By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Another milestone was achieved by legendary women’s basketball coach Carmen Dolfo last week, as she led Western Washington to its 700th win during her storied career.
 
WWU overcame a hefty fourth-quarter deficit last Saturday against Central Washington, emerging with a 67-65 triumph to give Dolfo the landmark triumph. The 34th-year WWU head coach, who has led the program for 968 games, holds a career record of 700-268 (.723). She became the 13th coach in NCAA Division II history to reach 700-career victories and is the fifth active DII coach to achieve 700 wins. Overall she is just the 45th coach in NCAA history and the 18th active coach across all NCAA divisions to reach 700 career wins.
 
Since the Vikings joined the GNAC as a founding member in 2001, Dolfo has a record of 467-176 (.726) including a mark of 290-94 (.755) in conference games. Her 467 total wins are 157 more than the next-closest GNAC coach and her 290 conference triumphs are 107 more than the next closest coach in league history. Dolfo has led the Vikings to six regular-season titles and four conference tournament crowns, including back-to-back GNAC Championships wins in 2023 and 2024. The Vikings have earned 19 NCAA West Region Championships appearances and three NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances during Dolfo’s tenure. Her first win was a 67-54 triumph over Chico State on Nov. 16, 1990.
 
Read More: Comeback Victory Notches Dolfo No. 700 (WWU Recap)
 

This Week's GNAC Women's Basketball Schedule
Home Team	Thursday, Jan. 16	Saturday, Jan. 18
RV Alaska Anchorage	Simon Fraser (7 p.m. AK)	Western Washington (5:15 p.m. AK)
Alaska Fairbanks	Western Washington (7 p.m. AK)	Simon Fraser (12 p.m. AK)
Central Washington	Seattle Pacific (5:15 p.m. PT)	#6 Montana State Billings (4 p.m. PT)
Northwest Nazarene	#6 Montana State Billings (5:15 p.m. MT)	Seattle Pacific (5:15 p.m. MT)
Saint Martin's	BYE	Western Oregon (3 p.m. PT)

 

This Week's Storylines

‘JACKETS BRING STREAK ON ROAD TRIP: Montana State Billings will put its five-game winning streak to the test on the road this week, facing the reigning GNAC Team of the Week Northwest Nazarene (9-5, 3-2) on Thursday night (5:15 p.m. MT) and Central Washington (10-4, 3-2) on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. PT). The Yellowjackets smothered Western Oregon 53-36 last Thursday, before topping Saint Martin’s 75-63 last Saturday to close out a three-game home stand. The 36 points the Wolves scored were the fewest allowed by the Yellowjackets since a 55-31 road win over Saint Martin’s on Jan. 15, 2022, and were the fewest allowed inside Alterowitz Gym since a 79-31 win over Green Mountain on Jan. 17, 2004. Preseason all-conference selection Dyauni Boyce leads the team and ranks fifth in the GNAC in scoring with 15.1 points per game, while adding a GNAC-eighth best 6.2 rebounds per game. Boyce upped her career scoring total to 1,335 points, ranking her 14th in MSUB history and second among active GNAC scoring leaders. Aspen Giese ranks third in the GNAC in 3-point shooting at 42.4% and sixth in the league with 2.1 steals per game. Giese and teammate Kortney Nelson are both on the brink of the 1,000-career points plateau, entering this week’s games with 976 points and 985 points, respectively. Giese also enters the week leading Division II basketball with 53 made 3-pointers, and ranking seventh nationally with 2.94 made threes per game.
 
