NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene women's basketball went 1-1 last week against the Alaska programs, and now has a big test this week with No. 6/8 Western Washington along with Simon Fraser coming to the Johnson Sports Center.
Game Information
NNU (12-6, 6-4 GNAC) vs Western Washington (14-1, 6-1 GNAC)
Thursday, Feb. 10 | 7:30 PM | Nampa, Idaho | Johnson Sports Center
Live Video | Live Stats
NNU (12-6, 6-4 GNAC) vs Simon Fraser (8-10, 4-5 GNAC)
Saturday, Feb. 12 | 7:30 PM | Nampa, Idaho | Johnson Sports Center
Live Video | Live Stats
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU had a furious fourth quarter rally fall short at Alaska Anchorage last Thursday, falling to the Seawolves for the second time this season by a final score of 74-69.
- The Nighthawks bounced back with a good road victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, pulling away from the Nanooks for a 14-point win, 87-73.
- The Nighthawks hold in seventh in the D2SIDA West Region rankings, with the highest they have been this season being sixth.
- When NNU holds opponents under 70 points, they are 9-1. When NNU scores 70 or more, they are also 9-1.
- If NNU forces more turnovers than they commit, they are 8-1 in such games on the season.
- Teagan Thurman has only started three games this year and plays under 19 minutes per game, but the sophomore forward is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest. The rebounding mark is second in the GNAC and scoring is tied for 13th. She has also recorded five double-doubles on the season.
- Nyalam Thabach leads the Nighthawks and is 10th in the GNAC with 12.9 points per game, shooting 49.7% from the field for sixth in the conference, and has made four of the eight triples she has attempted this year. She also pulls down 7.3 rebounds per game (7th in the GNAC) and has notched 15 blocks.
- Freshman Ashlynn Sylve is in eighth in the GNAC in field goal percentage (49.5) and tied for fourth in steals (1.9 per game).
- Erin Jenkins is third on the squad with 11.3 points per game and 5.3 boards per contest.
- As a team, NNU is second in the GNAC in scoring at 72.0 points per game, third in field goal percentage at 42.0%, first in rebounding with 41.1 per game, second in steals with 10.6 per game, and first in offensive rebounding with 14.1 per game.
Series History
- Against Western Washington, NNU is 13-30 since joining Division II in 2001. The Nighthawks are 7-12 in the games played in Nampa, but NNU has won two of the last three home matchups. In the most recent meeting back in the 2020 GNAC Semifinals, Western Washington held off a late NNU comeback for a 66-63 win.
- Against Simon Fraser, NNU is 10-11 since joining Division II in 2001. The Nighthawks are 6-4 in the games played in Nampa, and have won the last three home meetings as well as five of the last six overall matchups. In the most recent meeting on Feb. 15, 2020 in Burnaby, NNU pulled out a thrilling 99-91 win in overtime.
Scouting the Vikings
- Western Washington has been nearly untouchable all season, leading the conference standings with a 14-1 overall record and 6-1 GNAC mark, with their lone blemish coming at home to Central Washington on Jan. 13.
- Since then, the Vikings have rattled off four wins in a row, but games have been few and far between with four postponements also coming during that stretch.
- Emma Duff leads WWU and is tied for fourth in the GNAC with 15.9 points per game, fifth with 7.4 rebounds per game, tied for second with an 84.0 free throw percentage, sixth with a 36.4 three-point percentage, and sixth with 1.1 blocks per game.
- Mollie Olson is sixth in the GNAC with 3.5 assists per game, while Carley Zaragoza is second in the conference with a 59.5 field goal percentage.
- As a team, the Nighthawks are third in the conference with 70.3 points per game, first with 52.3 points allowed per game, first with a 46.3 field goal percentage, first with a 34.1 three-point percentage, second with 40.0 rebounds per game, and second with 4.0 blocks per game.
Scouting SFU
- Simon Fraser enters the week seventh in the GNAC standings at 4-5 along with an 8-10 overall mark.
- SFU has done well as of late, though, winning three of their last four.
- Jessica Wisotzki is sixth in the GNAC with 15.8 points per game and seventh with a 35.8 three-point percentage.
- Gemma Cutler leads the conference with a 59.8 field goal percentage and is second on SFU with 8.5 points per game.
- As a team, Simon Fraser is fourth in the GNAC with 70.1 points per game, third with 15.7 assists per game, third with 9.1 steals per game, and third with a +1.89 turnover margin.
