Lexie Bland, Kelsey Rogers and Dani Iwami were named to the GNAC All-Academic Team. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
Three Vikings Named to GNAC All-Academic Team
February 7, 2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Three members of the Western Washington University women’s basketball team have been recognized for their academic achievements by being named to the 2018-19 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
Junior guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA), junior guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos/Hawai'i Pacific) and sophomore forward Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) earned the GNAC honor. To qualify for the team, a student-athlete must be of sophomore standing or higher, be in their second season at the nominating school and have a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average.
Bland was one of 29 repeat selections out of the 53 total honorees, also earning the award as a sophomore. Bland has maintained a 3.45 GPA while majoring in kinesiology. Bland has started 19 of 20 games this season, averaging 7.6 points and a team-best 3.4 assists per game.
Iwami (3.61, Environmental Studies) is a first-year selection as she was not eligible as a transfer from Hawai'i Pacific last season. The junior guard was the 2017-19 GNAC Newcomer of the Year and a preseason All-GNAC selection, but has missed most of the season with a foot injury and will seek a medical redshirt season.
Rogers (3.25, Biology) earned the academic honor in her first season of eligibility. The sophomore forward is WWU’s leading scorer at 14.3 points per game and has recorded double-digits in points in 16 of the Vikings 20 games.
The Vikings are 11-9 overall and tied for 5th place in the GNAC standings with a 6-6 conference record. WWU has eight regular-season games remaining (5 on the road, 3 at home), beginning with a pair of road game this week at Western Oregon (Thursday, 7 pm) and Concordia-Portland (Saturday, 2 pm).
-- @WWUWBB --
