THE SCHEDULE:         Saturday, Dec. 18: SPU at Simon Fraser, 5:15 p.m. 
                                       West Gym/Burnaby, B.C. 
                                       Live Webcast        Live stats 


        Weekly release, with complete stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons have found their winning ways again – and just in time for conference play.

Coming off two victories in the CCAA-GNAC Challenge women's basketball tournament last weekend in Rohnert, Park, Calif., the Falcons open their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this week when they visit Simon Fraser on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.

The trip north of the border will be the first time SPU and the Clan have met in a GNAC game, although the teams were regular rivals when both were in the Pacific West Conference. It will match a Falcons team that is the preseason favorite to claim the conference crown against the defending Canadian national champions who are in their first year of NCAA Division II play.

Simon Fraser has won five Canadian crowns and is coming off a 32-1 season.

Saturday's game will be the only time Seattle Pacific takes the competition court this week – and will be its last contest prior to Christmas.

The Falcons come into their GNAC opener back in stride. After a pair of losses in St. George, Utah, during the first weekend of December, Seattle Pacific bounced back to beat Sonoma State last Friday, 64-49. Then, they came from behind to edge No. 17 Chico State last Saturday, 57-56, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season, thanks to Nyesha Sims' 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in the game.





TWO HONORS IN THREE DAYS FOR ROHRBACH
Caitlyn Rohrbach couldn't have scripted her week any better. After back-to-back career scoring highs of 14 points against Sonoma State and 15 against Chico State, plus a career-best nine rebounds against Sonoma, Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the CCAA-GNAC Challenge last weekend.

Then on Monday, the GNAC honored Rohrbach as its women's basketball Player of the Week. It was the first such award of her career and the first for any Falcons player this season. It was shared with Alaska Anchorage's Alysa Horn.

FOLLOW IT LIVE
All Seattle Pacific home games and almost all GNAC road games will have live Webcast and live stats feeds available online. Fans will be able to find the links at the beginning of each week by clicking on the Live Stats or Webcast icons at www.spufalcons.com. The only exceptions will be no live Webcast from the game at Western Washington on Feb. 2, which will be carried live by Fox Sports Northwest television, and no live stats from the game at Saint Martin's on Feb. 19.

SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
It was during the final stretch run of the two games in Utah when the Falcons stumbled two weekends ago. But, it was during that same stretch run of last weekend's games when they pulled together – and pulled out the wins.

“That was really important. Part of learning how to play with confidence and poise comes with fighting through a little bit of adversity,” coach Julie van Beek Heisey said. “Having gone through some of that adversity the week before and not coming out on top, it was good to be in that situation again, knowing that we can do a better job of rebounding – which we did – and understanding shot selection. “And we did a really good job of taking care of the ball. We had very few turnovers, and Chico is an aggressive team defensively.”

While the start of conference play is coming considerably earlier than the traditional time of early January, Heisey said that at least the Falcons have had some more time to prepare, as they are the last team that has not yet played a GNAC game so far.

“In some ways, we're luckier because we're doing it this week, where it was the first week of December when a lot of the other teams played,” she said. “Simon Fraser has two really athletic post players who are 6-2, and one of them (Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe) is 6-2 and averaging 22.8 points per game and shooting 68 percent and averaging almost 12 rebounds. And their second-leading scorer (Kristina Collins) is a good 3-point shooter.”

SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN (3-3, 0-1 GNAC)
All-time series: Simon Fraser leads, 13-3. Current series streak: Simon Fraser won 2. Last time: Simon Fraser 81, SPU 52 (Jan. 8, 2000 at Burnaby, B.C). Simon Fraser on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser won its first three games, but now has dropped three in a row. That included the Clan's GNAC debut at home on Dec. 2 when Montana State Billings prevailed, 66-59. By the time of Saturday's tip-off, Simon Fraser will have been idle for two weeks since a 70-64 overtime loss at home to rival British Columbia. The top two scorers, top rebounder and top passer from last year's Canadian championship team graduated. Stepping into the scoring void in a big way is 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who is averaging 22.8 points per game and has had one game of 28 points, two more of 25 and two games of 24. She shoots an eye-popping 67.9 percent (57 of 84). Sophomore guard Kristina Collins, last year's Canada West Rookie of the Year, averages 11.2 points and leads the Clan with 28 assists. Simon Fraser is not deep, with just nine players on the roster.

HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC or CCAA ranking) 
                                    SPU                   SFU
Points                        62.8 (8)             71.8 (3)
Points allowed        60.5 (T5)           70.3 (8)
Rebounds                 39.8 (5)             37.7 (9)
Assists                      13.3 (5)            16.3 (1)
Steals                           9.8 (6)              7.5 (9)
Blocks                          2.0 (9)              5.0 (2)
Turnovers                 17.3 (T4)          17.7 (6)
FG percentage         .385 (5)            .453 (1)
3-pt percentage      .226 (10)          .245 (9)
FT percentage         .612 (10)          .677 (7)

COUNTDOWN TO 300
With last weekend's two victories, Seattle Pacific coach Julie van Beek Heisey is now at 289 for her career. Of those, 127 have come with the Falcons. She is 289-146 overall (.664), and 127-27 (.825) on the SPU bench.

TWO TOURNEYS, TWO HONORS FOR REICH, SIMS
Senior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) and junior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) each have a pair of all-tournament honors this season.

Reich made the five-player squad in the season-opening Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham Pavilion on Nov. 19-20. She went for double-digit rebounds one night (11 in a 46-42 victory against San Francisco State) and double-digit point the next (11 as the Falcons beat UC San Diego, 75-66). Then in the Pacific West-GNAC Challenge on Dec. 3-4 in St. George, Utah, Reich had 11 rebounds and nine points in a 74-69 loss to Grand Canyon, then led Seattle Pacific with 14 points and also had six rebounds in a 76-66 defeat to Dixie State.

Sims was named MVP of the Sodexo tourney. After registering seven points and seven rebounds against San Francisco State, she tied her career high of 17 points and grabbed another seven boards against UC San Diego. In the CCAA-GNAC Challenge on Dec. 10 and 11 in Rohnert Park, Calif., Sims hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left for the last of her 16 points in 57-56 win against Chico State. She also had eight rebounds. The previous night, Sims went for 11 points and six boards in a 64-49 win against Sonoma State.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED . . .
Not every shot is going to go down, but the Falcons gave themselves plenty of opportunities to try, try again last weekend in California. Seattle Pacific corralled 13 offensive rebounds against Sonoma State, leading to 12 second-chance points in a game that it eventually won by 15.

Against Chico State on Saturday, the Falcons hauled down 16 offensive boards – a team-leading five of them by senior guard Maddie Maloney. They got just six second-chance points in that one, but all of them factored into their one-point victory.

Meanwhile, SPU also was denying its opponents equal opportunity under the boards. Sonoma State had just seven second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds. Chico State collected just four rebounds under its own glass, none of which went back for points.

GIVE ME REWRITE
Just six games into the season, the personal record books of some Falcons already have had some new chapters added. Among the veterans, six career highs have been set (one of them twice) and four have been tied.
--Senior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach had been stuck at 12 points since Dec. 13, 2008. But she tallied 14 last Friday against Sonona State, then, not quite 24 hours later, put in 15 against Chico State. She also collected a career-best nine rebounds against Sonoma, breaking her old mark of eight that she had tied against San Francisco State on Nov. 19.
--Junior guard McKayla Gorman (Parker, Colo.) has registered career best of nine points (at Dixie State on Dec. 4) and seven assists (home vs. UC San Diego on Nov. 20). She also tied her career mark with three assists at home against San Francisco State.
--Junior guard Nyesha Sims set a career-best of 12 rebounds against Grand Canyon on Dec. 3, beating her old record of eight. She matched her high mark of 17 points at home against UC San Diego.
--Sophomore guards Katie Thralls (Grenada, Calif.; two steals against San Francisco State) and Rachel Murray (Eglington, Australia; two steals at Dixie State) tied career highs in those respective departments.

