FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu January 25, 2016 Breen earns second GNAC Player of the Week honor MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU GNAC Release MSUB GNAC Players of the Week
Junior Alisha Breen earned her second career GNAC Player of the Week nod.
MSUB women’s basketball player Alisha Breen scores 43 points and finishes 11-12 from the free-throw line last week, earning her second GNAC Player of the Week honor. PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second time this season, MSUB junior Alisha Breen earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors the conference office announced Monday. Breen was instrumental in leading Montana State University Billings to conference wins against Western Washington (53-47) and Simon Fraser (67-61) last week at Alterowitz. The 5-foot-10 junior from Choteau, Mont., scored 43 points in
the two games. She recorded nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. The team leader in total free-throws this season (87) was a combined 11-12 from the foul-line, including a crucial 8-8 against the Clan on Saturday. “Alisha is very deserving of this great honor,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “She played terrific basketball last week and was a key factor in our team’s ability to win two games. Her versatility allowed her to score in many ways, and she impacted each game defensively as well. In addition, I believe her leadership is very important to her team’s success.” In both games, Breen sparked an offensive charge for the Yellowjackets. She played 39 minutes against each opponent, doing a little bit of everything as MSUB finished with its seventh straight win for a 9-1 record in the GNAC to remain in a share of the lead with Alaska Anchorage. Against Western Washington, Breen scored a game-high 21 points. Breen had a run in the second quarter against WWU to pull the ‘Jackets into the lead and she had six of the last nine MSUB points of the game to pull the Yellowjackets ahead down the stretch. Against Simon Fraser, Breen scored a game-high 22 points for her seventh 20-plus game of the season. Down again to their opponents, Breen scored six straight for the Yellowjackets to jump-start their recovery. She was also critical in the final minutes with another six of nine points, including 4-4 at the free-throw line in the final 40 seconds. On the season, Breen is averaging 17.4 points per game for second-best in the conference. She is also averaging 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 3-pointers, and 1.5 steals. The junior is shooting at a 40.0 percent clip from the field and is 87-110 (79.1 percent) from the free-throw line. Breen had a career-high 37 points this season against Academy of Art and a careerhigh 17 rebounds against Alaska. For her career, Breen is closing in on 1,000 career points with 966 total. She has 309 made free-throws for MSUB, sandwiching her at No. 4 all-time between No. 3 Shelley Altrogge (310, 1990-91) and Kayla Ryan (308, 2007-11). Breen earned her first career, and the first of the season, GNAC Player of the Week honor for Nov. 9-15. During games against No. 3 Cal Baptist and Academy of Art, Breen scored 52 points while pulling in 17 rebounds, and making eight steals. MSU Billings stays at home this week starting the second half of the conference season by hosting Alaska on Thursday, Jan. 28, followed by a contest against No. 1 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Jan. 30. Both games will start at 7:00 p.m. with a live video stream and statistics available on the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal. The game against No. 1 Alaska Anchorage (20-1, 9-1 GNAC) could separate the top-2 teams in the GNAC standings. Alaska (9-11, 4-6 GNAC) hosts Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday before traveling to Billings for the team’s second game of the week. If both the Seawolves and the Yellowjackets win their game against the Nanooks, Saturday’s game at Alterowitz will be a showdown for sole possession of first-place in the conference. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--