THE SCHEDULE: Thursday, March 4: SPU at Ak. Fairbanks, 6:15 p.m. PST
The Patty Center/Fairbanks, Alaska.
Live Webcast and live stats on this link.
Saturday, March 6: SPU at Ak. Anchorage, 6:15 p.m. PST
Wells Fargo Sports Complex/Anchorage, Alaska.
Live Webcast and live stats on this link.
Weekly release, with complete stats and opponent starters (PDF)
Photo gallery from Feb. 27 SPU-Central Washington game
SEATTLE -- The regular season is winding down, but the intensity is still ramping up for the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team.
The Falcons bring Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to a close this week when they make their annual trip to Alaska. SPU visits Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night at 6:15 p.m. PST. Then, in a game that will decide the conference crown, SPU takes on rival Alaska Anchorage in the regular-season finale on Saturday night at 6:15.
With a 22-3 overall mark, including 13-1 in the GNAC, the Falcons are all but officially assured of advancing to the NCAA Division II tournament. That official notice will come on Monday, March 8, when the NCAA announces the bracket and pairings for the West Regional and the other regional tourneys.
But they can get a jump on making it official with a victory at Fairbanks on Thursday. That would assure them of no worse than a tie for the GNAC title and the automatic NCAA berth that goes with it. The tiebreaker for the automatic spot would go to Seattle Pacific by virtue of it being the highest-ranked GNAC team in the West Region.
Regardless of what happens Thursday in Fairbanks, the conference championship will be at stake on Saturday in Anchorage. The possibilities range from an outright title for SPU to a three-way deadlock between the Falcons, Seawolves and Western Washington.
SPU can settle the issue outright by sweeping its two games in Alaska. The Falcons did sweep both when they visited Seattle in January, beating Anchorage, 57-42, then rolling past Fairbanks on Homecoming Saturday, 86-44.
The Falcons enter the week on a nine-game winning streak after winning at Saint Martin's last Thursday, 66-55, and downing Central Washington in their Brougham Pavilion finale last Saturday, 74-48.
HOLD THAT BRACKET
The entire NCAA Division II regional pairings and brackets will be announced on Monday, March 8, because of schedule postponements in the Pacific West Conference caused by last weekend's tsunami warnings in Hawaii. A time for that announcement is yet to be determined. The field originally was set to be released on March 7 before the weather issues led to the delay.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Some teams might like a breather of sorts to get ready for the NCAAs. Seattle Pacific won't have that luxury this weekend in Alaska.
“The good thing is we have a great test before the national tournament, and we're going to play one of the best teams in the country (in Anchorage),” coach Julie van Beek said. “Anchorage and us both know we're going to the tournament, but we're playing for a conference championship. Whenever you go on the road, you know you have to be tough.”
This is a different SPU team than the one that beat the Seawolves in Seattle in January. Missing is senior forward Sydney Benson, who hit a career-high three shots from 3-point range in that one, but now is out for the season with an injury. Still, van Beek has been pleased with the way the Falcons responded to that.
“There's no question we've done a great job of overcoming adversity,” she said. “We've been resilient and we've found ways for people to step up. We don't want to have any regrets, take care of the things we can control, and don't worry about the other things.”
SCOUTING ALASKA FAIRBANKS (2-23, 1-13 GNAC)
All-time series: SPU leads, 44-12. Current series streak: SPU won 16. Last time: SPU 86, Alaska Fairbanks 44 (Jan. 30, 2010 at Seattle). Alaska Fairbanks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks came to Brougham on a 15-game losing streak. It eventually stretched to 18 before the Nanooks scored a 72-62 homecourt victory against Central Washington on Feb. 11. They've lost four more since then, twice yielding 100-plus points. Carrying a good chunk of the offensive load for Fairbanks is senior forward Lakeshia Levi, whose average of 15.2 points accounts for more than a quarter of Fairbanks' average scoring output of 55.4. It also ranks No. 5 in the GNAC scoring race. In addition, Levi ranks fifth in conference rebounding at 8.3 per game. Fellow senior forward Ronisha Edwards chips in an average of 12.6 points per contest. Edwards, who usually starts but occasionally comes off the bench, pumped in 20 points against the Falcons in Seattle, but was forced into 7-of-25 shooting as Fairbanks hit just 25.8 percent as a team that day (16 of 62).