Read More: ‘Jackets Win 5th Straight (MSUB Recap)
   

GNAC Active Leaders – Career Points (as of Jan. 14)
Rank	Player	Points	School	Career
1	Sunny Huerta	1,612	Central Washington	2021-25
2	Dyauni Boyce	1,335	Montana State Billings	2020-25
3	Asher Cai	1,289	Central Washington	2022-25
4	Sophia Wisotzki	1,207	Simon Fraser	2021-25
5	Kortney Nelson	985	Montana State Billings	2020-25
6	Aspen Giese	976	Montana State Billings	2021-25
7	Jazzpher Evans	870	Alaska Anchorage	2021-25
8	Destiny Reimers	834	Alaska Fairbanks	2021-25
9	Kiana Rios	724	Saint Martin's	2022-25
10	Schuyler Berry	687	Seattle Pacific	2021-25

 

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HUERTA APPROACHES GNAC ALL-TIME TOP-10: After scoring 26 points in last week’s games, Central Washington senior Sunny Huerta upped her career total to 1,612 which is the most among active GNAC players. It also bumped the fourth-year Wildcat up to No. 11 on the all-time GNAC scoring list, and she enters the week just 11 points shy of cracking into the top-10. She surpassed Wildcat All-American Samantha Bowman (1,609 points) last week, making her the league’s highest scoring player since Montana State Billings’ Alisha Breen broke the league record with 2,001 points from 2013-18). Since CWU joined the GNAC as a founding member in 2001, its only player with more points than Huerta was Rose Shaw who ranks seventh in GNAC history with 1,696 points (1998-02). Huerta ranks third in the GNAC in scoring at 17.4 points per game this season, and she leads the league in 3-point shooting at 44.2%. Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Asher Cai is second in the conference with 18.9 points per game, sixth in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game and 10th with 3.3 assists per game. Sophomore Capri Sims leads the team in rebounding, ranking fourth in the GNAC with 7.9 boards per game. The Wildcats are set to host Seattle Pacific on Thursday (5:15 p.m. PT) before welcoming the reigning champion Yellowjackets on Saturday (4 p.m. PT).
 
Read More: Wildcats Suffer Heartbreaker At WWU (CWU Recap)
 

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PERFECT SEAWOLVES ARE HOME THIS WEEK: Matching MSUB with a perfect 5-0 league record, Alaska Anchorage (14-2) gets set to host Simon Fraser on Thursday (7 p.m. AK) and Western Washington on Saturday (5:15 p.m. AK). UAA raced past rival Alaska Fairbanks 72-36 in its lone game last week. Newcomer Emilia Long continues to lead Division II basketball with 4.88 steals per game and 78 total steals. UAA’s Jaisa Gamble is close behind, ranking seventh in total steals (49) and 17th in steals per game (3.06). The Seawolves remain as one of the top statistical teams in Division II this winter, leading the nation in scoring margin (38.0), turnover margin (15.0) and steals per game (19.6), ranking second in scoring defense (44.6) and rebound margin (14.9), fourth in turnovers forced per game (28.9), sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.26), seventh in scoring offense (82.6), eighth in field-goal percentage defense (33.6), 10th in rebounds per game (44.6), and 11th in assists per game (17.6). Elaina Mack ranks third nationally with 3.19 made threes per game and third with 51 total made 3-pointers.
 
Read More: Seawolves Lock Down ‘Nooks (UAA Recap)
 

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VIKINGS TREK NORTH: Western Washington shook off a 63-51 loss to Northwest Nazarene with the inspirational comeback win over the Wildcats last week, keeping itself in sole possession of third place in the conference standings. The Vikings have a big road trip this week, visiting the Nanooks on Thursday (7 p.m. AK) before facing the league-leading Seawolves on Saturday (5:15 p.m. AK). Olivia Wikstrom leads the Vikings in both scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 ppg), ranking eighth and second in the GNAC in those categories respectively. Alyson Deaver is also in the top-10 in the conference with 14.4 points per game, and ranks second in the league with 1.4 blocks per game. Demi Dykstra (11.6 ppg) and Mason Oberg (10.3 ppg) are WWU’s other double-digit scorers.
 

