CCAA-GNAC SCHEDULE:
Friday, Dec. 7                       Seattle Pacific vs. Sonoma State, 5:30 p.m.
                                              Acker Gym / Chico, Calif.
                                              Live stats        No live Webcast or audio         
               
Saturday, Dec. 8                 Seattle Pacific at Chico State, 7:30 p.m.
                                             Acker Gym / Chico, Calif.
                                             Live stats        Live audio (no Webcast)
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – They are off to their best overall start since 2008. Now, the Seattle Pacific women will try to keep it going in one of the tougher venues to win a basketball game.
 
With the stress of fall quarter academic finals mostly behind them, the Falcons fly off to California this week, setting down in Chico for the CCAA-GNAC Challenge against Sonoma State and host Chico State.
 
The Falcons square off against Sonoma on Friday at 5:30 p.m., then come back to Acker Gym on Saturday night at 7:30 to take on host Chico State.
 
This will be final non-conference tournament of the year for Seattle Pacific after sweeping its own SodexoTip-Off Classic on Nov. 9-10, then splitting a pair at the West Region Crossover Classic on Nov. 16-17 at Western Washington University.
 
The Falcons come into the week at 5-1 after beating Northwest Nazarene, 76-69, and Central Washington, 65-48, to tip off Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in Brougham Pavilion last week. The last time SPU won five of its first six was at the outset of the 2008-09 season.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats will be available from both of this week's games. Live Webcasts will not be offered, but live audio from Saturday's game against Chico State will be available. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
This will be the eighth consecutive year that SPU, Sonoma State, Chico State and Western Washington have linked up for the CCAA-GNAC Challenge – and it will be the final year they do so, at least for now. The series started in Bellingham in 2005 and has rotated through each of the four schools on an annual basis, with the Falcons hosting it last season in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The series will not be played next season, as the California schools elected to pursue other scheduling options.
 



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- In the first seven years of the Challenge, the Falcons have gone 5-2 against Sonoma State and 4-3 against Chico State.
-- Last year in Seattle, SPU beat Sonoma, 83-65, but fell short against Chico, 77-72.
-- The Falcons got swept in the first two years of the Challenge, falling to both California schools at Western Washington in 2005, and doing so again at Sonoma State in 2006.
-- Since then, Seattle Pacific has won the last five games against Sonoma, and had won four in a row against Chico until the Wildcats prevailed last year.
-- Katie Benson and Rachel Murray of the Falcons were part of last year's all-tournament team in Seattle.
-- Seattle Pacific and Chico State have a history that extends beyond the Challenge. They have met five times in the NCAA Division II tournament, with the Falcons having a 3-2 edge. Three of those games were West Regional finals, with SPU winning 85-70 in 2005, and 76-68 in 2010, both in Seattle, while Chico won 72-63 in Bellingham in 2006.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 5-5 all-time against Chico and 5-2 all-time against Sonoma State.
-- Seattle Pacific's last 6-1 start also was in 2008. The last time the Falcons started 7-1 was 2004-05. However, their best eight-game start was 8-0 in 2007-08, part of a school-record 29-game winning streak that went unti they fell in the West Region final.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Sure, SPU head coach Julie Heisey loves being 5-1. But she's just as happy with how the Falcons have gotten there.
 
“The biggest thing is our defense has gotten better. We win with defense,” she said. “Three years ago when we went to the Elite Eight, we were not a pretty offensive team (early in the season). But we won because of our defense and our rebounding.
 
Both of those factors were key to last week's GNAC-opening wins against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
 
“I think our kids have done things really well,” Heisey said. “We out-rebounded both of those teams, which is a big deal. And we held both below their (average) field goal percentage."
 
Both Sonoma State and Chico State will present sizable challenges for the Falcons this week, and plenty is at stake even though these are not GNAC teams.
 
“Chico beat us last year, and they're always fast-paced and really aggressive. We have to stop them from running," Heisey said. " I haven't seen them play this year, but last year, that's what hurt us. They got a lot of lay-ups on us.
 
“Sonoma is very well coached, and they try to slow you down,” she added. “So we have to go in and play our game.”
 