SCOUTING ALASKA ANCHORAGE 22-3, 12-2 GNAC)
All-time series: SPU leads, 35-15. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 57, Alaska Anchorage 42 (Jan. 28, 2010 at Seattle). Alaska Anchorage on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: After falling short at Seattle in late January, Anchorage hasn't fallen short since, winning eight straight games as it heads into the final week. The Seawolves have pulled out four close calls since their visit to Brougham: 66-65 at Northwest Nazarene two days later, 71-69 at home against Western Washington on Feb. 11, then 62-60 at Western Oregon on Feb. 18, and 65-63 at Montana State Billings on Feb. 24. Last year in Anchorage, Falcons had a 36-22 lead with 17 minutes to play before the Seawolves stormed back for a 53-49 victory. No single individual racks up big scoring numbers for the Seawolves -- senior guard Tamar Gruwell leads the way with an average of 11.3 -- but as a team, UAA averages 74.5 points per game. The numbers suggest another defensive battle. Seattle Pacific is the toughest team in the GNAC to shoot against (33.8 percent) and second-toughest to score against (54.5 points allowed). Anchorage allows the fewest points in the conference (53.7) and is the second-toughest to shoot against (36.1 percent). In Seattle, the Seawolves shot just 24.6 percent and managed just 15 first-half points. SPU didn't have a stellar shooting night, either -- just 34.7 percent -- but that was still 10 points higher than UAA.
MOST RECENT SPU STARTERS
Feb. 27 vs. Central Washington, W 74-48
Totals vs. Central Washington/Season averages or totals
FG is previous game/season percentage
Player Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Blk. FG
F Megan Hoisington 15/11.1 10/8.4 0/1.5 3/41 1/33 7-15/.419
C Melissa Reich 12/7.0 12/6.7 2/1.8 0/36 1/21 6-10/.519
G Jordan Harazin 4/6.3 3/2.9 6/2.8 0/23 0/2 1-8/.351
G Daesha Henderson 30/13.0 3/3.9 3/2.8 4/66 0/8 9-16/.446
G Maddie Maloney 0/5.2 5/2.7 3/3.0 4/44 0/6 0-5/.326
SEATTLE PACIFIC 74/68.2 53/41.8 22/18.2 12/305 3/90 27-67/.421
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC ranking in parentheses)
Points SPU 68.2 (4) UAF 55.4 (9) UAA 74.5 (T2)
Points allowed SPU 54.5 (2) UAF 80.4 (9) UAA 53.7 (1)
Rebounds SPU 41.8 (1) UAF 36.6 (5) UAA 40.4 (2)
Assists SPU 18.2 (1) UAF 9.0 (9) UAA 16.2 (3)
Steals SPU 12.2 (2) UAF 5.2 (9) UAA 14.0 (1)
Blocks SPU 3.6 (2) UAF 2.0 (7) UAA 3.1 (4)
Turnovers SPU 19.6 (7) UAF 22.0 (9) UAA 17.2 (1)
FG pct. SPU .421 (4) UAF .339 (9) UAA .432 (3)
3-point pct. SPU .316 (8) UAF .266 (9) UAA .340 (4)
FT pct. SPU .668 (9) UAF .677 (8) UAA .688 (7)
POLLING PLACE
Even though they won both games last week, the Falcons dropped one spot to No. 18 in this week's USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches poll, which was released on March 2. SPU received 249 points -- 13 more than a week ago. Alaska Anchorage stayed steady at No. 13, and Western Washington climbed one notch to No. 20.
Gannon University of Pennsylvania stayed in the No. 1 position, which it took over from Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire last week. Gannon picked up 24 of the 27 first-place votes and 671 points. The other three first-place votes went to Franklin Pierce, which is still No. 2 with 627 points.
In the West Region rankings, which were released last Wednesday, Seattle Pacific climbed to No. 2 behind UC San Diego, switching spots with Western Washington, which is now No. 3. The final regional rankings are out Wednesday, March 3.
