THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 29              Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Dec. 31               Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 4:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Before ringing out the old, the Seattle Pacific Falcons will try to do their part to ring up a bit of havoc in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball standings.
 
With the GNAC just two rounds into its regular-season schedule, only two undefeated teams remain. The Falcons will play host to one of them when Western Oregon comes to Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7 p.m. Saint Martin's follows the Wolves into town, visiting on New Year's Eve Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Those games will be SPU's first action since a 96-46 victory against Pacific Lutheran on Dec. 19 that marked the close of non-conference play.
 
Western Oregon and Simon Fraser are deadlocked atop the conference standings at 2-0, with Alaska Anchorage half a game back at 1-0 and four others – including SPU – bunched at 1-1. Simon Fraser has just one game on its GNAC docket this week, but it's a tough one, as the Clan call at Western Washington on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and live Webcasts will be available for both of this week's games. Links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TOUGH REGION BATTLE LOOMS
The region rankings, which ultimately determine who gets into the NCAA Division II tournament, won't come out for the first time until early February. But already, it's plain to see that being among the eight teams that qualify from the West will be a daunting task.
 
As of the Dec. 13 Women's Basketball Coaches Association national poll – the final one before Christmas – four West teams are in the national top 25: No. 4 UC San Diego, No. 10 Alaska Anchorage, No. 11 Cal Poly Pomona, and No. 15 Grand Canyon. Not among the top 25 but receiving votes was Dixie State.
 
The NCAA uses its own process to determine regional rankings, and plenty of basketball remains to be played. But those aforementioned five schools could have a leg up if they continue their winning ways.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--Thursday's game against Western Oregon will match the GNAC's top two scorers. Seattle Pacific sophomore forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) averages 17.1 points per game; Western Oregon senior forward Rylee Peterson is barely ahead of her at 17.3.
--SPU's longest active winning streak of any kind is against Western Oregon. The Falcons have beaten the Wolves 26 straight times. The teams first played in 1981-82, and WOU won both games easily: 71-41 in Seattle; 91-49 in Monmouth. Seattle Pacific has won every outing since then, including three last year: 64-54 at Seattle and 78-70 at Monmouth during the regular season, and 81-45 at Seattle in the first round of the GNAC Tournament.
--The Falcons have a score they'd like to settle against Saint Martin's. Last year, the Saints came from six points down in the final 3½ minutes to escape from Brougham with a 54-53 victory.
--SPU wound up with a 6-2 record in non-conference play.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
As always, coach Julie Heisey will have a well thought-out game plan for Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. But she said some things never change, regardless of the opponent.
                       
“We start conference, and it doesn't matter who we're playing: We play to our level,” Heisey said. “The competition is within us.
 
“We've been trying to look at each game as an opportunity, and use that as an opportunity to build the habits to make us great.”
 
That will continue to be true against the Wolves and Saints.
 
“We've had tough games with Saint Martin's the last two or three years, and we've had tough games against Western Oregon,” Heisey said. “It's not just conference that's important – every win is important. Last year, we got into a situation where we dug ourselves into a hole, and we don't want to do that again.”
 
WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 3-9, 2-0 GNAC (tie 1st).
All-time series: SPU leads, 26-2. Current series streak: SPU won 26. Last time: SPU 81, WOU 45 (Feb. 28, 2011 at Seattle). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon lost its first six games of the season, including a seven-pointer, a five-pointer, and a two-pointer – then promptly won its first two GNAC contests, posting double-digit victories against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene in Monmouth. Rylee Peterson, a 5-foot-11 senior forward, is carrying a big chunk of the load for Western Oregon, leading the team in scoring (17.3), rebounding (7.7), blocked shots (23, for 1.9 per game) and 3-point shooting (.333). Also averaging in double digits for the Wolves is 5-10 senior guard Jade Haas at 11.8 points per game. She averages 6.0 rebounds, is WOU's leading shooter from the field at .496 (60 of 121), and is tied for the most steals in the GNAC with 25, an average of 2.1 per game that has her tied for second.
 
SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 6-6, 1-1 GNAC (tie 4th).
All-time series: SPU leads, 47-11. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 57, Saint Martin's 47 (Feb. 19, 2011 at Lacey). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: After opening the season with four straight losses, Saint Martin's won six of its next seven, including a split of its first two GNAC contests at home: a 51-41 loss to Northwest Nazarene, and a 57-50 victory against Central Washington. Chelsea Haskey, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward, ranks ninth in GNAC scoring at 14.4 points per game, and is tied for No. 5 in conference rebounding at 8.3 per game. The Saints have one of the GNAC's top free throw shooters in 5-10 freshman forward Brooke Paulson, who hits at an .862 clip (25 of 29), good for the No. 4 spot on the list. Jordyn Richardson a 5-9 freshman guard, has the fifth-best 3-point shooting mark at .429 (12 of 28).
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC / NWC rankings)
                                                SPU                        WOU                      StM
Points                                     74.0 (3)                  60.6 (8)                  57.8 (10)
Points allowed                     62.3 (6)                  70.2 (10)                58.6 (2)
Rebounds                              40.5 (5)                  37.0 (8)                  36.9 (9)
Assists                                   17.0 (3)                 10.6 (4)                  10.1 (10)
Blocks                                      2.5 (7)                    3.4 (2)                    2.9 (4)
Steals                                       7.2 (9)                    8.6 (7)                    9.6 (5)
Fewest turnovers                17.7 (3)                 24.6 (10)                21.6 (9)
FG percent                            .458 (2)                  .418 (5)                  .364 (8)
3-point percent                    .364 (2)                  .281 (8)                  .296 (7)
FT percent                             .788 (1)                  .692 (9)                  .734 (3) 
 
Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC statistics. Click on this link to see now GNAC players and individuals stack up nationally in NCAA Division II.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
--Betsy Kingma scored a career-high 14 points to lead a stellar performance by the reserves as Seattle Pacific concluded its non-conference women's basketball schedule on Dec.19 by routing Pacific Lutheran in Brougham Pavilion, 96-46.
 
FINISHING WHAT THEY STARTED
For the first time in school history, the Falcons will have played on the first day of the calendar year and also on the last day. On New Year's Day 2011 in Brougham Pavilion, SPU got the year off to a good start with an 80-64 victory against Alaska Fairbanks. They'll finish it off a few hours before midnight when they play Saint Martin's in Brougham on Saturday.
                                                           
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Senior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) rang up 11 points and 10 rebounds against Pacific Lutheran on Dec. 19 for her third double-double of the season. Sims double-doubled in two straight games earlier this month, logging 10 points and 13 boards in an 82-66 victory at Western Washington on Dec. 3, followed by 12 points and 11 rebounds in an 83-65 victory against Sonoma State in Brougham Pavilion on Dec. 9. She now has eight double-doubles for her career, with the other five coming last season.
 
Sophomore forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) has SPU's other double-double this season. She tallied 12 points and collected 11 rebounds in a 70-59 victory against Cal State East Bay in Brougham on Nov. 18.
 
IT'S ALL EVEN FOR REIMER
Falcons senior center Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash./Lynden Christian HS) has a career kind of night against Pacific Lutheran, posting personal-best totals of 13 points and eight rebounds. That gave her the exact same number of both points and rebounds as a Falcon, with 81 apiece. Reimer also tied her career high with two assists against the Lutes.
 
CROWN HER KINGMA
Sophomore guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) was getting in on the career-high action, too. Her 14 points against Pacific Lutheran exceeded her previous best of 11, set exactly one month earlier on Nov. 11 against Harding. Also against the Lutes, the 5-foot-11 Kingma picked up the first two blocked shots of her Falcons career.
 
THE BUTLER DID IT
Now that she's not redshirting after all this year, sophomore center Riley Butler is trying to take advantage of whatever playing opportunities are presented to her. She did that and then some against Pacific Lutheran. Butler set a career scoring high with six points, one more than she scored against Sonoma State on Dec. 9. She also picked up her very first Seattle Pacific assist, and recorded her first Falcons steal.
 
GIVE OHLSEN A BIG ERASER
In the past two games, freshman guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash./Monroe HS) has rewritten four career-best totals. She had six rebounds (breaking her previous mark of four) and her first two SPU blocked shots against PLU on Dec. 19. Ohlsen also tied her career scoring high of 12 in that game. Just nine days earlier against Chico State, she had her best night for assists (3) and steals (2).
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th free throw made – Katie Benson (has 99).
100^th point – Betsy Kingma (has 94).
100^th rebound – Aubree Callen (has 97).
200^th rebound – Katie Benson (has 191).
100^th steal – Nyesha Sims (has 82).
600^th point – Jordan Harazin (has 582).

MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
None.                                                  
 
ON THE HONOR ROLL
--Katie Benson and Rachel Murray were named to the all-tournament team in both phases of the CCAA-GNAC Challenge: Nov. 11-12 in San Francisco, and Dec. 9-10 in Seattle.
--Benson and Murray also were voted all-tournament at SPU's own Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 18-19 in Brougham Pavilion, with Murray being named the Most Valuable Player as the Falcons swept their two games.
--Murray's Sodexo performance of 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and five assists in two games combined earned her a share of the GNAC Player of the Week award for Nov. 14-19.
 
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 time for all home games.

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 a look at news, notes, schedule and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.             
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons make their annual trip to Alaska next week. SPU plays at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m. PST, then heads south for a Saturday night showdown at Alaska Anchorage, picked as the overwhelming preseason favorite for the GNAC title by conference coaches. That one also tips off at 8 PST.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                             GNAC   Season
Simon Fraser                       2-0          5-3
Western Oregon                  2-0          3-9
Alaska Anchorage               1-0        10-2
Northwest Nazarene           1-1          7-3
Seattle Pacific                       1-1          7-3
Western Washington          1-1          7-3
Saint Martin's                        1-1          6-6
Alaska Fairbanks                 0-1          4-7
Montana State Billings        0-2          8-5
Central Washington            0-2          3-6