THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 9         Seattle Pacific at NW Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. PST
                                        Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
                                        Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 11       Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                        Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                        Live Webcast        Live stats             
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
        RECENT PHOTO GALLERIES:  Ak. Anchorage        Ak. Fairbanks

SEATTLE – No doubt about it: Last week was a big week for the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team: A victory against national No. 8-ranked Alaska Anchorage, and a gritty winning performance two nights later against Alaska Fairbanks.
                             
Now, the Falcons need another week just like it.
 
A stretch of three straight road games for SPU begins Thursday night with a visit to Nampa, Idaho, to take on Northwest Nazarene at 6 p.m. PST. Then on Saturday, the team is off to Ellensburg to tangle with Central Washington. That game tips off at 7.
 
The Falcons are coming off of their best week since sweeping these same two schools in Brougham Pavilion last month. On Thursday, they saw a 19-point lead vanish, but went right back in front and hung on to beat Anchorage, 67-62. Two nights later, SPU got all it could handle from Alaska Fairbanks, but finally pulled it out, 69-62.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live Webcasts and live stats will be available for both of this week's games. Links can be found at the top of this story.
 
REBOUNDING INTO THE RECORD BOOK
To say Nyesha Sims had a nose for the ball last Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks is understating the case. Seattle Pacific's senior guard crashed the boards for 23 rebounds in a 69-62 victory. That tied the overall GNAC single-game record (regardless of opponent), and broke the record for most boards in a game between two GNAC schools. The old record was 22, shared by three players, including former Falcon stars Kristin Poe and Carli Smith.
 
Naturally, it also was a career high for Sims, whose previous best was 19 on Jan. 5 against the same Alaska Fairbanks team on the Nanooks' home court.
 





SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--SPU has logged nine straight victories against the Crusaders and nine in a row against the Wildcats.
--After yielding the first basket of the game to Northwest Nazarene, SPU ran off the next 16 points to take command of last month's 72-58 victory in Seattle.
--The Falcons shined on defense last time against the Crusaders. They blocked a season-high 11 shots, and limited Megan Hingston, then the GNAC's leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, to just six points on 2-of-13 shooting.
--Central rang up 45 first-half points against the Falcons in January, the most SPU has allowed to any team during the opening 20 minutes this season. No one else has scored more than 39.
--SPU's 97 points against Central Washington in January was its highest offensive output since scoring that many at home against Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 21, 2009. The last time the Falcons scored more than 97 was Jan. 27, 2007, in a 106-62 rout of Dixie State.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Coach Julie Heisey knows full well that none of the remaining five regular-season games will be easy – and that's fine with her.
 
“It's kind of a blessing and a curse being in a good conference like this,” she said of the GNAC. “The blessing is that you get better and it prepares you for postseason play, and that excites me right now. The next five games, we have to be at our best. When you're truly tested, that's when you find out what you're made of. As coaches, you get to make adjustments early, so you're continuing to improve your team.
 
“On the other hand, you can't be mentally off,” Heisey added. “We've seen that before, and if you are (mentally off), you're going to lose.”
 
NNU and Central played each other last weekend, and Heisey said that in watching the game, “It literally almost made me dizzy – it was such horse race. The thing I admire about NNU is they play hard on every possession, and they make you really have to work for things.”
 
Central Washington poses its own challenges to the Falcons, especially with the way the Wildcats can rack up the points in a hurry.
 
“They have some kids who can shoot some really deep 3's,” Heisey said, “and the 3-point shot can change anything on a given night because a 10-point lead isn't much.”
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE CRUSADERS: 13-7, 7-5 GNAC (6^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 25-2. Current series streak: SPU won 9. Last time: SPU 72, NNU 58 (Jan. 14, 2012 at Seattle). Crusaders on the Web.
Crusaders in a nutshell: Northwest Nazarene is tough on its home court, having won eight out of nine. The only loss was 79-71 to conference-leading Alaska Anchorage. Senior post player Briaunna King has taken over the scoring lead for the Crusaders at 16.0 points per game (tied for No. 5 in the GNAC), and is their top shooter from the field at 47.6 percent. Sophomore guard Megan Hingston is still filling up the hoop at a 15.4 clip to rank No. 7 in the conference. Senior guard Alla Dezhdzhiyeshvili (10.3 points per game) and sophomore guard Chelsie Luke (10.2) also average in double figures. Luke scored a game-high 20 in January's 72-58 loss to SPU in Brougham Pavilion. King (9.2) and Hingston (7.4) also are among the GNAC's best rebounders, and Dzhidzhiyeshvili is easily the conference's top thief with 63 steals, an average of 3.2 per game.
 
CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS: 6-13, 3-9 GNAC (8^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 40-28. Current series streak: SPU won 9. Last time: SPU 97, CWU 79 (Jan. 12, 2012 at Seattle). Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: A year ago, Central averaged 62.7 points per game and allowed 67.5. This year, in a more up-tempo style, the Wildcats are averaging 69.9 per game and allowing 72.0. Junior guard Alex Dunn is the GNAC's leading passer, averaging 4.8 assists per game. Sophomore guard Jessica VanDyke is No. 9 in conference scoring at 14.2 points per game; senior guard/forward Sophie Russell is No. 11 at 13.8. Russell's 19 points (with five makes from 3-point range) led five Central players in double figures against SPU in January. VanDyke leads Central on the boards at 7.2, ranking No. 10 in the GNAC. The Wildcats aren't afraid to launch it from downtown, hitting 12 of 22 in Brougham Pavilion last month.
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
(GNAC / NWC rankings)
                                                SPU                        NNU                       CWU
Points                                     73.8 (2)                  71.4 (4)                  69.9 (5)
Points allowed                     63.0 (4)                  64.0 (6)                  72.0 (9)
Rebounds                              42.7 (2)                  42.5 (3)                  40.2 (5)
Assists                                   17.6 (2)                  13.1 (7)                  13.3 (6)
Blocks                                       3.2 (3)                    1.4 (10)                  2.0 (8)
Steals                                        7.1 (10)                10.8 (2)                    7.3 (T8)
Fewest turnovers                 18.0 (4)                  19.2 (7)                  16.9 (2)
FG percent                            . 442 (3)                  .405 (6)                  .377 (7)
3-point percent                     .354 (3)                  .313 (6)                  .347 (4)
FT percent                              .786 (1)                  .765 (2)                  .673 (10)
 
Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC statistics.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
--Nyesha Sims scored 13 points, and Jordan Harazin, Katie Benson, and Aubree Callen added nine points apiece, helping SPU take down the No. 8-ranked and Great Northwest Athletic Conference-leading Seawolves in Brougham Pavilion last Thursday night, 67-62.
--Sims collected a 23 rebounds to tie the GNAC single-game record, and Betsy Kingma scored a career-high 18 points last Saturday, leading Seattle Pacific to a 69-62 victory against Alaska Fairbanks in Brougham.

SIMS IS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With her record-setting rebounding performance last Saturday, senior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) was the clear choice as the GNAC women's basketball Player of the Week. Her combined stats in the victories against Alaska Anchorage (67-62) and Alaska Fairbanks (69-62) were 32 rebounds, 27 points, and 11 assists. In addition to her career-high performances on the boards against Fairbanks, she also tied her career high with six assists.
 
This is Sims' second Player of the Week award. She also was honored once last season. She is the second Falcon to earn it this season, with Rachel Murray having won on Nov. 20 after being named MVP of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.
 
HEAD OF THE CLASS
Sophomore forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) has earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Benson carries a 3.69 grade-point average as a communications major. She was one of six players who were named to the Division II all-district team, which includes the GNAC (four players), CCAA (one) and Pacific West Conference (one). This is the first year D-2 has had its own team. Previously, D-2, D-3 and NAIA were combined.
 
The CoSIDA teams are voted upon by college sports information directors. Athletes must have at least a 3.30 GPA, be a sophomore or older, and be a starter or significant reserve to be eligible.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
With her 14 points and 23 rebounds last Saturday night against Alaska Fairbanks, Nyesha Sims put her ninth double-double of the season into the book. She now has 14 for her career, with the other five coming last season.
 
