THE NCAA ELITE EIGHT SCHEDULE:
All games at St. Joseph Civic Arena
St. Joseph, Mo.
Tuesday, March 24 -- Quarterfinals
(Records in parentheses, all times PDT)
All quarterfinal games on this link.
Game 1: Seattle Pacific (27-3) vs. Fort Lewis College (33-3), 10 a.m.
Game 2: Franklin Pierce (31-1) vs. Arkansas Tech (31-2), 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: Tusculum (23-9) vs. Gannon (36-0), 4 p.m.
Game 4: Michigan Tech (31-2) vs. Emporia State (27-5), 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25-- Semifinals
(All times PDT)
Both games on ESPNU
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, March 26 -- Championship
(PDT, ESPN2)
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 5 p.m.
Elite Eight Media Guide, with weekly release and complete stats
NCAA Elite Eight home page
Falcons meet their newest fans at Missouri middle school
SEATTLE -- They're in. But the Seattle Pacific Falcons want their trip to the Elite Eight to be much more than just being there.
For the first time since 2005, the Falcons will take part in the culmination of the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament. That trip to Hot Springs, Ark., extended all the way to the championship game. This one to St. Joseph, Mo., begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. PDT when SPU tips off against Fort Lewis College of Durango, Colo., at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
The Falcons and the Skyhawks will meet for the first time in NCAA play and for just the second time ever.
None of the current SPU players were on the roster for that magical run in 2005 that ended with a 70-53 loss to Washburn of Kansas in the title game. It was shortly after that when longtime head coach Gordy Presnell, who built the program into a perennial power, stepped down to accept the head job at Boise State.
That ushered in the Julie van Beek coaching era. She has guided the Falcons to the postseason in each of her five years at the helm, but -- just like her players -- this is her first trip to the Elite Eight.
Seattle Pacific secured passage to St. Joseph last Monday night when they turned aside a high-scoring Chico State team in the West Regional final at Brougham Pavilion, 76-68. That win came on the heels of a 52-48 semifinal victory on March 13 against Alaska Anchorage -- the same school that had beaten SPU in the 2008 and '09 West Regional title games and denying the Falcons an Elite Eight trip.
The team arrived in Missouri on Sunday with a 14-game winning streak, one which stretched through the final 11 games of the regular season and the three West Regional contests in Brougham.
Fort Lewis, champion of the Central Region, hails from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and had won 17 straight games before falling to Colorado State-Pueblo in the conference tournament finals, 61-60.
Tuesday's winner will face the Franklin Pierce-Arkansas Tech winner in the semifinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PDT.
SEE IT LIVE
Falcon fans who can't make the trip to St. Joseph can watch Tuesday's quarterfinal action live on the Internet. In addition, live stats from the game will be available. Wednesday's semifinal action will be carried live on ESPNU. Live stats will be available, with an updated link to be posted after Tuesday's games. Friday's championship contest will be carried live on ESPN2. Live stats will be available, with an updated link to be posted after Wednesday's games.
Fans, please note: The ESPNU and ESPN2 telecasts will not be available on the Internet.
ELITE EIGHT AND THE FALCONS
This is Seattle Pacific's fourth trip to the Elite Eight. The Falcons first went in 1998, falling to Northern Michigan in the first round (quarterfinals), 86-57. Their 2004 trip also ended early, with a 94-83 first-round loss to Drury. But in 2005, SPU opened with a 67-55 victory against Grand Valley State, then beat Drury in the semifinals, 73-64, before falling to Washburn in the title game, 70-53.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Coach Julie van Beek has spent the week scouting Fort Lewis on game tape, and what she has seen is a team that can do it all at both ends of the court.
“They're one of the most balanced teams we've played all season,” van Beek said. “I liken them to Western Washington -- they all can score, and they have a good inside-outside game. Defensively, they run a lot of zone. I think it's a good match-up.
“This is the Elite Eight -- you're not going to have a team with a lot of weaknesses,” van Beek said.
The Falcons' strategy will be much the same as it has been all season: Take care of the little things, and try to prevent the Skyhawks from doing likewise.
