ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — The GSAC announced its latest Basketball and Swimming Players of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions on Monday, recognizing six student-athletes for their performances from Nov. 2-8.
Embry-Riddle’s Noah Gifft was selected as the Men’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 28 points in a victory over Southeastern. Benedictine Mesa’s Taevon Pierre-Louis earned the defensive honor after recording two double-doubles during an undefeated week.
OUAZ swept the women’s basketball awards after opening its season with three consecutive victories. Kaylona Butler received the offensive award after averaging 22 points, while Madison Symons earned the defensive honor after collecting 26 rebounds and eight steals.
The Master’s also swept the swimming awards. Dylan Crane earned the men’s honor for the second time this season, while Katherine Dyer collected her third consecutive women’s award.
Below is a closer look at this week’s GSAC Players of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions.
Men’s Basketball
Offensive Player of the Week: Noah Gifft, Embry-Riddle
Gifft scored 28 points to lead Embry-Riddle to a 101-86 victory over Southeastern.
The junior guard shot 66.7% from the field, connecting on eight of his 12 attempts. He made three of six shots from 3-point range and converted nine of his 11 free throws.
Gifft added four rebounds and three assists while committing only one turnover during his 28 minutes on the floor.
Defensive Player of the Week: Taevon Pierre-Louis, Benedictine Mesa
Pierre-Louis recorded consecutive double-doubles as Benedictine Mesa earned two road victories over Warner Pacific.
The senior forward collected 11 rebounds in each contest, finishing the week with 22 boards, including 16 on the defensive end. He added two steals and two blocked shots.
Pierre-Louis also made a significant offensive contribution, averaging 20 points and seven assists per game. He scored 24 points in an 89-73 victory before recording 16 points in a 98-96 win. He shot 55.6% from the field across the two games.
Women’s Basketball
Offensive Player of the Week: Kaylona Butler, OUAZ
Butler averaged 22 points as OUAZ opened its season with victories over Our Lady of the Lake, William Penn and College of Saint Mary.
The senior guard scored 24 points in a 72-63 season-opening victory over Our Lady of the Lake. She added 19 points against William Penn before scoring 23 in a 96-54 win over College of Saint Mary.
Butler totaled 66 points while shooting 44.9% from the field, 37% from 3-point range and 80% at the free-throw line. She made 10 3-pointers during the week.
She also averaged 5.7 rebounds, three assists and five steals per game, finishing the three victories with 17 rebounds, nine assists and 15 steals.
Defensive Player of the Week: Madison Symons, OUAZ
Symons anchored the OUAZ defense as the Spirit opened their season with a 3-0 record.
The senior forward averaged 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. She totaled 26 rebounds, including 18 defensive boards, while recording eight steals and one blocked shot.
Symons opened the season with 10 rebounds and four steals against Our Lady of the Lake. She added eight rebounds, two steals and one block against William Penn before finishing with eight rebounds and two steals against College of Saint Mary.
She also contributed 18.3 points and 4.3 assists per game, totaling 55 points and 13 assists during the week.
Swimming
Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Dylan Crane, The Master’s
Crane earned his second GSAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week award of the season following his performance at the Rick Rowland Joust.
The senior tied for second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.03 seconds, finishing alongside two swimmers from NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara.
Crane also recorded a 45.75 split on the second leg of The Master’s fourth-place 400-yard freestyle relay, which finished in 3:07.85. The Mustangs were the highest-finishing team in the event other than UC Santa Barbara.
He also competed on the 200-yard medley relay as The Master’s placed third in the team standings.
Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Katherine Dyer, The Master’s
Dyer collected her third consecutive GSAC Women’s Swimmer of the Week award after recording four top-four individual finishes at the Rick Rowland Joust.
The junior finished second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.02, placing just 0.37 seconds behind the winner from NCAA Division I San Diego State. She added a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle in 50.25 seconds.
Dyer placed fourth in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:23.73 and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.64.
She also posted a team-best 49.83 split on The Master’s third-place 400-yard freestyle relay, which finished ahead of every relay from Cal Baptist and Biola. Dyer also competed on the Mustangs’ 200-yard medley relay.
2026-27 GSAC Basketball and Swimming Weekly Awards