PORTLAND, Ore. – After tying for first place at the South Dakota Mines Hardrocker Invitational last week, Montana State University Billings junior Avery Gill has been selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week announced by the conference office Monday.
 
Gill shot a two-round score of 163 (80-83) at the event, en route to her first-ever first-place finish as a Yellowjacket. "This is a great recognition for Avery," said MSUB head coach Jeff Allen. "She had a solid week of play and it's great that she was rewarded for her efforts."
 
SD Mines' Rianna Garland defeated Gill in a one-hole playoff to claim the tournament individual title, but Gill's effort was enough to help the Yellowjacket women's team cruise to the team title among a field of eight at Arrowhead Country Club.
 
Battling through harsh weather conditions with sustained winds of 30 miles per hour and temperatures in the 30s, Gill navigated the course well to top the field of 50 competitors. Her first-round score of 80 was the second-best individual round of the tournament, and it was tied for the eighth-best single-round score by a Yellowjacket this spring.
 
This is the first-career GNAC Player of the Week honor for Gill and the first of the season for the Yellowjacket women's golf team.
 
MSUB competes at the 2021 GNAC Championships, running Monday-Tuesday at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington. Live results for the championship tournament are available through Golf Stat online here.