THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Jan. 3                 Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 7:00 p.m.
                                                New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
                                                Live stats        Live Webcast
 
Saturday, Jan. 5                 Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
                                                Live stats        Live Webcast
 
                                                                                                       
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
        PHOTO GALLERY: SPU vs. Dixie State (Dec. 31) 

SEATTLE – Now, it gets really serious.
 
With the turn of the calendar to 2013, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have left the preseason tournaments and other non-conference games behind and turn their sole focus to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of their women's basketball season this week.
 
The Falcons will start off the new year with a road trip, visiting Western Oregon in Monmouth on Thursday at 7 p.m., then making the short drive south to Lacey for a game against Saint Martin's on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific brings a two-game winning streak into the weekend slate. The second of those victories came Monday in Brougham Pavilion when the Falcons wound up non-conference play by beating Dixie State, 76-66.
 
SPU already is off to a 2-0 start in conference play, having scored homecourt victories against Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 29 and Central Washington on Dec. 1.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available from both of this week's games on Stretch Internet, the new Webcast home of the GNAC. Details can be found by clicking on the appropriate links at the top of this story.
 
OHLSEN IS NO. 1
Through the last set of national statistics released prior to the Christmas holidays, sophomore guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) is the NCAA Division II national leader in assist / turnover ratio at 3.56. Put into words, that means she averages 3.56 assists for each turnover. Ranking No. 2 is Rita Acevedo of Florida Tech at 3.25.
 
That ranking could change this week, as a new set of stats will be released on Friday. Ohlsen is currently at 3.14, with 44 assists and 14 turnovers.

 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Last year, SPU entered the heart of its conference schedule at 1-1 after losing its opener at Simon Fraser before winning two nights later at Western Washington.
-- Seattle Pacific's last 3-0 start in GNAC play was 2010-11. The last 4-0 start was in 2009-10.
-- The Falcons will have some added incentive in Monmouth on Thursday. Last Jan. 28, they had a 65-56 lead with 5:27 left in the game, but wound up dropping a 79-74 decision. That ended a string of 28 straight wins against Western Oregon that began in the 1990. Prior to that, the Wolves' last victory against SPU had been on Feb. 26, 1982.
-- Seattle Pacific coach Julie Heisey is 13-1 all-time against Western Oregon.
-- Heisey is 14-1 all-time against Saint Martin's. Her only loss to the Saints was on Jan. 20, 2011 in Brougham Pavilion, 54-53.
-- With Monday's 47-40 advantage against Dixie State, the Falcons have out-rebounded their opponents in nine of their 10 games. The only exception was the Azusa Pacific's edge on Nov. 17.



 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
SPU heads to Monmouth and Lacey this week with a chance to push its win total to double digits. But coach Julie Heisey said the team's overall record is just part of the story so far this season.
 
“We're maturing and coming together, and that's more important than just our record,” she said after Monday's 76-66 victory against Dixie State. “What's most important is that we try to put a full game together and continue to find ways to get better, because it's a fine line that separates the top four teams in the conference.”
 
Starting off a crucial three-game week with the New Year's Eve afternoon victory against the Red Storm was satisfying to Heisey in a number of ways, not the least of which was the fact that SPU hadn't played in 13 days.
                                                                                                                             
“The first game back from Christmas, you're in as good a shape as you can be, but your timing is off a little bit,” Heisey said. “So I was really proud of our effort. …Just to see how well we're playing together – we had 19 assists on 27 made baskets. We're just maturing and coming together.”
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 5-7, 0-2 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 31-3. Current series streak: WOU won 1. Last time: WOU 79, SPU 74 (Jan. 28, 2012 at Monmouth). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon won four of its first six games, a stretch which includes its only victory against a Division II school so far this season – 73-61 against Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 9. The Wolves are coming off a 65-64 non-conference overtime loss to Northwest Christian last Saturday in Monmouth. Western Oregon features a balanced scoring attack with three players averaging in double figures: Freshman guard / forward Mariah Durian at 14.0 per game, senior guard Lorrie Clifford at 12.6, and sophomore forward Dana Goularte at 12.0. Durian has four games in the 20s this season, topped by a 29-point performance in the Hawaii Pacific victory. Furthermore, she is practically perfect at the foul line at 39 of 41 (95.1 percent), leading the GNAC and ranking No. 4 in D-2.  Goulette also has a pair of 20-plus scoring outings, and is the Wolves' leader on the boards at 7.3 per game.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 7-5, 0-2 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 46-12. Current series streak: SPU won 3. Last time: SPU 78, Saint Martin's 62 (Jan. 26, 2012 at Lacey). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's has won three in a row and four of its last five, including 60-56 in overtime at home against Puget Sound last Saturday. The winning streak includes a 49-36 decision against Dominican of the Pacific West Conference on Dec. 15, the Saints' first win against a D-2 school this season. Junior forward Chelsea Haskey and sophomore forward Brooke Paulson carry the bulk of the scoring load for Saint Martin's at 12.5 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. Haskey has put back-to-back double-doubles on the board: 20 points and 12 rebounds against Dominican, then 18 points and 15 rebounds last Saturday against UPS. Haskey paces the Saints on the board at 7.1 per game. Sophomore guard Angela Gelhar leads Saint Martin's at the free throw line with an .821 percentage (23 of 28). That should be no surprise. Now-graduated sister Jamey Gelhar owns the GNAC records for consecutive free throws made (78 from Dec. 18, 2008 to Feb. 28, 2009) and single-season free throw percentage (.969 on 94 of 97) in 2008-09).
               