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NIGHTHAWKS HEATING UP: Northwest Nazarene (9-5, 3-2) found its stride last week, beating WWU 63-51 and Simon Fraser 81-55 to up its win streak to three and push its conference record north of .500. NNU will face a major test on Thursday against MSU Billings (5:15 p.m. MT) before hosting Seattle Pacific on Saturday (5:15 p.m. MT). Reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year Kendall Clark grabbed 27 rebounds in last week’s games, upping her season average to 8.0 boards per game to rank her third in the conference. Clark leads the league in shooting at 58.9% and is sixth overall in scoring with a team-best 14.8 points per game. Senior Madeline Gebers knocked down 8 of 12 threes in last week’s wins, improving her mark to a GNAC-fourth best 41.6% from the arc. Gebers averages 12.1 points per game, thanks in large part to 2.6 made treys per contest.
 
Read More: Nighthawks Earn GNAC Team of the Week (GNAC Release)
 

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WOLVES, SAINTS CLASH ON SATURDAY: In their lone game of the week, Western Oregon (7-7, 3-3) travels to Saint Martin’s (9-5, 2-4) in a battle between two teams looking to ascend in the conference standings. The Wolves responded to a 53-36 loss to MSU Billings with a sound 78-67 win over Seattle Pacific last week to keep their conference record at .500. Natalie Brown leads the GNAC with 9.2 rebounds per game, while adding 9.6 points per game. Bella Pedrojetti is fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.1 points per game and has recorded two of the conference’s six 30-point games including a league-best 36 points on Dec. 5 against the Alaska Nanooks. WOU’s Ciona Wells meanwhile averages a GNAC-best 4.6 assists per game and is second in the league with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.0. The Saints are led by Kiana Rios, who ranks seventh in the conference with 14.7 points per game. Avery Oaster is third in the GNAC in shooting at 52.5%, while freshman Jada Travis is fifth in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game, fifth with 2.3 steals per game and fifth with 3.9 assists per game. Sarah Lamet ranks third in the conference with 1.3 blocked shots per game.
 
Read More: Wolves Hold Off Seattle Pacific (WOU Recap)
 

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WISOTZKI REMAINS AMONG NCAA SCORING LEADERS: Simon Fraser senior Sophia Wisotzki remained among the top scorers in Division II this week, with her figure of 23.5 points per game ranking her fourth nationally. Wisotzki also ranks second in total points (353), field-goal attempts (311), free throw attempts (125) and made free throws (106), and 18th in made field goals (107). Wisotzki is fourth among active GNAC scorers with 1,207 career points. The Red Leafs will look to shake off a three-game losing skid with games at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (7 p.m. AK) and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (noon AK).
 

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FALCONS HIT THE ROAD: Seattle Pacific (6-12, 0-5) will hit the road this week to face Central Washington Thursday (5:15 p.m. PT) and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (5:15 p.m. MT). The Falcons came up short in a pair of games last week, falling 71-58 to Saint Martin’s and 78-67 to Western Oregon at home. SPU is led by Hunter Beirne, who averages 11.6 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. The Falcons’ Grace Leasure is fourth in the conference with 1.1 blocked shots per game, and Layne Kearns has converted 19 straight free throws on her way to a mark of 89.5% this season.
 
Read More: Late Rally Not Enough (SPU Recap)

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NANOOKS HOST VIKINGS, RED LEAFS: The Alaska Nanooks (5-8, 0-5) continue their home stand this week against Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday. Alaska’s losing streak reached seven games with last week’s defeat against rival Alaska Anchorage. Destiny Reimers is the team’s leading scorer at 12.8 points per game and she ranks eighth among active GNAC players with 834 career points. Taylor Pilot is second in the conference with 3.2 steals per game.
 
