THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Nov. 29               Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                             Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                             Live stats        Live Webcast
                                                                                             
Saturday, Dec. 1                 Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                             Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                             Live stats        Live Webcast
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
        PHOTO GALLERIES:  Illinois Springfield        Western State Colorado

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were grateful for some practice time and some down time during the abbreviated Thanksgiving week.
 
Now, it's back to game time.
 
The SPU women return to action in a big way this week as they begin the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of their schedule. What's more, they get to do that at home, as Northwest Nazarene visits Brougham Pavilion on Thursday night, followed by Central Washington on Saturday.
 
Both games tip off at 7 p.m. NNU (5-0) is one of just two remaining unbeaten GNAC teams through non-conference play. Central starts the week with a 3-2 record, with two of those victories coming in Brougham at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 9-10.
 
Seattle Pacific is coming off a split of its two games at the West Region Crossover Classic in Bellingham on Nov. 16-17, falling to then-No. 8 UC San Diego, 86-67, then coming from behind with the final four points of overtime to beat Azusa Pacific, 76-74.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and a free live Webcasts will be available for both games this week. Tom Gialanella will call the action from Brougham Pavilion on Stretch Internet, the new Webcast home of the GNAC. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
FALCONS THE NO. 3 CHOICE
With the start of GNAC action, fans will get an early glimpse at how accurate the conference coaches were in their preseason predictions. Seattle Pacific has been picked by coaches for a third-place finish. The Falcons, who were part of a three-way tie for third in last season's final standings, received 76 points in the voting.
               
Western Washington, coming off of a second-place finish in both the regular season and in the conference tournament, is the favorite. The Vikings got seven of the 10 first-place votes and 96 points. Simon Fraser is second with the other three first-place votes and 93 points.
 





SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Last year, the Falcons lost their conference opener for the first time the formation of the GNAC in 2001-02, falling at Simon Fraser, 79-74. SPU had won its first 10 GNAC openers.
-- This is the first time since the 2008-09 schedule that Seattle Pacific has begun conference play at home. That season, when GNAC games didn't start until early January, the Falcons rolled past Western Washington, 85-66.
- -SPU coach Julie Heisey is 12-2 all –time against her alma mater of NNU, from which she graduated in 1989.
- -Of those 12 victories, two have been by one point; with one each by two, three and four points. One of the two losses was a two-pointer, and the other (last season's in Nampa) was by four.
-- Heisey also is 12-2 against Central Washington.
-- Just as they are starting a new conference schedule, the Falcons also are seeking a fresh start against the Crusaders and Wildcats. SPU saw nine-game winning streaks against both teams come to an end in a span of 48 hours on the road last February. NNU and Central both overcame double-digit first-half deficits to pull out the victories.
-- The 97 points in last season's 97-79 victory against Central Washington in Brougham Pavilion was Seattle Pacific's highest scoring output of the year.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Ask any coach, and they'll say that defense is always important. But that will be especially true for Julie Heisey's Seattle Pacific team this week against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
 
“Central is very explosive offensively, and they shoot a lot of 3s,” Heisey said. “They have a really balanced attack. Ally Schmitt is very good, and obviously, Jessica Van Dyke was one of their leading scorers last year. They have some new faces, but they have some returners, and they're very capable of putting a lot of points on the boards. We have to be aware of that and not give them second chances.
 
“NNU, as much as they have three really good players returning, they also have a lot of youth. So we have two tough teams,” she added. “Both of them beat us the last time we played them, so that's where we have to put our best foot forward. It's early, and like in most situations – especially when it's early – defensive and rebounding will be really key.” 