“We just want to try to make them make mistakes,” van Beek said. “It's two teams that are even in a lot of ways. So you just have to go out and play.”
One thing in particular the Falcons are bringing to the court at this point of the season that they weren't bringing earlier on is a balanced attack on offense to compliment their solid, steady work at the other end of the court.
“At the beginning of the year, if Daesha and Megan weren't in the game, we struggled. And they had to be our leading scorers every night,” van Beek said after the West Regional title victory against Chico State. “It's fun to see so many people contributing. And it's fun to score 76 points (against Chico). There were nights when we couldn't score and we had to rely on our defense and our rebounding. I think that shows how far we've come as a team. That's what I'm most proud of about our team this year.”
AND FROM FORT LEWIS …
Skyhawks coach Mark Kellogg agrees with van Beek that the scoreboard might not get much of a workout when their teams tip off on Tuesday.
“We defended real well last weekend (in the Central Regional tourney). We held one team 25 points below their average and held another one 18 under their average,” Kellogg said. “Seattle Pacific is a very good defensive team, so it could be a fairly low-scoring game.
But Kellogg is fully aware that both teams can light up the board, too.
“We can score points, and we can slow it down and defend in the halfcourt,” Kellogg added. “We have several players who can score, from five or six (points) up to 14.
“At this time of year, it has to do with who executes and who makes good shots down the stretch.”
SCOUTING THE ELITE EIGHT QUARTERFINALS: FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
Seattle Pacific (27-3) vs. Fort Lewis College (33-3)
Tournament path: Seattle Pacific West Region champ, Fort Lewis Central Region champ
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1.
Last time: SPU 89, Fort Lewis 76 (Nov. 27, 1999 at Lakewood, Colo).
USA Today/ESPN national rankings (as of March 9 final poll): SPU No. 13, Fort Lewis No. 6. Fort Lewis on the Web.
FALCONS IN A NUTSHELL: All season long, Seattle Pacific has relied on defense -- and has the results to show it. The Falcons head to Missouri allowing an average of just 54.6 points per game. That ranks No. 11 in all of Division II, and in fact, is the best mark of the eight teams still playing for the national championship. Their field goal defense rates even higher -- at 33.8 percent, it's No. 7. Among the Elite Eight, the next best team is potential semifinal opponent Arkansas Tech, which is No. 24 at an impressive 35.5 percent.
But in the regional finals, Seattle Pacific showed it can put some points on the board, too, tallying 76 -- its fourth-highest total of the year.
Senior guard Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) continues to show game in and game out that she can get the job done with scoring, or, on nights when shots aren't falling, she can get it done with everything else. She got 13 points in a 65-52 victory against Hawaii Pacific, then went for 16 in the 52-48 semifinal win against Alaska Anchorage. She had just five points against Chico State -- but also had six rebounds, four assists, five steals -- even a blocked shot late in the game that denied the Wildcats an easy bucket on a fast break and kept them from cutting further into a small Falcon lead with 2¼ to play.
Senior forward Megan Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) continues to be a force on the boards, collecting 26 in the three regional games. Then there's junior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), who posted a pair of double-doubles in regional to walk away with tournament MVP honors.
The other highly effective weapon is one that might get overlooked by opponents, but never gets overlooked by coach Julie van Beek: SPU's reserves. In the three regional games, the Falcon bench bunch outscored their counterparts, 64-51, and out-rebounded them, 41-32. That included 29 points and 20 rebounds in the final against Chico State.
FALCON FAN'S GUIDE TO WATCHING FORT LEWIS: Make no mistake: This team can put up the points. Fort Lewis has 12 games in the 80s and two in the 90s this season, all of them wins. The three losses for the Skyhawks came when they were limited to 60, 63 and 65 points. In fact, only once all season has Fort Lewis not hit for at least 60 points, that coming in a 56-54 victory against Western State to open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.
Allison Rosel, a 5-foot-11 senior post player, leads Fort Lewis in scoring (14.6), rebounding (6.1) and field goal shooting (.575). Katie Mackey, a 5-6 senior guard, averages 12.6 points, and junior guard Abby Jackson shoots 50.6 percent from 3-point range (79 of 156). As a team, Fort Lewis ranks No. 7 in all of Division for field goal shooting at .475.
