(GNAC release)
ATLANTA – With the individual success that she’s been having all year, it comes as no surprise that Montana State Billings senior Alisha Breen has been chosen for yet another prestigious honor as the forward is one of 10 players selected to the 2018 Women’s Coaches Basketball Association (WBCA) Division II First-Team all-America.
After leading Montana State Billings to its second NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in school history, Breen is the sole West Region player selected to the team. Representing the GNAC as honorable mentions were Alaska Anchorage junior forward Hannah Wandersee and Seattle Pacific senior guard Jordan McPhee.
Not only did Breen lead the Yellowjackets to its first GNAC championship in program history, she also led MSUB to a 71-70 win over Alaska Anchorage for the NCAA Division II West Regional championship. Breen, the GNAC and Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) West Region Player of the Year, has been a dual threat this season as she is No. 11 in Division II with 21.3 points per game and is second in the GNAC with 9.3 rebounds per game. She is ranked ninth in the nation with 17 double-doubles and is the GNAC’s all-time leading scorer with 1,976 career points.
Wandersee, a First Team All-GNAC selection, led Alaska Anchorage to a share of its fourth straight regular season title. She led the team with 14.7 points per game and is eighth in the GNAC with 6.3 rebounds per game. Wandersee is also among the conference leaders in field goal percentage (.529), free throw percentage (.782), blocked shots (1.5 per game) and offensive rebounds (2.7 per game). Wandersee paced the Seawolves’ offense with 16 points per game during the postseason and led Alaska Anchorage to a 27-5 record.
On the back of McPhee’s productive scoring season, the Falcons reached the NCAA Division II West Regional as the No. 6 seed. Shooting 43 percent from the field, she finished the campaign with a team-high 13.7 points per game. McPhee, a selection to the All-GNAC First Team and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, ended the season ranked fourth in the league with 1.9 steals per game and paced a Falcons’ team that allowed a GNAC-best 61.4 points per contest.
The WBCA presents the Player of the Year award annually to the top player in five of the six WBCA membership divisions (NCAA Divisions II, and III, NAIA, junior/community college and high school). The Player of the Year and the 10-member Coaches’ All-America team in each division are selected by a committee of WBCA member coaches in that division.