 
SCOUTING THE NORTHWEST NAZARENE CRUSADERS
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-3. Current series streak: NNU won 1. Last time: NNU 81, SPU 77 (Feb. 10, 2012 at Nampa, Idaho). Crusaders on the Web.
Crusaders in a nutshell: NNU is off to a 5-0 start and has pulled out three close ones in a row: 65-62 at College of Idaho, 66-62 against Academy of Art, and 55-54 against Metro State, the latter two in a tournament at Nampa last weekend. Junior guards Chelsie Luke and Megan Hingston have taken turns leading the Crusaders in scoring, with Luke (15.6 points per game, No. 4 in the GNAC) setting the pace three times, and Hingston (16.0, No. 2 in the GNAC) doing it twice. Hingston also is the conference's second-best rebounder with an average of 8.4 per game, and junior, and 5-10 junior guard Kylee Schierman is fourth at 7.8 per game. Schierman is one of 10 players in the GNAC shooting better than .500 from the field, sitting at No. 8 with a .541 percentage (20 of 37).
 
SCOUTING THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS
All-time series: SPU leads, 39-29. Current series streak: CWU won 1. Last time: CWU 80, SPU 75 (Feb. 12, 2012 at Ellensburg). Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: The Wildcats won their first three, including a 71-41 against Western State Colorado, and 65-53 against Illinois Springfield at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham Pavilion. But they came up short in both games at NNU's tournament last weekend against Metro State (76-67) and Academy of Art (73-64). Junior guard Ally Schmitt, the only unanimous Sodexo all-tournament selection, averages 15.2 points per game, tied for No. 6 in the GNAC and the only Wildcat player in double figures. She also leads the team in assists with 20, an average of 4.0 per game that ranks No. 3 in the conference. Junior forward/center Amber Moser and junior guard Jessica VanDyke each average a team-high 5.6 rebounds and about eight points per game. VanDyke is strong on the offensive glass, with 17 of her 28 total boards coming at that end.
 
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(with GNAC ranking)
                                SPU                        NNU                       CWU
Points                     71.2 (T4)                70.2 (7)                  71.2 (T4)
Points allowed       65.0 (7)                  61.4 (5)                  59.0 (4)
Rebounds              39.2 (4)                  47.4 (1)                  41.6 (3)
Assists                   15.0 (4)                  13.0 (T7)                13.6 (5)
Steals                       7.8 (8)                    6.8 (9)                    8.0 (7)
Blocks                      3.3 (4)                    2.8 (5)                    2.6 (6)
Turnovers              18.0 (7)                  17.6 (6)                   17.4 (5)
FG percent             .432 (3)                 .404 (5)                   .387 (8)
3-point percent      .385 (2)                 .292 (9)                   .331 (5)
FT percent             .770 (1)                 .725 (6)                   .714 (7)
 
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Suzanna Ohlsen scored a career-high 19 points, but No. 8-ranked UC San Diego hit its first four shots of the game, all from behind the 3-point line, and rolled to an 86-67 victory at the West Region Crossover Classic in Bellingham on Nov. 16.
-- Mechela Barnes drained two tie-breaking free throws with six seconds left in overtime, giving SPU a 76-74 victory against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 17, the final night of the West Region Crossover Classic.
 
OLD HOME WEEK
They'll be on opposite sides of the court Thursday night, but two SPU players and two from Northwest Nazarene won't need any formal introductions.
 
Falcons freshman guard Brooke Bowen (Vancouver, Wash.) and Crusaders freshman forward Katie Swanson were teammates at Skyview High School. Last March, they helped the Storm from Vancouver capture the Washington state Class 4A (large school) championship, and Bowen was named the tournament's MVP.
 
Seattle Pacific junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) will be well acquainted with NNU junior guard Kylee Schierman. Both joined their respective teams this season after playing previously at the College of Southern Idaho.
 
ODDS ARE ALMOST EVEN FOR MURRAY
SPU senior guard Rachel Murray (Eglington, Australia) is steadily approaching a statistical milestone of sorts: .500 career shooting. Murray is putting in her field goals at a .542 clip early in the season, that after hitting .552 last year. Heading into this week's games, Murray is at .493 for her career – 183 of 371. Stated another way, she's just three makes below .500.
 