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE
(GNAC rankings)
                                SPU                        WOU                      STM
Points                     75.4 (2)                  63.6 (9)                  54.4 (10)
Points allowed     64.8 (8)                  67.5 (9)                  58.8 (3)
Rebounds              41.5 (4)                  41.8 (3)                  38.1 (8)
Assists                   17.0 (3)                  12.1 (9)                  11.7 (7)
Steals                       8.1 (T8)                  9.6 (5)                  10.8 (4)
Blocks                      2.7 (6)                    3.2 (5)                    3.3 (4)
Turnovers              18.6 (7)                 21.9 (10)                20.7 (9)
FG percent             .451 (2)                  .376 (9)                 .353 (10)
3-point percent     .392 (1)                 .333 (6)                  .308 (7)
FT percent             .789 (1)                  .683 (6)                  .614 (9)
 
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Katie Benson and Suzanna Ohlsen each pumped in 21 points on Monday afternoon, and Aubree Callen recorded her first career double-double as SPU pulled away in the second half to beat Dixie State in the final non-conference women's basketball game of the season, 76-66.
 
ON TO THE NEXT CENTURY
This isn't even the start of a new decade, but several SPU players are starting to look toward a new century in terms of their personal statistics.

Junior guard Aubrey Callen (Jerome, Idaho) hit her 100^th career free throw when the Falcons won at Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 18. She heads into this weekend with 106 after going 4 for 4 at the line on Monday against Dixie State. Callen also passed the 400-point mark on Monday.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen has surpassed 100 field goals (102), Rachel Murray went past 200 field goals (203), and Katie Benson is now in the 800s for career points (8 14).

MORE MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th 3-pointer Mechela Barnes (has 95)
200^th rebound Aubree Callen (has 197)
300^th field goal Katie Benson (has 290)
300^th point Suzanna Ohlsen (has 289)
300^th rebound Rachel Murray (has 284)
Mechela Barnes (has 273)
800^th point Mechela Barnes (has 774)

THAT'S ONE DOWN FOR BARNES …
Having played in 10 games so far, junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) already has established and re-established numerous season highs in her first year with Seattle Pacific. Now, having set all of her career highs the past two years at the College of Southern Idaho, she has matched one of those with the Falcons.
 
Barnes grabbed eight rebounds on Dec. 7 in a 78-57 victory against Sonoma State. That tied her previous best, which she established three times previously, most recently last Feb. 25 at Northern Idaho. She matched it again on New Year's Eve afternoon with eight in a 76-66 win against Dixie State.
 
… AND ONE FOR STEPHENS, TOO
Senior center Erin Stephens (Salem, Ore.), who set all of her career highs in two years at Oregon's Chemeketa Community College before transferring to SPU prior to the 2011-12 season, has reset one of those career highs in a Falcons uniform. Stephens handed out five assists in a 78-57 victory against Sonoma State on Dec. 7.
 
IN FACT, 'TWAS THE SEASON FOR BESTS
During December, Seattle Pacific's veteran players recorded eight new career highs in major statistical categories, and the freshmen, for whom new highs usually come a little more frequently as they gain more playing time, established 10.
 
For the vets, sophomore Suzanna Ohlsen set three (24 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), and senior Michelle Teng had two (12 points, 4 assists). With one each were junior Aubree Callen (13 rebounds), sophomore Riley Butler (8 points), and senior Erin Stephens (5 assists).
 
For the frosh, Brooke Bowen had four (16 ponts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 blocked shot), as did Brianne Lasconia (3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals). Molly Grager had three (5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block), and Maddey Pflaumer had one (2 steals).
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) joined the double-double list when she scored 10 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds on Dec. 31 in a 76-66 non-conference victory against Dixie State. That was the first of Callen's career.
 
Junior forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) has Seattle Pacific's only other double-double this season, a 23-point, 10-rebound performance in a 76-74 overtime victory against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 17. She has five for her career.k
 
No other current Falcon has a double-double.
 
POLLING PLACE
For the third week in a row, Seattle Pacific was among other schools receiving votes in the most recent USA Today Sports / WBCA national coaches poll. The Falcons had six points in the rankings that were released on Dec. 18. That was the final poll prior to the holidays, and no poll will be released this week. The next one is due out on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
 
Ashland of Ohio was a unanimous No. 1 again in the last poll, receiving all 30 first-place votes. Simon Fraser of the GNAC stayed at No. 9, and Western Washington moved up one place to No. 20.
 
Other GNAC schools receiving votes were Alaska Anchorage (4) and Northwest Nazarene (2).
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for a look at news, notes and statistics from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
               
UP NEXT
The Falcons are back in Brougham Pavilion next week to take on the Alaska schools. Fairbanks visits on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. Anchorage comes to town on Jan. 12 at 5:15 p.m., tipping off the first of three home doubleheaders for the Falcons this winter. The SPU men take on Montana State Billings at 7:30 that night. After a one-year experiment with a mirrored schedule (same opponent for men and women, but at opposite venues), doubleheaders are back this season, with each team involved in six – three home, three away.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                        Conference             Overall
Simon Fraser                       2-0                          8-1
Montana State Billings       2-0                          8-2
Seattle Pacific                      2-0                          8-2
Western Washington         2-0                          8-2
Alaska Anchorage              1-0                          7-2
Alaska Fairbanks                0-1                          2-7
Northwest Nazarene          0-2                          8-2
Saint Martin's                       0-2                          7-5
Central Washington            0-2                          5-5
Western Oregon                  0-2                          5-7