Katie Benson has two career double-doubles, both this season. Her most recent was 16 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 12 when the Falcons beat Central Washington in Seattle, 97-79.
 
A DOUBLE-DOUBLE AVERAGE?
She would need a couple more monster games on the boards to do it. But the way Sims is pulling down rebounds lately, she isn't that far away from averaging a double-double. Sims enters this week's games at 12.0 points and 9.7 rebounds. She would need 16 rebounds in Thursday's game or 26 in the two games combined to push her average up to 10.0.
 
The last Falcon to finish the season with a double-double average was Carli Smith (10.8 points, 10.1 rebounds) in 2004-05.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Here's are some of SPU's statistical highlights in the latest (Feb. 6) NCAA Division II national rankings:
Team:
-- No. 4 free throw percentage (.786); No. 5 rebounding margin (+10.1), No. 8 assists per game (17.6), No. 20 field goal percentage (.442), No. 30 scoring (73.8), No. 30 in 3-point percentage (.354).
Individual:
--Nyesha Sims No. 25 double-doubles (9), No. 35 rebounds per game (9.7).
--Jordan Harazin No. 22 assist/turnover ratio (1.92 assists for every 1 turnover).

Click on this link to see how SPU and GNAC players and team fare nationally.
 
NEW LOOK WAS A WINNING LOOK
With starting forward Rachel Murray (Eglington, Australia) sidelined by an injury last week, coach Julie Heisey needed to make some adjustments, and her plan paid off. Senior Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash./Lynden Christian HS), got the first two starts of her Falcons career, stepping in for Murray against the two Alaska schools. She played a big role defensively when No. 8-ranked Anchorage was in town, helping limit Hanna Johansson to just four points and seven rebounds.
 
As for her own stats, Reimer logged a respectable 10 points and nine rebounds in 40 minutes combined in the two games.

MONSTER WEEK FOR MILESTONES
Most weeks, one or two Seattle Pacific players might hit a career milestone. But last week, three different players accountef for four statistical milestones. Nyesha Sims had two of them, scorig her 800th point (she now has 824) and collecting her 100th steal (she's right at 100). Katie Benson hit her 200th field goal (she has 203), and senior guard McKayla Gorman (Parker, Colo.) tallied her 300th point (she has 308).

POLLING PLACE        
UC San Diego is a unanimous No. 1 for the second straight this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. The undefeated Tritons (22-0) received all 30 first-place votes (two coaches didn't vote) and 750 points. Alaska Anchorage dropped to No. 12, down four places from last week, and Grand Canyon fell one spots to No. 16. Cal Poly Pomona, the defending NCAA West Regional champion, is back in the poll at No. 22 after a one-week absence.
 
The first regional rankings will be released on Feb. 15. The top team in the final regional rankings in late February earns the right to host the tournament. The three conference champions (GNAC, CCAA and Pacific West), and the next five highest-ranked teams make the field.
 
Click on this link for a look at the national poll.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
200^th rebound – Rachel Murray (has 196).
400^th point – Rachel Murray (has 399).
600^th point – Katie Benson (has 580).
                                                                                    
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK          
100^th steal – Nyesha Sims (has 100).
200^th field goal – Katie Benson (has 203).
300^th point – McKayla Gorman (has 308).       
800^th point – Nyesha Sims (has 824).               
                                                                                    
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 have their final bye of the season next week, giving them Thursday off. But that extra day will come in handy as they prepare for a road trip to Montana State Billings. That game is set for Saturday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. PST. Seattle Pacific will have plenty of motiviation heading into Big Sky Country, as they have lost to the Yellowjackets three straight times, including 63-62 in overtime on Jan. 21 in Seattle.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                             GNAC   Season
Alaska Anchorage               11-2        20-4
Western Washington           9-3        15-5
Seattle Pacific                        9-4        15-6
Simon Fraser                        8-4         13-7
Montana State Billings        8-5         16-8
Northwest Nazarene            7-5         13-7
Western Oregon                   4-9          5-18
Central Washington             3-9         6-13
Saint Martin's                        2-11        7-17
Alaska Fairbanks                 2-11        6-17