Murray starts the week ranked No. 7 in GNAC field goal shooting. She's also right up there in 3-point shooting at .571 (4 of 7), tying her for second in the conference with Falcons junior forward Katie Benson (also 4 of 7).
 
The last SPU player to finish her career at better than .500 was Kelsey Hill, who it .510 (467 of 916) from 2006-09.
 
IT'S TENG'S TIME
Patience does have its rewards, and senior guard Michelle Teng (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue Christian HS) certainly is being rewarded in the early portion of her final Falcon season.
 
Teng has picked up the first two starts of her career and has seen significant playing time in two other games off the bench. She already has more than half as many minutes in four games (65) as she totaled last year in 23 games (118). Teng already has tied her previous single-season high for assists (six, last year), and her eight rebounds so far is just one shy of her single-season best in that department (nine, also last year). Teng doesn't take a lot of shots, but those she has taken are good looks, as she has hit 4 of 5 from the floor.
 
SHE'LL SCORE – OR FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN
It hasn't taken Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe,Wash. / Monroe HS) long to show what she can do in a starting role. Through the first four games of the season, the sophomore guard has become Seattle Pacific's second-leading scorer at 12.3 points per game. Ohlsen has hit for double-figure points in three games. That included a career-high 19 – more than a quarter of the team's points – in an 86-67 loss to then-No. 8 UC San Diego on Nov. 16.
 
Ohlsen also leads the Falcons with 13 assists – an average of 3.3 per game for the sixth-best mark in the GNAC. She also is taking good care of the ball. Ohlsen has just five turnovers, giving her a 2.6 assist/turnover ratio that is tied for the best mark in the conference with Alaska Anchorage's Sasha King.
 
STILL LOOKIN' GOOD AT THE LINE
Led by junior guard Aubree Callen's near-perfect performances, the Falcons are atop the GNAC in free throw shooting at 77.0 percent – a tick ahead of Montana State Billings at 76.9. Callen (Jerome, Idaho) is shooting at a .938 clip, having drained 15 of 16 – although that's  'only' No. 2 in the conference because Western Oregon freshman Mariah Durian is a perfect 21 of 21.
 
Altogether, Seattle Pacific has three of the GNAC's top 10 foul shooters and five of the top 15. Besides Callen, junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) is No. 7 at .900 (9 of 10), and redshirt freshman center Maddey Pflaumer is at .800 (8 of 10). Suzanna Ohlsen is 12^th at .769 (10 of 13), and senior guard Rachel Murray is tied for 15^th at .750 (12 of 16).
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Junior forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) recorded her first double-double of the season in the 76-74 overtime victory against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 17. Benson poured in 23 points and grabbed 10 rebound. Both of those totals were just one shy of her career high. Benson now has five career double-doubles, and is the only current Falcon with double-doubles on her resume'.
 
FIRST FALCON TO THE FINISH
Katie Thralls, who played basketball the past three years for SPU, finished 44^th among the 249 runners at the NCAA Division II cross country championships on Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo. Thralls finished the 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 28.2 seconds. SPU finished 17^th among the 32 teams in the meet.
 
Thralls recently decided that she will not play basketball this winter so she can turn out for indoor track and get ready for outdoor track.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th assist           Rachel Murray (has 92)
100^th field goal     Suzanna Ohlsen (has 74)
100^th 3-pointer      Mechela Barnes (has 94)
200^th field goal      Rachel Murray (has 183)
200^th point:            Suzanna Ohlsen (has 198)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100^th field goal    Aubree Callen (has 105)
500^th point            Rachel Murray (has 511)
700^th point            Katie Benson (has 723)

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.

UP NEXT
SPU plays in its final preseason tournament next weekend when it travels to California for the CCAA-GNAC Challenge. The Falcons open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 7, against Sonoma State at 5:30 p.m. The next night, they face host Chico State at 7:30.


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