THE SCHEDULE: Thursday, Feb. 25: SPU at Saint Martin's, 7 p.m.
Marcus Pavilion/Lacey, Wash.
Live Webcast on this link. NO LIVE STATS.
Saturday, Feb. 27: Central Washington at SPU, 7 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion (2,650)/Seattle, Wash.
Live Webcast and live stats on this link.
Weekly release, with complete stats and opponent starters (PDF)
PHOTO GALLERY from SPU-Western Washington game
SEATTLE -- They've taken over first place. Now, the Seattle Pacific Falcons will try to firm up their grip on it.
Sparked by 19 points from senior Daesha Henderson and 14 from senior Megan Hoisington, SPU climbed atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings last Saturday night with a come-from-behind 70-67 victory against Western Washington in Brougham Pavilion.
As they look ahead to this week's games at Saint Martin's on Thursday and in Brougham for the regular-season home finale and Senior Night against Central Washington on Saturday, the Falcons are riding a seven-game winning streak that has carried them into a half-game lead over Western with four to play.
In bidding for its fourth straight GNAC title, Seattle Pacific also is keeping itself in the hunt for the top spot in the West Regional rankings. The Falcons come into the week at No. 3, but just beat No. 2 Western Washington. And No. 1 UC San Diego has lost two of its last four games, including last Saturday's 68-57 decision at Cal State Monterey Bay.
All but officially assured of a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament, the Falcons wrap up the regular season next week in Alaska, visiting Fairbanks on March 4 and Anchorage on March 6, both at 6:15 p.m.
SO LONG TO THE SENIORS
SPU seniors Daesha Henderson, Megan Hoisington and Sydney Benson will be honored on Saturday prior to regular-season home finale against Central Washington. The brief ceremony will take place about 10 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. tip-off.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Even though her team is in first place now, the margin over Western Washington is just half a game, and four games still remain to be played prior to the postseason. So coach Julie van Beek said there's no letting up -- especially not with so much still on the line.
“This is a great time of the year. There are a lot of teams out there just playing to finish (the season), and we're playing to peak,” she said. “We talk all the time about how we're in control of our own destiny -- and we are.”
That means being ready to play for every team that shows up on SPU's schedule.
“The competition is within us,” van Beek added. “We just have to continue to focus on the things we want to do to get better. We still have to find ways to be more consistent offensively.”
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S (10-14, 4-9 GNAC)
All-time series: SPU leads, 44-11. Current series streak: SPU won 11. Last time: SPU 80, Saint Martin's 54 (Jan. 14, 2010 at Seattle). Saint Martin's on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's had forged a modest two-game winning streak prior to last Saturday's homecourt loss to Alaska Anchorage. The Saints can be tough on their home court, where they're 8-4 this winter. When the teams met in Brougham last month, Seattle Pacific enjoyed its best shooting night of the season (53.1 percent). Saint Martin's can hoist it accurately from 3-point range, hitting at a .415 clip that ranks No. 2 in the GNAC and No. 3 in all of NCAA Division II. Jamey Gelhar has the sharpest eye from downtown, hitting 51.3 percent of her treys (39 of 76). It's high enough to rank No. 2 nationally except that she doesn't average enough makes per game to qualify. Saint Martin's also is deadly from the foul line, hitting 78.9 percent to lead the conference and rank No. 3 in D-2. Dara Zack leads the Saints in scoring at 16.1 points per game, but the Falcons limited her to just four points on 1-of-10 shooting in Seattle.
SCOUTING CENTRAL WASHINGTON (6-16, 3-9 GNAC)
All-time series: SPU leads, 36-28. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 60, Central Washington 43 (Feb. 4, 2010 at Ellensburg). Central Washington on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: When these teams met in Ellensburg three weeks ago, the Falcons came up against a Central team that had gotten into a nice groove, winning two straight road games (at Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings) with some strong shooting. But starting with SPU's 60-43 victory that night, the Wildcats haven't won since, coming into the current week on a five-game losing streak, although three of those opponents (SPU, Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene) are on the brink of making the NCAA tournament. Neither of Central's top two scorers (Sophie Russell at 13.5 points, Sara Bergner at 11.2) got into double-figures against Seattle Pacific in the first game. Shaina Afoa, a 6-foot-1 senior center, can be a challenge for opposing teams with her play in the middle. Afoa is tied for the conference lead in blocked shots at 1.5 per game (34 total), is seventh in rebounding (6.8) and shoots .504.