FALCON REPLAY
-- Melissa Reich pumped in 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out a career-high eight assists, and Megan Hoisington posted her sixth double-double of the season as the Falcons beat Saint Martin's last Thursday in Lacey, 66-55.
Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) had 13 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. The rebounding total was her seventh time in double digits in that department this winter. Senior guard Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) led the Falcons with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Seattle Pacific trailed just once, that when Saint Martin's (10-15, 4-10 GNAC) scored the initial basket of the game. The Falcons led by as many as 14 during the first half before taking a 36-24 lead into halftime. The Saints got as close as eight during the second half at 40-32 with 16 minutes left. But SPU then went on an 11-4 to make it 51-36, and the closest Saint Martin's got after that was nine points at 64-55 inside the final minute.
-- Henderson finished the Brougham Pavilion portion of her Seattle Pacific career with a career-high 30 points on Saturday night as the Falcons pulled away from Central Washington for a 74-48 victory.
Senior guard Henderson topped her previous career high of 26, set on Feb. 5, 2009, against Central in Ellensburg. She became the first Falcon to record a 30-point game since Michelle Beaumont tallied 35 against Cal State Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2002.
Hoisington added 15 points for Seattle Pacific. Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and made it a double-double with 12 points.
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 (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) and junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) -- were featured in the Everett Herald.
Henderson also was the Herald's College Athlete of the Week earlier this season.
DOUBLING UP ON DOUBLE-DOUBLES
One double-double wasn't enough for senior forward Megan Hoisington last week. After going for 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 66-55 victory at Saint Martin's on Thursday, she came back with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance to help the Falcons down Central Washington on Saturday, 74-48. That gives Hoisington seven double-doubles for the year . It's the second time she has put up two in a row. Hoisington did that previously on Dec. 29 against Grand Canyon in San Diego (11 points, 16 boards) and Dec. 31 at Azusa Pacific (12 and 10).
DID SOMEONE SAY DOUBLE-DOUBLES?
Junior center Melissa Reich got in on the double-double act as well against Central. Reich pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with her 12 points. She has one other double-double this season when she recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds in an 82-80 double-overtime loss at UC San Diego on Dec. 28. At the time, that also was a career-high in rebounds for Reich.
30-POINT GAMES DON'T HAPPEN OFTEN …
Senior guard Daesha Henderson definitely was feeling it last Saturday night against Central Washington when she cut loose for a career-high 30 points. Not since Dec. 28, 2002, had a Falcon gotten into the 30s, when Michelle Beaumont racked up 35 against Cal State Los Angeles. Henderson had a Falcon career best of 26 in a game at Central Washington on Feb 5, 2009, and opened the current regular season with 25 against Colorado Christian on Nov. 20.
… BUT WHEN THEY DO, PEOPLE NOTICE
Henderson's performance put this week's GNAC women's basketball Player of the Week award into her pocket for the first time this season. Her combined numbers for last week's games against Saint Martin's and Central Washington: 44 points on 60 percent shooting (15 of 25), six rebounds, four assists and four steals. That made Henderson the third Falcon this season to win the GNAC Player of the Week, joining senior forwards Sydney Benson (Feb. 1) and Megan Hoisington (Feb. 8).
WINDEX CREW
SPU cleaned the glass and then some in Saturday's 74-48 victory against Central Washington, collecting a season-high 53 rebounds. The double-digit performances of Melissa Reich (12) and Megan Hoisington (10) led the way. The previous high this season for the Falcons was 51 against Colorado Christian on Nov. 20. They also grabbed 50 the next night against Humboldt State, and had another 50 at home against Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 6.
IT'S IN GOOD HANDS
Once again last week, the Falcons hung onto the basketball. They had just 14 turnovers against Central Washington on Saturday, their second-lowest total of the season. (SPU also had only 14 against Concordia-Portland on Dec. 12, and a low of 13 against Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 6). On Thursday at Saint Martin's, the total was just 17. So for the first time since early December, Seattle Pacific's average has dipped below 20. It is now at 19.6 per game.