SCOUTING THE SONOMA STATE SEAWOLVES
All-time series: SPU leads, 9-3. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 83, Sonoma 65 (Dec. 9, 2011 at Seattle). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: After dropping their first two games of the season, Sonoma State has bounced back to take two of its last three, including a 63-50 victory against Cal State East Bay last Saturday. The Seawolves are among the CCAA's best shooting teams, ranking No. 2 from the field and foul line, and tied for third from 3-point range. But they average just 60.8 points per game and have only one player – senior guard Taylor Vigil – in double figures at 10.8 per game. Vigil also is Sonoma's most accurate shooter among the starting five at 52.2 percent (24 of 46). And, she's the team leader on the boards at 5.8 per game and has half of the Seawolves' eight blocked shots. Sophomore guard/forward Bronte Sheahan averages 7.6 points per game, including a team-leading 17 off the bench in a loss to Cal State Monterey Bay last Thursday.
 
SCOUTING THE CHICO STATE WILDCATS
All-time series: SPU leads, 12-5. Current series streak: Chico won 1. Last time: Chico State 77, SPU 72 (Dec. 10, 2011 at Seattle). Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: Chico State has won each of its first three CCAA games by double-digits. A pair of juniors – guard Jazmine Miller and forward McKenzie Dalthorp – have set the pace on offense. Miller averages a team-high 14.3 points per game, including a 20-point performance in last Saturday's 68-57 homecourt victory against Cal Poly Pomona. Dalthorp is right behind at 13.8 points per game. She also pulls down an average of 6.8 rebounds, the No. 2 Wildcat in that department behind junior forward Analise Riezebos, who averages a whopping 9.8 per game. Riezebos has been in double-digits the past three games, with a high of 15 against Pomona last Thursday. And while SPU is 10th in D-2 for 3-point shooting at 42.3 percent, Chico has D-2's toughest 3-point defense, allowing a success rate of just 14.7 percent.
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE
(GNAC or CCAA rankings)
                                   SPU                     SONOMA                CHICO
Points                     71.0 (5)                  60.8 (6)                  69.0 (2)
Points allowed       62.8 (5)                  63.8 (10)                52.8 (2)
Rebounds              40.2 (3)                  32.4 (10)                42.2 (3)
Assists                   14.7 (4)                  12.8 (5)                  15.8 (2)
Steals                       7.3 (9)                    5.4 (12)                10.8 (T3)
Blocks                      2.8 (5)                    1.6 (9)                    1.2 (11)
Turnovers               19.2 (7)                  17.4 (4)                  18.5 (8)
FG percent             .442 (3)                  .411 (2)                  .370 (8)
3-point percent      .423 (1)                  .319 (T3)                .303 (T5)
FT percent              .757 (2)                  .787 (2)                  .692 (6)
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Katie Benson pumped in 18 points and was one of four Seattle Pacific players in double figures as the Falcons opened the GNAC women's basketball schedule by beating Northwest Nazarene last Thursday night in Brougham Pavilion, 76-69.
.-- Suzanna Ohlsen scored a career-high 20 points and hit all four of her 3-point shots last Saturday, leading SPU to a 65-48 GNAC victory against Central Washington.
.
KINGMA'S BACK IN ACTION
After missing the first five games of the season with shoulder pain, junior guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS) returned to the court last week, and quickly showed that she hadn't lost her touch. Kingma hit 5 of 9 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc, and finished with 15 points in last Thursday's 76-69 victory against Northwest Nazarene. Kingma came off the bench for 28 minutes of action, also grabbing four rebounds and hitting both of her free throws during that time.
 
Kingma played 23 minutes on Saturday as the Falcons downed Central Washington in Brougham Pavilion, 65-48. She contributed five points, three rebounds and three steals.
 
DEADEYE FROM DOWNTOWN . . .
It was just a couple weeks ago when the Falcons were on the receiving end of some sharp 3-point shooting, as UC San Diego buried 10 of 14 from long range during the first half and 11 of 21 for the game in an 86-67 victory at the West Region Crossover Classic.
 