MOST RECENT SPU STARTERS
Feb. 20 vs. Western Washington, W 70-67
Totals vs. Western Washington/Season averages or totals
FG is previous game/season percentage
Player Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Blk. FG
F Megan Hoisington 14/10.8 5/8.1 2/1.6 6/37 0/32 6-13/.412
C Melissa Reich 4/6.7 6/6.4 2/1.5 0/34 3/20 1-1/.504
G Jordan Harazin 9/6.3 4/2.9 3/2.6 1/22 0/0 2-7/.393
G Daesha Henderson 19/12.2 7/4.0 6/2.8 4/62 0/7 6-16/.429
G Maddie Maloney 6/5.3 3/2.7 1/3.0 0/41 0/6 2-6/.328
SEATTLE PACIFIC 70/68.0 34/41.3 15/17.7 13/285 3/84 25-53/.420
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC ranking in parentheses)
Points SPU 68.0 (4) StM 66.0 (5) CWU 62.4 (8)
Points allowed SPU 54.7 (2) StM 67.7 (7) CWU 71.3 (8)
Rebounds SPU 41.3 (1) StM 36.4 (6) CWU 35.0 (8)
Assists SPU 17.7 (2) StM 12.8 (7) CWU 13.9 (6)
Steals SPU 12.4 (2) StM 7.5 (8) CWU 7.8 (6)
Blocks SPU 3.7 (T2) StM 1.3 (9) CWU 3.7 (T2)
Turnovers SPU 20.0 (7) StM 19.4 (T5) CWU 19.4 (T5)
FG pct. SPU .420 (4) StM .411 (5) CWU .401 (6)
3-point pct. SPU .315 (7) StM .415 (2) CWU .332 (6)
FT pct. SPU .677 (9) StM .789 (1) CWU .693 (6)
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific climbed one more spot to No. 17 in this week's USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches poll, which was released on Feb. 23. SPU received 236 points. Western Washington, despite dropping a 70-67 decision to the Falcons last Saturday, remained No. 21, now with 122 points. Alaska Anchorage climbed one place to No. 13 with 333 points.
Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, after losing its first game of the season (71-64 at home to Merrimack), fell from No. 1 to No. 2, switching places with Gannon University of Pennsylvania. Gannon picked up 25 of the 27 first-place vote and 672 points. Franklin Pierce got the other two first-place votes and 618 points.
In the West Region rankings, which were released last Wednesday, Seattle Pacific remained No. 3 behind UC San Diego and Western Washington, which has been the order all season. UCSD (22-3) lost again last week, 68-57 at Cal State Monterey Bay, and now has dropped two of its past four. and The regional rankings ultimately determine the qualifiers for the NCAA tournament. The next rankings are out Wednesday, Feb. 24.
FALCON REPLAY
-- Sophomore guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) came off the bench for a career-high 17 points on Wednesday night, helping the Falcons survive a Montana State Billings rally and pull away to a 62-47 victory in Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Sims surpassed her previous career high of 13 points, which she set in last year's regular-season finale at Northwest Nazarene. Led by her 17, plus seven from reserve junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS), SPU's bench players outscored their Billings counterparts, 31-2.
Sims hit 7 of 11 from the floor, including a putback with 13:41 to play after the Yellowjackets had whittled a 17-point SPU lead all the way down to 35-33. That shot ended a string of nine straight misses and started a 10-2 scoring run for the Falcons. Billings was never closer than nine points the rest of the night.
-- Daesha Henderson scored 19 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:12 left and three free throws in the final 1:03 on Saturday night, leading No. 18 Seattle Pacific past No. 21 Western Washington last Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, 70-67. The win helped the Falcons (20-3, 11-1 GNAC) leapfrog past Western (20-4, 11-2 GNAC) into first place in the conference with four games left.
Senior forward Megan Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) added 14 points for the Falcons, and reserve forward Caitlyn Rohrbach chipped in 11, including a pair of free throws with 10.7 seconds left to make it 70-65.
MAKING THE HEADLINES
Senior forward Megan Hoisington was featured recently in a Kitsap Sun newspaper article. Earlier this year, senior guard Daesha Henderson, senior forward Sydney Benson and junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach -- all natives of Snohomish County north of Seattle -- were featured in the Everett Herald.