MOST RECENT SPU STARTERS
March 15 vs. Chico State, W 76-68
Totals vs. Chico State/Season averages or totals
FG is previous game/season percentage
Player Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Blk. FG
F Megan Hoisington 11/10.5 7/8.2 1/1.4 0/49 1/36 5-13/.396
C Melissa Reich 10/7.5 11/6.8 2/1.7 1/39 0/27 3-6/.530
G Jordan Harazin 17/6.4 0/2.8 4/2.7 1/26 1/3 3-4/.383
G Daesha Henderson 5/13.1 6/4.0 4/2.8 3/76 5/9 1-10/.440
G Maddie Maloney 4/4.9 5/2.9 1/2.9 1/46 0/8 1-4/.314
SEATTLE PACIFIC 76/67.5 49/41.6 17/17.4 9/346 9/106 22-52/.417
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
Points SPU 67.5 FTL 77.1
Points allowed SPU 54.6 FTL 55.2
Rebounds SPU 41.6 FTL 34.2
Assists SPU 17.4 FTL 17.6
Steals SPU 11.5 FTL 13.7
Blocks SPU 3.5 FTL 2.4
Turnovers SPU 19.2 FTL 16.8
FG pct. SPU .417 FTL .471
Opp. FG pct. SPU .338 FTL .385
3-point pct. SPU .317 FTL .395
FT pct. SPU .675 FTL .744
Home SPU 15-0 FTL 17-0
Away SPU 8-2 FTL 10-2
Neutral SPU 4-1 FTL 6-1
Win streak SPU 14* FTL 17
Loss streak SPU 1 FTL 1
* current
POLLING PLACE
The Falcons took their biggest single-week jump of the season when they climbed five places to No. 13 in the final USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches poll, which was released on March 9. SPU received 309 points in moving up from No. 18. Fort Lewis dropped two spots to No. 6 with 493 points.
Gannon University of Pennsylvania, one of the Elite Eight finalists, stayed in the No. 1 position. Gannon picked up 24 of the 26 first-place votes and 647 points. The other two first-place votes went to Elite Eight qualifier Franklin Pierce, which is No. 2 with 616 points.
Among other Elite Eight teams in the final poll, Michigan Tech climbed two places to No. 3, Arkansas Tech moved up two to No. 4, and Emporia State stayed steady at No. 15. Tusculum was not among the top 25, receiving six points to tie for 33rd.
FALCON REPLAY
-- In the finals of the NCAA West Regionals, sophomore guard Jordan Harazin scored a career-high 17 points, hitting 10 of 12 from the foul line, and junior center Melissa Reich had 10 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the tournament and fourth of the season as Seattle Pacific clinched the crown last Monday night with a 76-68 victory against Chico State. A 12-0 run expanded a 44-42 lead to 56-42, and Chico never got closer than seven after that.
-- The Falcons hit 11 of 14 free throws final three minute of the game and hung on for a 52-48 victory against Alaska Anchorage in the West Regional semifinals on March 13. Daesha Henderson led the Falcons with 16 points, and also had five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Reich and Megan Hoisington added 12 points apiece.
-- Reich had a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards, Henderson scored 13, sophomore guard Nyesha Sims had 12, and Hoisington also collected 11 rebounds to help SPU open regional play with a 65-52 win against Hawaii Pacific on March 12.
MVP MELISSA
Junior center Melissa Reich was named the Most Valuable Player of the West Region tournament. Reich had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 65-52 first-round victory against Hawaii Pacific, then went for 10 points and 11 boards as SPU won the title by downing Chico State, 76-68. In three regional games, Reich averaged 12.3 points, 9.0 boards and shot .652 from the field (15 of 23). She was joined on the all-tournament team by senior guard Daesha Henderson (11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals).
MIRROR COACHING IMAGES?
