU (9-5, 3-2 GNAC) then raced past Simon Fraser (9-6, 2-4) 81-55 on Saturday to extend its winning streak to three games and earn GNAC Team of the Week recognition. The climb up the GNAC standings started the previous week in historic fashion, when NNU broke the record for points in a conference game with a 115-90 win over Alaska Fairbanks. After rallying to beat the Vikings, who were selected as the 2024-25 GNAC preseason favorite, the momentum carried over into the 81-point performance against the Red Leafs in which NNU shot 47.0% overall. “That was a very different game – they play the opposite kind of style from WWU,” Steele said on facing SFU. “If you beat a team like Western at their place, you come out of it with confidence. We did a good job handling the initial pressure from Simon. We were able to get downhill quickly and get some open looks early that kept the confidence rolling.”
 
NNU’s top statistical performers this season – reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year Kendall Clark and 2023-24 second-team selection Madeline Gebers – each had a standout performance to spur last week’s wins. Gebers stepped up against WWU, knocking down 8 of 12 field goals including 6 of 9 threes on her way to a season-high 22 points. The senior from Kennewick, Wash., added seven rebounds while improving her season 3-point percentage to 41.6 which ranks her fourth in the conference. “The biggest thing she has done from last year is improve her leadership qualities,” Steele said of the second-year Nighthawk. “She understands that teams are going to key on her, and she sometimes needs to be patient. She scored most of those points in the second half, and her teammates did a good job of finding her. That’s something we have done well this year as a group, and we did it well against Western.”
 
It was Clark’s turn to carry the offensive load against the Red Leafs, as she made 10 of 14 field goals for 21 points and added a season-high 14 rebounds. The 5-foot-10 sophomore forward from Melba, Idaho, ranks sixth in the conference with 14.8 points per game and third in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game. The GNAC leader in shooting at 58.9%, Clark has firmly established herself as one of the conference’s most dominant players around the bucket. “She can finish around the rim, and she has extended her game to knock down jumpers,” Steele said. “We haven’t always done a good job finding her, and with Kendall since she plays primarily on the inside sometimes it can be harder to get the ball to her. We did a good job of that over and over again on Saturday night.”
 
Kate Clark, Kendall’s older sister who is a senior guard on the team, is another key piece of the lineup having started 13 of 14 games this season. Clark averages 8.5 points per game while shooting 41.3% from the field and is second on the team with 19 made threes this winter. After playing 35 important minutes in the win over the Vikings, Clark had an impressive stat line of seven points, six boards and four assists in just 22 minutes in the win over SFU. “Kate is probably our most consistent player,” Steele said. “The numbers may not show it, but she plays a lot of minutes for a reason. She is solid and consistent on both sides of the floor, and on the offensive side she really understands what we are trying to do. She has added the element of getting to the rim and being able to score from outside and inside. All four of our seniors have done a good job of being consistent and leading this year. Kate falls into that category.”
 
The Nighthawks’ other everyday starter is freshman point guard Chloe Deharo, who has gotten her collegiate career off to a strong start. The Spokane, Wash., native has had multiple assists in each of the last four games, including a season-high eight on Jan. 2 against Alaska Anchorage. Deharo is averaging 8.4 points per game, and her 24 steals are tied for most on the team. “Chloe was tough all weekend,” Steele said. “She hit some big free throws in both games and did a good job of handling pressure. She got her head split open on Thursday and finished the game and played with a huge patch around her eye all night against SFU. She does a good job taking care of the basketball and getting it to the other kids also. For a freshman, she has been really consistent.”
 
Senior forward Loy Waid and senior guard Shawnacee Davis have platooned in the NNU starting lineup based on matchups. Waid has played in all 14 games with four starts, while averaging 6.2 points per game and shooting 48.5%. Davis has earned six starts, chipping in 6.0 points per game and shooting 40.0% from the floor. “Both of them bring great energy wherever we play them,” Steele said on the veterans. “They paly different roles, but as leaders have been consistent helping us stay organized. One of the biggest things we have improved on over the last two weeks is we have gotten more consistent on the defensive side. They are tough and are good verbal leaders. When we have needed them, each has had different games where they have scored for us also.”
 
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Nighthawks, who host No. 5 Montana State Billings (15-2, 5-0) on Thursday (5:15 p.m. MT) in their next game. Steele, who is in his ninth season in charge of the program and has accumulated a record of 139-82 (.629), has his team looking no further than its next opponent. “Winning those two tough games on the road helps. We have won three in a row, and hopefully that translates into confidence,” he said. “There are just no easy games in our league. I hope there is some confidence, and I think we are smart enough to know every night is going to be tough and anybody can beat anybody in this league.”