Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament

Guard Corinn Waltrip looks to lead Western Washington to a birth in the NCAA Div. II West Regional

Things are a little different in the race for this year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball crown. For the first time, G-NAC basketball teams are competing in a season-ending tournament, the winner of which gets an automatic birth into the NCAA Div. II West Regional.

That doesn't mean much for the Central Washington men (16-2, 24-2) or the Western Washington women (17-1, 25-2) who have locked up regional births with stellar regular seasons. Still, the dream of running the table remains for borderline tournament teams such as the Northwest Nazarene men (10-8, 15-11), who knocked off a favored Viking men's squad 77-75 in the tournament's opening round.

Follow all the action at the G-NAC homepage. The tournament continues Wednesday with the men's final set for Friday, followed by the women's final Saturday.