Henderson also was the Herald's College Athlete of the Week earlier this season.
MAKING THE GRADE
Junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach has been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team for the second straight year, and senior guard Daesha Henderson has earned a spot on the team for the first time.
Rohrbach was a third-team selection in the West Region last season, and moved up to the second team this time. She carries a 3.94 grade-point average in psychology.
Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) gained a spot on the West Region first team. She has a 3.49 GPA as a biology major. While this is her first CoSIDA selection, Henderson has been named to the last to Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic teams.
The 5-8 Henderson leads Seattle Pacific in scoring at 12.5 points per game. She also sets the Falcons' pace in steals with 2.8 per game, ranking No. 32 in all of NCAA Division II in that category. This season, she was named the MVP of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic at SPU, and also made the all-tournament team at the GNAC-CCAA Challenge at Western Washington University in December.
HITTING THE BIG TWO-OH
At Seattle Pacific, 20-win seasons have become a pleasant habit -- and one that now officially continues for another year. The victory against Western Washington last Saturday lifted the Falcons' record to 20-3 with four regular-season games left. They have posted at least 20 wins for 11 straight seasons. The last time a Falcon team didn't total 20 was 1998-99, when a 19-10 record went into the books. Altogether, SPU has 16 seasons of 20 or more wins. The first one was coach Gordy Presnell's 1988-89 team that went 24-6. That was Presnell's second year on the Falcon bench and was the program's 14th season.
NO HOLDING BACK
In last Saturday's game against Western Washington, senior forward Megan Hoisington played the last 6 minutes, 44 seconds with four fouls. Not only did she stay foul-free the rest of the way, she didn't back off from her game. Hoisington collected five of her 14 points, two of her five rebounds and one of her career-high six steals during the remaining time, subbing out only for a quick breather between the 3:40 and 2:31 marks on the clock.
BIG-TIME BENCH BUNCH
Seattle Pacific's reserves did more than just hold their own in last week's two games. They delivered the kind of performances that will be necessary to have success in postseason play. Last Wednesday at Montana State Billings, sophomore guard Nyesha Sims pumped in a career-high 17 points as the Falcon bench players outscored their counterparts from Billings, 31-2. They had the advantage in rebounds (14-6), assists (7-5) and steals (5-2). On Saturday against Western Washington, it was more of the same. Led by the 11 points and five rebounds of junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach, SPU's reserves had more points (18-6), rebounds (9-7) and steals (2-1).
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
When the best shooting team in the league is matched up against the toughest team to shoot against, one side or the other isn't going to have quite as good a night as it's used to having. In the SPU-Western Washington showdown last Saturday, it was the Vikings' offense that came up short. Western came into the game shooting 48.8 percent for the season, but SPU was allowing its opponents just a 33.7 percent success rate. The Vikings hit just 39.3 percent against the Falcons (24 of 61). That was nearly identical to the 39.6 percent Western shot against Seattle Pacific in the Vikings' 54-40 victory in Bellingham on Jan. 23. SPU, shot 12 percentage points higher on Saturday, hitting 43.4 percent after draining just 31.3 percent at Bellingham.
TURNOVERS GOING DOWN …
The Falcons had just 15 turnovers against Montana State Billings and only 19 against Western Washington. That makes it seven straight games and 10 of the last 12 with fewer than 20 following a stretch of five straight with 20-plus. Their season average is down to 20.0 per game after being at 21.8 heading into the GNAC schedule.
… AND FREE THROW SHOOTING GOING UP
At the foul line, SPU hit 72.2 percent at Billings and 76.2 percent against Western Washington. The Falcons now have hit 70 percent or better in four straight games. Their season average has climbed to .677, a jump of 33 points from their mark at the start of GNAC play.
THINK YOU'LL MAKE THAT SHOT?
Think again. Seattle Pacific still ranks among the toughest teams to shoot against in all of NCAA Division II. At .340, the Falcons are No. 12 in this week's national statistics. And, by allowing just 54.7 points per game, they rank No. 14 in that department.