Read More: Nanooks Fall To Seawolves (UAF Recap)
   

Player To Watch

Hedda Koehne – University of Alaska Anchorage
 
It hasn’t taken long for Koehne to make her presence known within the league, as the Otero College transfer has seen action in 16 of 17 games and earned four starts in her first season in Anchorage. A 6-foot-1 forward, Koehne enters the week leading the GNAC with 1.6 blocked shots per game. Playing primarily off the bench, Koehne supplements the UAA lineup with 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in her 18.3 minutes per game. Koehne has reached double digits in scoring four times this season and has recorded multiple blocks on seven occasions including a season-high five on Nov. 8 against Jessup. For one of the nation’s top defensive units, the Lette, Germany native has provided an important presence around the basket.

 

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
Week 6 (12/31)	6. MSUB	RV UAA	RV CWU
Week 7 (1/7)	5. MSUB	RV UAA
Week 8 (1/14)	6. MSUB	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
Week 7 (1/7)	9. MSUB
Week 8 (1/14)	9. MSUB	RV UAA

 

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
Week 7 (1/6)	2. MSUB	5. UAA	8. CWU	T10. SFU	RV WWU
Week 8 (1/13)	2. MSUB	5. UAA	8. CWU	10. WWU	RV NNU

 

GNAC Players of the Week

 

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
12/23	Dyauni Boyce	Montana State Billings
1/6	Olivia Wikstrom	Western Washington
1/13	Asher Cai	Central Washington

Jan. 13 GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
Asher Cai – Central Washington University
Third-career player of the week, first this season.
 
Cai led all GNAC players last week with 46 points and was fourth among all GNAC players with 18 rebounds to take home her first weekly honor of the season. Upping her streak of 20-point games to four, Cai started her week with a 22-point, 9-rebound effort in CWU’s 82-70 road win over Simon Fraser. Cai knocked down eight field goals while adding three steals and three assists to contribute to the victory. In a narrow, 67-65 road loss to preseason favorite Western Washington on Saturday, Cai made 10 more shots on her way to 24 points while adding nine boards, three steals, a pair of assists and a block. Cai shot 46.2% overall in last week’s games, and her 3.0 steals per game were tied for the most among all players that had two games. Through the first 14 games of the season, Cai ranks second in the conference with 18.9 points per game and sixth in the league with 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
CWU Head Coach Randi Richardson: “Asher was efficient and dynamic moving well off the ball, did a great job finding ways to get to the paint and shot it well from three in both games. She also did a great job rebounding from her guard position. It is great to see continued growth in her skillset, approach and her leadership, which I know will only continue as she keeps putting work in.”
 
Also Nominated: Emilia Long, Alaska Anchorage; Aspen Giese, Montana State Billings; Madeline Gebers, Northwest Nazarene; Jada Travis, Saint Martin’s; Hunter Beirne, Seattle Pacific; Sophia Wisotzki, Simon Fraser; Bella Pedrojetti, Western Oregon; Alyson Deaver, Western Washington.

 

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2024-25 GNAC Women's Basketball Championships

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

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2024-25 GNAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2023-24 Record	GNAC Record (Finish)	2024-25 Roster	2024-25 Schedule
1	Western Washington (4)	91	24-7	14-4 (2nd)	Roster	Schedule
2	Montana State Billings (5)	90	28-7	16-2 (1st)	Roster	Schedule
3	Alaska Anchorage (1)	79	19-9	13-5 (3rd)	Roster	Schedule
4	Central Washington	78	19-12	10-8 (T4th)	Roster	Schedule
5	Simon Fraser	59	17-14	10-8 (T4th)	Roster	Schedule
6	Northwest Nazarene	47	9-15	7-11 (7th)	Roster	Schedule
7	Saint Martin's	37	8-17	6-12 (8th)	Roster	Schedule
8	Seattle Pacific	34	11-18	8-10 (6th)	Roster	Schedule
9	Alaska Fairbanks	20	4-23	3-15 (T9th)	Roster	Schedule
10	Western Oregon	15	10-13	3-15 (T9th)	Roster	Schedule
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

 

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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