Seattle Pacific's Julie van Beek and Fort Lewis' Mark Kellogg took over their respective programs at the start of the 2005-06 season, and both have enjoyed immense success. Van Beek heads to her first Elite Eight with a 123-24 record in those five years, including four appearances in the West Regional title game. Kellogg is 117-37 during those same five years with the Skyhawks, and has had his team in two regional finals. It also is his first Elite Eight. Van Beek reached her 100th with Seattle Pacific on Dec. 5. Kellogg picked up No. 100 with Fort Lewis on Jan. 16.
VAN BEEK THE MILESTONE MAKER
Within a 15-day span in December, Julie van Beek put a couple of milestones into the book. On Dec. 5, SPU's 59-46 victory against Dixie State in the final game of the GNAC-Pac West Classic in Nampa, Idaho, was her 100th as the Falcons' head coach. Then, on Dec. 20 at the GNAC-CCAA Challenge in Bellingham, the Falcons scored a 59-51 victory against Sonoma State that was the 600th in program history. Van Beek also was at the helm for Seattle Pacific's 500th win, a 77-68 victory against Biola on Nov. 18, 2005 -- just her second game with the team.
HENDERSON STEALS HER WAY ONTO THE PAGE
Seattle Pacific's record book lists the all-time top five in each statistical category. Daesha Henderson now has a spot on the pages that lists steals. With five against Chico State in the West Regional final, Henderson now has 227, moving past Becky Wiersma (1986-90) into the No. 5 spot. Wiersma had 225. The next two spots are still within reach. Currently in the No. 4 spot is Jan Bolton (1989-92) with 231, and at No. 3 is Kristin Poe (1999-2004) with 236. SPU's all-time steals leader is Chantel Vinson (1994-98) with 294.
CLIMBING THE PASS
It was just a few weeks ago when Henderson joined the GNAC top 25 for career assists. She went into the West Regional final against Chico State at No. 18 with 270, then picked up four more that night to climb to No. 17. Heading into the Elite Eight, Henderson has a very realistic shot at No. 16 Kristin Poe of SPU (276), No. 15 Alysson Kollman of Northwest Nazarene (278), and No. 14 Valerie Hartman of Alaska Fairbanks (281).
PLAY IT AGAIN, SIMS
On nine different occasions, sophomore guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) had pulled down five rebounds in a game. Finally, in the West Regional semifinals against Alaska Anchorage on March 13, she broke through that barrier when she collected eight, grabbing seven of those during 10 minutes of first-half action. But clearly, she wanted more. So in the regional final two nights later against Chico State, Sims grabbed nine rebounds to go along with 12 points.
BESTS IN BUNCHES
Sims, with her nine rebounds, wasn't the only Falcon setting a career high against Chico State in the West finals. Three of her teammates also came up with big nights.
-- Sims had two blocked shots. She previously had one in three different games, most recently on Feb. 27 at home against Central Washington.
-- Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) pumped in 17 points, four more than her previous best of 13, which she set on Dec. 28 at UC San Diego.
-- Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) pulled down eight rebounds. That eclipsed by one her previous best of seven boards, which she had achieved five times, most recently on March 6 in a 67-60 victory at Alaska Anchorage.
-- Melissa Reich came up with four block shots, beating her previous best of three. She had done that twice, most recently on Feb. 20 in a 70-67 victory against Western Washington in Brougham.
AIN'T IT GRAND?
Daesha Henderson reached and then broke through the career 1,000-point barrier in Anchorage. A free throw with 5:45 left put her right at 1,000. Then, the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:06 remaining put her past it. She is now at 1,006 points heading into NCAAs.
THE COLOR OF VICTORY
No question the home court was friendly to the Falcons this winter, as they won all 15 games they played in Brougham Pavilion -- eight in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, three in the West Regionals, and four in nonconference action. But it wasn't just the home court -- it was the home uniforms. SPU went 18-1 in their home whites, the only loss coming on Dec. 4 when they were the designated home team against Grand Canyon at the GNAC-Pac West Classic in Nampa, Idaho, The Antelopes won, 69-55.The Falcons went 9-2 in their road maroons -- and they will be in maroon when they tip off against Fort Lewis. Tournament rules state that the team on the top line of the bracket is the home team, bottom is the visiting team. SPU is on the bottom line for the quarterfinals. The Game 1 winner between the Falcons and Fort Lewis is the designated home team for the semifinals against the Arkansas Tech-Franklin Pierce quarterfinal winner.