WHERE'D THE BALL GO? MALONEY HAS IT
Senior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) has been a defensive force for the Falcons so far this season – and the stats back up that distinction. Maloney leads the GNAC in average steals per game at 3.0, totaling 18 so far. Her average ranks 36th in all of NCAA Division II. Alaska Anchorage's Nikki Aden has the most total steals (25), but has played 10 games to Maloney's six.

CAN'T KEEP 'EM DOWN
While leading economists struggle with how to eliminate a deficit, Seattle Pacific has eliminated two big ones the past two weekends.

On Dec. 4 at Dixie State, the Falcons fell into an early 16-4 hole, but roared back to take a 27-23 lead. Dixie eventually went back in front, but wasn't able to pull away until late in a 76-66 victory.

Last Saturday against Chico State, SPU was down 11 at 54-43 with 7:01 left, then closed the game with a 14-2 run to escape with a 57-56 victory.

TAKE CARE – AND THEY ARE
Coaches can't say it often enough: Cut down on turnovers. The Falcons seem to be getting that message loud and clear. After 24 and 20 turnovers in their two games of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic last month, SPU has kept its total below 20 – significantly below on a couple of occasions – in the four games since. Seattle Pacific had a season-low 12 turnovers in last Friday's 64-49 victory at Sonoma State. Its per-game average of 17.3 is tied for fourth-best in the GNAC. Western Washington has the lowest mark of 16.3.

POLLING PLACE
One week after falling out of the USA Today/ESPN top 25 coaches poll, the Falcons are back in it. SPU is ranked No. 23, receiving 120 points in the voting. Last week, the Falcons were 26th overall, topping the “others receiving votes” list.

Fellow GNAC teams Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington went different directions. The Seawolves, who handed Dixie State its first loss, moved up one place to No. 11. Western, which dropped a 65-62 overtime decision to Chico State last Friday for its first loss, slipped four places to No. 18. West Region rival Grand Canyon climbed two spots to No. 19, and Chico State, having fallen to SPU in the final seconds last Saturday, fell three positions to No. 20.

Delta State of Mississippi stayed No. 1 with 692 points, receiving 22 of the 28 first-place votes.

FALCONS REPLAY
--Caitlyn Rohrbach had a double career high of 14 points and nine rebounds last Friday night, Katie Benson also scored a career high 14 and Seattle Pacific used an 18-0 first-half run to get back on the winning track with a 64-49 victory against Sonoma State in the first round of the CCAA-GNAC Challenge on Sonoma's home court. That halted a two-game losing streak.

--Nyesha Sims drained a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left on Saturday night, capping a comeback from an 11-point deficit as Seattle Pacific knocked off 17th-ranked Chico State in the CCAA-GNAC Challenge tournament last Saturday, 57-56. That was the first lead for the Falcons since 3:14 remained in the first half of the game in The Wolves' Den at Sonoma State.

UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific will conclude non-conference play when it hosts the Falcons Invitational on Dec. 29 and 30 in Brougham Pavilion. SPU takes on Notre Dame de Namur of Belmont, Calif., at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 after Central Washington and St. Edward's of Austin, Texas, meet at 5 p.m. in the tourney opener. The roles are reversed the following day, with Central meeting Notre Dame de Namur at 5, then the Falcons facing St. Edward's at 7. The second-day schedule on Dec. 30 is actually a tripleheader, as the Seattle Pacific men open their GNAC slate at 2 p.m. against Western Oregon.

TICKET TALK
Tickets for SPU's home games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 3rd Ave. W.) on match day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start times.

Reserved seats are $8 for center court and $7 for the foul lines. General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 at least 72 hours in advance.

SPU students who show their school identification will be admitted free to all home games.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for results, schedules, news and notes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Click on this link for a look at GNAC statistical leaders. Click on this link to see how GNAC teams and players stack up in the national Division II statistics.


GNAC STANDINGS 
                                                GNAC         Overall
Western Oregon                    2-0               4-4
Western Washington            1-0               6-1
Alaska Anchorage                 1-0               8-2
Northwest Nazarene             1-1               5-3
Saint Martin's                          1-1               6-4
Montana State Billings          1-1               4-4
Seattle Pacific                         0-0               4-2
Simon Fraser                          0-1               3-3
Alaska Fairbanks                   0-1               0-8
Central Washington              0-2               3-2