(MSUB Athletics release)
PORTLAND, Ore. – Continuing one of the best seasons ever in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball, Montana State University Billings senior forward Alisha Breen became the first player in the history of the conference to win the Player of the Week award five times in one year, the conference announced Monday.
Breen helped the Yellowjackets (18-10, 11-7 GNAC) clinch a spot in the GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships, with a 77-57 win over Concordia University last Thursday. The Choteau, Mont., native approached a triple-double in the game, scoring 25 points and adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
On Saturday against Western Oregon, Breen matched her season high with 31 points and added 11 rebounds to complete her 14th double-double of the year.
Overall on the week Breen shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the field, 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from 3-point range, and made 14 of 16 free throws. Breen had 56 points, 19 rebounds, 11 assists, six steals, and two blocks to go along with her 56 points. She committed just four turnovers while playing 70 of 80 minutes.
Breen moved into fourth place in GNAC history in career scoring with 1,783 points, moved to No. 4 in MSUB history and No. 13 in GNAC history with 800 career rebounds, and is tied for third in conference history with six-career 30-point games.
Breen’s 573 points scored this season are already the sixth-most in GNAC single-season history, and she continues to lead the league with 20.5 points per game. She also ranks second in the conference with 9.7 rebounds per contest.
Four other players in GNAC history had won the conference’s weekly award four times in a season, a feat that Breen achieved on Jan. 15 earlier this year. With Monday’s award, Breen passed Rebecca Kielpinski of Alaska Anchorage (2005-06), Alira Carpenter of MSU Billings (2008-09), Taylor Peacocke of Western Washington (2016-17), and Autummn Williams of Alaska Anchorage (2016-17) for most GNAC Player of the Week awards in a single season.
Breen has now won GNAC Player of the Week seven times in her career, second only to UAA’s Kielpinski who won the honor eight times from 2005-09.
MSUB finishes the 2017-18 regular season on the road this week, playing at Simon Fraser University on Thursday and Western Washington University on Saturday. Both games will tip off at 8 p.m. Mountain time, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available online through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal.