STELLAR STEALER
Senior guard Daesha Henderson is moving ever closer to joining Seattle Pacific's all-time top five for steals. Henderson had five altogether last week (one at Montana State Billings, four against Western Washington), giving her 213 for her career. The No. 5 spot on the Falcon list currently belongs to Becky Wiersrma (1986-90) with 225, leaving Henderson a dozen short with four regular-season games left, plus however many games the Falcons eventually play in the NCAA tournament. Henderson recently became just the ninth player in GNAC history to reach the 200-steal mark, and now is all the way up to No. 6 on the conference list.
TOP 25 -- TIMES TWO
Steals isn't the only department in which Henderson now ranks among the GNAC's all-time best. With nine assists total in last week's two games, she now has 255 for her career, moving her into 25th on the conference career list. And she's not that far from the top 20, needing just eight more to move past former Saint Martin's player Lisa Brooks (2001-03), currently 20th with 262.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
--The Falcons continue to lead the GNAC on the boards averaging 41.4 per game.
-- Seattle Pacific also is No. 1 in field goal defense at 34.0 percent.
-- SPU is second among conference schools in four categories: points allowed (54.7), assists (17.7), steals (12.4) and blocks (3.7, tied with Central Washington).
-- Seattle Pacific ranks No. 4 in scoring at 68.0 points per game.
-- Daesha Henderson is second in steals at 2.7 per game. She also is eighth in assists (2.8) and in 3-pointer made (1.7, a total of 38), tied for eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and 13th in scoring (12.2).
-- Megan Hoisington is the first SPU player to climb into the conference's top 10 in free throw shooting this season. Hoisington is hitting a .796 clip. Sophomore guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) actually has a better percentage at .839, but her 31 total attemps aren't enough to qualify her for a spot among the leaders.
-- Hoisington also remains No. 5 in GNAC rebounding at 8.1 per game. She is tied for second in defensive boards (5.6) and is sixth in offensive boards (2.5). She also is third in blocks at 1.4 per game (32 total).
-- Junior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Chrisian HS) is 10th in overall rebounding (6.4), eighth in offensive rebounding (2.3) and eighth in blocked shots (0.9 per game, 20 total).
-- Junior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) is third in assist/turnover ratio (1.7), tied for sixth in assists (3.0) and is ninth in steals (1.8).
-- Harazin is tied for 10th in assists at 2.6.
Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC statistics.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- Seattle Pacific remains in the top 20 of Division II in four statistical categories. The Falcons are No. 12 in field goal defense (.337), No. 14 in fewest points allowed (54.7), No. 19 in assists (17.7) and No. 20 in steals (12.4).
-- Daesha Henderson is 37th in D-2 at 2.7 steals per game.
Click on this link for a look at SPU's national statistical rankings. Click on this link to see how GNAC teams and players stack up nationally.
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific winds up the regular season next week with its annual trip to Alaska. The Falcons begin the trip in Fairbanks on Thursday night, March 4, tipping off against the Nanooks at 6:15 p.m. PST. They take on likely NCAA tournament qualifier Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, March 6, also at 6:15. Depending on how games play out between now and that season-ending date, the GNAC title could be hanging in the balance at Anchorage.
The NCAA Division II tournament field and bracket will be announced on Sunday, March 7, at a time to be determined.
TICKET TALK
Tickets for SPU's home games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 3rd Ave. W.) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start time for all home games.
Adult ticket prices are $8 for reserved seats at center court, $7 for reserved seats at the foul lines, and $6 for general admission. General admission for youths, students and senior citizens is $3.
SPU students, faculty and staff who present a valid current ID card are admitted free to all regular-season home events.
Organized groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates. Group ticket prices are $3 for adults and $1 for youths, and apply to all group members. Any individuals attending the event who are not members of the group, including parents and siblings, can purchase regular-priced tickets in advance, but do not qualify for the group rate. Group tickets must be ordered and paid for at least 72 hours in advance of the event by calling the Athletics Office at (206) 281-2085.
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at news and notes from around the GNAC.
GNAC STANDINGS
GNAC Overall
Seattle Pacific 11-1 20-3
Western Washington 11-2 20-4
Alaska Anchorage 10-2 20-3
Northwest Nazarene 7-5 17-6
Western Oregon 6-7 11-16
Saint Martin's 4-9 10-14
Montana State Billings 3-9 10-13
Central Washington 3-9 6-16
Alaska Fairbanks 1-12 2-22