CAN'T WIN IF THEY CAN'T SCORE
Putting points on the boards is much tougher against Seattle Pacific than it is against most NCAA Division II schools. The Falcons rank No. 13 this week among 271 D-2 institutions in fewest points allowed at just 54.5 per game. SPU also is the 12th-toughest team to shoot against in Division II, allowing its opponents just a 33.8 percent success rate.
MOVIN' ON UP
Senior guard Daesha Henderson is now just three assists away from a spot in the GNAC all-time top 20. Henderson had a total of four assists in last week's two games, giving her 259 for her career. Currently in No. 20 is former Saint Martin's player Lisa Brooks (2001-03) with 262. She also is just eight steals away from joining the all-time Seattle Pacific top five in that department. Since career totals include both regular-season and postseason games, Henderson has at least three games -- the last two of the regular season and the first-round NCAA game -- to meet or beat those totals. And she could have even more if SPU keeps winning in the tournament.
CAREER NIGHT? CALL IT A CAREER WEEK
It's not unusual if one or two SPU players establishes a career high of some sort during the course of a week. But last week went well beyond that with five new career highs. Grabbing the headlines, of course, was the 30 points by Daesha Henderson in Saturday's 74-48 victory against Central Washington. Melissa Reich had two: eight assists at Saint Martin's (doubling her old career high of four), and 12 rebounds against Central. Sophomore guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) had two blocked shots against Saint Martin's for a new personal standard in that department, and freshman guard Rachel Murray (Eglington, New South Wales, Australia) pulled down five rebounds against Central Washington, one better than her previous best.
JUST ONE MORE
Sophomore guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.), a consistent, dependable producer off the bench for the Falcons, no doubt would love to have a career-best rebounding game sometime soon. It's just a matter of when. Sims' best single-game total is five -- a mark with which she has become very familiar. She grabbed that many in one game last season and tied it not once, not twice, but seven times this season. Sims pulled down five in both games last week.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
--The Falcons have climbed back on top of the GNAC assists race with an average of 18.2 per game. Last week, Seattle Pacific has a combined total of 55 baskets in two games, and had assists on 46 of those baskets.
-- SPU also continues to lead the GNAC on the boards, now averaging 41.8 per game.
-- Seattle Pacific also is No. 1 in field goal defense at 33.8 percent.
-- SPU is second among conference schools in three categories: points allowed (54.5), steals (12.2) and blocks (3.6).
-- The Falcons No. 4 in scoring at 68.2 points per game.
-- Daesha Henderson is first in GNAC steals at 2.6 per game. She also is tied for eighth in assists (2.8) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.2). At 13.0 points per game following her 30-point outburst against Central Washington, she has moved up to No. 11 in scoring among conference players.
-- Megan Hoisington has climbed to No. 4 in GNAC rebounding at 8.4 per game. She is the conference leader on the defensive glass at 5.9 per game. She also is third in blocks at 1.3 per game (33 total).
-- Junior center Melissa Reich climbed two spots to No. 8 in GNAC overall rebounding (6.7).
-- Junior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) is tied for fourth in assists (3.0), is second in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), and is ninth in steals (1.8).
-- Jordan Harazin has moved up to a tie for eight in assists (2.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).
Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC statistics.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- In addition to being among the national top 20 in fewest points allowed and field goal defense, the Falcons are No. 14 in assists at 18.2 per game. That's a jump of five places from last week. Seattle Pacific also is No. 21 in steals at 12.2.
-- Daesha Henderson is still 37th in D-2 at 2.6 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
The NCAA Division II tournament field and bracket will be announced on Monday, March 8, at a time to be determined.
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at news and notes from around the GNAC.
GNAC STANDINGS
GNAC Overall
Seattle Pacific 13-1 22-3
Western Washington 13-2 22-4
Alaska Anchorage 12-2 22-3
Northwest Nazarene 8-6 18-7
Western Oregon 6-9 11-18
Montana State Billings 4-10 11-14
Saint Martin's 4-10 10-15
Central Washington 3-11 6-18
Alaska Fairbanks 1-13 2-23