QUEEN OF THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior forward Megan Hoisington has made a very nice habit of being doubly productive for Seattle Pacific this winter. Hoisington has posted seven double-doubles. The most recent of those were back-to-back efforts during the last week of February. On Feb. 25 at Saint Martin's, Hoisington put up 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 66-55 victory. Two nights later at home against Central Washington on Senior Night, she had 15 points and 10 boards in a 74-48 Falcon victory.
REMEMBER WHEN
In last year's three NCAA tournament games, Daesha Henderson was Seattle Pacific's leading scorer (12.0) and passer (4.33 assists). Now-graduated Kelsey Hill was the top rebounder (8.3) and had a total of 25, with current senior forward Megan Hoisington not far behind with 21 (7.0 average). Henderson had the best shooting marks from the field (.524, making 11 of 21) and the foul line (.917, hitting 11 of 12), and current sophomore guard Nyesha Sims had the best aim from 3-point range (.429, hitting 3 of 7).
FALCONS DOUBLE UP ON GNAC AWARDS
When it came to handing out GNAC postseason honors, Seattle Pacific clearly was on the minds of the coaches, who render those decisions. Senior guard Daesha Henderson was named the Player of the Year, not only for what she did statistically (leading the conference in steals at 2.5, tying for ninth in scoring at 13.3, and finishing tied for seventh in assists at 2.7), but for all of the non-statistical things that never show up on box scores, such as playing tenacious defense. Henderson was the only unanimous first-team selection, and was near unanimous (eight of nine votes) for Player of the Year. Julie van Beek was named Coach of the Year for the second time in her five seasons with the Falcons. And senior forward Megan Hoisington, with her seven double-doubles, earned a spot on the All-GNAC second team.
BUT WAIT -- THERE'S MORE
In the space of 48 hours from March 8 to March 10, Henderson's name showed up on three postseason awards lists. In addition to her GNAC honors, she was named to the Daktronics West Region second team. She also is one of five players from the West on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/State Farm Coaches All-America finalist list. There are 40 finalists in all, with five from each of eight regions around the country.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
--The Falcons won GNAC statistical titles in rebounding (41.7) and field goal defense (.338). They shared the title for assists (17.6).
-- SPU wound up second among conference schools in points allowed (54.4), and was third in steals (11.8) and blocked shots (3.4).
-- Seattle Pacific finished in the middle of the conference scoring race (fourth) at 67.8 points per game.
-- Daesha Henderson won the GNAC steals title at 2.5 per game. Thanks to some big outings late in the season, she also made the top 10 in scoring, tying for ninth at 13.3 points per game. She tied for fourth in 3-pointers made at 1.9 per game (51 total), and tied for seventh in both assists (2.7) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).
-- Megan Hoisington finished fifth in conference rebounding (8.1), including third on the defensive boards (5.7). She also made the top 10 in blocks (third at 1.2) and steals (tie for 10th at 1.7.)
-- Junior center Melissa Reich wound up eighth in both rebounding (6.6) and blocked shots (0.8 per game, 22 total).
-- Junior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) was fifth in assists (2.9) and second in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).
-- Sophomore guard Jordan Harazin tied for seventh in assists (2.7) and was ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
-- Senior forward Sydney Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS), despite missing the last nine games with an injury, finished third in field goal shooting at .515. Prior to her season-ending knee injury, Benson had taken enough attempts (132) to qualify for a spot among the conference leaders.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- The Falcons continue to move up the national ladder in field goal defense. They climbed two spots this week to No. 7, allowing their opponents to hit just 33.8 percent of their shots.
-- SPU is No. 11 in Division II for fewest points allowed at 54.6, moving up one spot from a week ago.
-- In addition to those two categories, the Falcons rank No. 17 in assists per game (17.4) and No. 267 in steals per game (11.5).
-- Daesha Henderson, who won the GNAC steals title at 2.5 per game, is No. 46 nationally.
