Basketball - W | 3/2/2016 9:26:00 PM
The GNAC Basketball Championships begin Thursday at Saint Martin's University's Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash., with the No. 4 seed SFU Clan faceing No. 5 Central Washington at 7:30 PM.
Simon Fraser heads to the conference championship as the fourth seed, finishing at 13-7, 15-10 overall. The Clan enters the tournament with the longest active winning streak at three games after ending Alaska Anchorage's 19-game winning streak. Along with Western Washington, they were one of just two teams to beat the Seawolves this year.
Central Washington earned the No. 5 seed on the final night of the season thanks to its win at home over Montana State Billings. The Wildcats tied with Northwest Nazarene at 10-10 in GNAC play and tied their season series, but the Wildcats earned the higher seed based on their record against teams finishing with a .750 in-conference record (Central Washington 2-4, Northwest Nazarene 0-6).
During the regular season Central and Simon Fraser split the season series, 1-1. The first contest was played in Burnaby where the Wildcats claimed a 64-50 victory. CWU senior Jasmine Parker, who was recently named to the All-GNAC Second Team, notched a double-double with 10 rebounds and 19 points in that game.
The Clan returned the favor in Ellensburg in early February. Led by
Ellen Kett and
Elisa Homer, the Clan claimed a 56-48 victory. Kett recorded 19 points, while Homer picked up 11. Both Kett and Homer were All-GNAC selections.
The Clan averaged 69.7 points per game on the season, while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor. Simon Fraser's defense allowed just 64.7 points per game and posted a rebounding margin of plus-one. SFU is one of the best three-point shooting teams in NCAA, shooting 37.9% (13
th in NCAA D2) from beyond the arc and averaging 9.4 (7
th) makes per game.
Junior guard
Ellen Kett is one the biggest reasons for the Clan's success this season. She was selected to the All-GNAC First Team after ranking second in all of Division II in three-point shooting (.495), third in assists per game (7.3) and fourth in total assists (182). Kett also recorded the GNAC's only triple-double of the season in the Clan's victory over Alaska Anchorage.
Elisa Homer adds another scoring threat from the outside, leading the GNAC in three-point shooting and ranking third in Division II in three-pointers made per game (3.76).
Central Washington rode the second best defense in the GNAC to a 10-10 conference record, 17-11 overall. The Wildcats allowed just 55.7 points per game and ranked second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.369), rebounding defense (31.7) and blocked shots per game (4.6). The Wildcats' season includes wins over four of the five playoff teams including Western Washington, Montana State Billings, Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene.
Jasmin Edwards and Jasmine Parker combine for a tough one-two punch on both sides of the ball. Edwards averages 11.7 points per game with 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals. She ranks third in the GNAC with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.5. Parker averages 10.8 points per game, 7.5 rebounds with a .527 shooting percentage. She is also second in blocks at 2.5 per game.
Alaska Anchorage owns the best overall record against playoff teams at 8-2. Western Washington and Montana State Billings each finished 6-4 versus playoff teams, Simon Fraser at 5-5, Central Washington at 4-6 and Northwest Nazarene finished 1-9. Alaska Anchorage ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA West Region Poll while Montana State Billings ranked No. 8 and Western Washington No. 9. The winner of the GNAC Championships receives the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament.
The championship game will be played on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be aired nationally by the American Sports Network as part of its Division II Basketball Showcase. All GNAC Championships games will be video streamed at GNAC.tv.