Last week, SPU was on the delivering end of the 3-point daggers, hitting 50 percent in both of their GNAC games: 6 of 12 against Northwest Nazarene, with Betsy Kingma hitting 3 of 4, and 7 of 14 against Central Washington, with Suzanna Ohlsen popping in all four of her tries.
 
. . . AND FROM MOST OTHER PLACES, TOO
Shooting the ball isn't always as easy as 1-2-3, but Seattle Pacific's GNAC stats might beg to differ on that point. Heading into this week, the Falcons lead the conference and rank 10^th nationally in team 3-point shooting (.423), with Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) ranking first at .588 on 10 of 17, and teammates Rachel Murray (Eglington, Australia) and Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) part of a three-way tie for second at .545 on 6 of 11.
 
SPU is No. 2 in the conference and No. 25 nationally in free throw shooting at .757, with junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) fifth overall at .875 on 21 of 24, and Ohlsen sixth at .824 on 14 of 17). From the field overall, Seattle Pacific is No. 3 at .442. Murray ranks sixth at .514 on 19 of 37, and Ohlsen is ninth at .482 on 27 of 56.
 
SHUT 'EM DOWN
Offense is great, but it's defense that ultimately wins games, and the Falcons found a way to put the clamps to some of the GNAC's biggest scoring threats last week. On Thursday against Northwest Nazarene, SPU limited Chelsie Luke to 10 points, five below her 15.6 average, as she was forced into 4-of-16 shooting.
 
Just 48 hours later against Central Washington, Seattle Pacific stopped Ally Schmitt with just four points on 2 of 5 shooting. Schmitt had been averaging 13.2 points coming in. The Falcons kept Central's Jessica VanDyke to 11 points, right near her average, but hounded her into 4-of-15 shooting.
 
CRASH THOSE BOARDS
The Falcons have out-rebounded five of their six opponents this season. Only Azusa Pacific (by a 53-49 count in a game that SPU won in overtime) beat the Falcons on the boards. Furthermore, for the first time this season, Seattle Pacific finished the week averaging more than 40 rebounds per game, now at 40.2. That's 5.5 more than the 34.7 its opponents are averaging.
 
TURNING THE TABLES
So far this season, Seattle Pacific is 2 of 2 in terms of gaining some redemption against teams that beat them last season. Both of those wins came last week when the Falcons beat Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
 
They'll have a chance for another one on Saturday against Chico State. Last year, the Wildcats won in Seattle, 77-72.
 
POLLING PLACE
At 5-1, the Falcons have started to play their way into the national picture. For the first time this season, they were among 'others receiving votes' in this week's USA Today / WBCA national coaches poll that was released on Tuesday. SPU had six points. Ashland of Ohio is No. 1, Western Washington in No. 6, and Simon Fraser is No. 12. Chico State barely missed the top 25, leading the 'others receiving votes' list. Also on that list were Alaska Anchorage (20 points) and Northwest Nazarene (three points).
 
Seattle Pacific's last appearance on the national list was Nov. 29, 2011, when it had eight points among 'others receiving votes.'
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- The Falcons rank No. 10 in 3-point shooting at .423. Columbus State of Georgia leads at .468.
-- SPU is No. 25 in free throw shooting at .757. UC San Diego leads at .824.
-- Sophomore Suzanna Ohlsen is No. 11 in assist / turnover ratio at 2.88. A total of three players are tied for the lead at 5.0.
 
Click on this link to see how SPU and GNAC players and teams stack up nationally.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th assist           Rachel Murray (has 96)
100^th field goal     Suzanna Ohlsen (has 84)
100^th 3-pointer     Mechela Barnes (has 94)
100^th free throw   Aubree Callen (has 94)
200^th field goal     Rachel Murray (has 189)
800^th point             Katie Benson (has 750)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
200^th point            Suzanna Ohlsen (has 227)
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at news, notes and statistics from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
               
UP NEXT
After this weekend, it's a very quiet December for the Falcons, with just two more games on the schedule as they conclude non-conference play. They will visit Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 5:30 p.m. SPU will be back home in Brougham Pavilion on New Year's Eve Monday at 2 p.m. against Dixie State at 2 p.m.