The Vikings have advanced to the GNAC Championships eight times in the nine years of the tournament. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
Vikings Announced as No. 6 Seed for GNAC Championships
March 3, 2019
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Washington University women’s basketball team has been announced as the No. 6 seed for the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships that will be held March 7-9 in Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
The Vikings finished the regular season with a 11-9 league record to tie for 5th place and were 16-12 overall.
WWU will match up against No. 3 seed Simon Fraser (17-10, 13-7) in the 2:15 pm game on Thursday, March 7. The Vikings were 2-0 against the Clan this season, defeating SFU 70-62 on the road on Nov. 27 and 67-49 earlier this week in Carver Gym.
Alaska Anchorage clinched its ninth conference tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed after winning the regular-season title with a 19-1 league mark. UAA enters the postseason with a 27-1 overall record and a current 20-game winning streak.
Northwest Nazarene (26-2, 18-2) will be the No. 2 seed and joins UAA as teams that will receive a first-round bye.
Simon Fraser is the No. 3 seed with a 13-7 GNAC record. The Clan have qualified for the postseason event in each of their nine years in the conference. They have already proven to be a dangerous and worthy opponent this season, knocking off NNU when it was ranked No. 1 in the nation back in January.
Central Washington is the No. 4 seed after clinching its trip to Bellingham in the penultimate week of the regular season. The Wildcats will take on No. 5 Concordia, which is making its first-ever GNAC Championships appearance after joining the league in 2015. That contest will tip-off the event at 12 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
The semifinals will be played on Friday with Alaska Anchorage taking on the winner of Central Washington and Concordia at Noon. Northwest Nazarene will then take on the winner of Simon Fraser and Western Washington at 2:15 p.m.
The championship game is scheduled for 5:20 p.m. on Saturday with the winner receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Championships. The tournament is being held in conjunction with the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships and tickets can be purchased at gnachooptickets.com.
GNAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Carver Gymnasium, Bellingham, Wash.
Thursday, March 7
No. 4 Central Washington vs. No. 5 Concordia, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Simon Fraser vs. No. 6 Western Washington, 2:15 p.m.
Friday, March 8
Winner of 4/5 Game vs. No. 1 Alaska Anchorage, 12 p.m.
Winner of 3/6 Game vs. No. 2 Northwest Nazarene, 2:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 9
Championship Game, 5:20 p.m.
-- @WWUWBB --
