THE SCHEDULE:
Saturday, Jan. 26        Seattle Pacific at Montana St. Billings, 4:15 p.m. PST
                                         Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
                                         Live stats        Live Webcast              
 
                               
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – With just one game on the schedule, the travel does get a little easier for the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team this week.
 
But that's about all that gets easier.
 
Back home after a tough trip against two nationally ranked opponents, the Falcons have just one game to deal with as they wind up the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule with a visit to Montana State Billings on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at 4:15 p.m. PST.
 
SPU got off to good starts against both Western Washington and Simon Fraser last week, but ultimately came up short against the No. 8-ranked Vikings, 61-44, and then against the No. 10 Clan, 83-63.
 
The second half of GNAC play – the final nine games of the regular season – begin next week in Brougham Pavilion against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available from the game in Billing 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.
 
BEST OF THE BEST AT THE LINE
By going 14 of 16 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line last Thursday at Western Washington, Seattle Pacific moved to the top of NCAA D-2 list at an even 80 percent. On Saturday at Simion Fraser, the Falcons didn't get as many tries, but hit all of them – 9 of 9 – thus improving to 80.5 percent for the season and retaining the national lead ahead of No. 2 Winona State of Minnesota (.790).
 
SPU's percentage would tie for second in Division I with Appalachian State of North Carolina, trailing only the .818 of Notre Dame. The top mark in D3 belongs to St. Lawrence of New York at .798.
 
The Falcons remain on pace to shatter the single-season school record of .776 – a mark they missed by a mere .001 last season. The GNAC single-season record is .792 by Saint Martin's in 2008-09.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen is one of four players in the GNAC to be at 90 percent or better. She's at .904 (47 of 52), ranking No. 4.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons are out to halt a three-game losing streak – their first of that length since 1995-96.
-- With SPU owning an 18-17 lead, this is the closest all-time series against any GNAC opponent.
-- Each team won in the other's gym last season: The Yellowjackets 63-62 in overtime at SPU; the Falcons 70-56 at Billings.
-- The victory in Montana helped Seattle Pacific stop a three-game MSUB series winning streak.
-- Last Saturday at Simon Fraser, the Falcons had to contend with the GNAC's third-leading scorer in Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who wound up putting 20 points on the board. This week, they'll be up against No. 2 scorer Bobbi Knudsen, who is averaging 18.4 points per game. However, Knudsen conceivably could be No. 1 by Saturday if current leader Megan Hingston of Northwest Nazarene scores below her 18.5 average on Thursday night against Simon Fraser.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 7-3 all-time against Billings, including 4-1 in Montana. Her teams won their first six games against the Yellowjackets, then dropped three straight before taking last year's late-season contest in Montana.
-- The Falcons have three players averaging in double-figure scoring: Katie Benson at 14.8 points per game, Suzanna Ohlsen at 13.3, and Aubree Callen at 12.4.
-- Seattle Pacific leads the GNAC in 3-point shooting (.374) and free throw shooting (.805).
--With Simon Fraser shooting 60 percent from the field and the Falcons at nearly 44 percent, not many rebounds were there for the grabbing last Saturday, and the Clan wound up with a 30-25 edge. Still, SPU has out-boarded 14 of its 16 opponents.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Although SPU has just one opponent this week, the extra time to prepare will be beneficial, because Montana State Billings is a veteran group and has been playing like it this season.
 
“We all know who Bobbi Knudsen is – she's a great player and only a junior,” Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. “But as good as Bobbi is, Billings has a lot of very good players. Bobbi is their leader, and any time you have a strong point guard, it makes a difference.”
 
The Yellowjackets present a different look than many teams.
 
“They play basically five guards, and they don't have a true post,” Heisey said. “They can really shoot the 3, and they're just hard to guard. They run a lot of sets with some difficult screens to open up. We've got to really work on trying to find ways to take them out of their rhythm.”
 
SCOUTING THE MONT. ST. BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 11-5, 5-3 GNAC (4^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 18-17. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 70, MSUB 56 (Feb. 18, 2012 at Billings). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Montana State Billings forged a six-game winning streak on the way to a 9-2 overall start, and also swept the Alaska schools two weeks ago in Billings before falling last weekend at Western Washington and Simon Fraser – the same two nationally ranked teams who beat SPU. The Yellowjackets are led by 5-foot-8 junior guard Bobbi Knudsen, whose 18.4 scoring average ranks No. 2 in the conference by just a tenth of a point behind Northwest Nazarene's Megan Hingston. But Knudsen does more than just shoot it. She finds open teammates, averaging 6.4 assists per game. With 102 for the season, she's the only GNAC player in triple digits for that stat. Kayleen Goggins, a 6-1 sophomore forward, adds 12.4 points per game, and 5-10 sophomore forward Janiel Olson chips in 9.6 points and a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game. Olson ranks No. 2 in the GNAC on the boards. The Jackets keep miscues to a minimum, averaging just 12 turnovers per game – the fourth-best mark in D-2.
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE
(GNAC rankings)
                                SPU                        MSUB
Points                     72.1 (3)                  70.9 (5)
Points allowed     67.2 (9)                  64.9 (6)
Rebounds              41.9 (2)                  39.6 (5)
Assists                  15.2 (4)                  14.4 (6)
Steals                       8.1 (9)                  10.6 (2)
Blocks                      2.7 (6)                    2.2 (T9)
Turnovers              19.1 (7)                 12.2 (1)
FG percent            .425 (4)                  .379 (7)
3-point percent    .374 (1)                  .289 (9)
FT percent             .805 (1)                  .710 (4)
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Katie Benson logged her third consecutive double-double, but Western Washington's Britt Harris scored all 13 of her points after halftime as the No. 8-ranked Vikings came from behind for a 61-44 victory last Thursday night.
-- Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe's 20 points offset a 19-point performance by SPU's Aubree Callen, and No. 10-ranked Simon Fraser hit 60 percent from the field on the way to an 83-63 victory last Saturday in Canada.
 
BENSON THE BARRIER BUSTER
First, Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) broke through the career 700-point barrier this season. Then it was 800.
 
Last Saturday, the Falcons' junior forward had nine points – her lowest outing of the season, but still high enough to put her right at 900 points. At her current rate of 14.8 per game and 10 regular-season games remaining, Benson should have no trouble getting to1,000.
 
The most recent Falcon to hit the scoring millennium was Daesha Henderson (2006-10), who finished her career with 1,051. SPU's all-time leading scorer is Linda Johnson (1986-89) with 1,842 points. The last spot on the school's all-time top-10 list is Shannon Holland (1979-81) with 1,209 points.
 
TENG MAKES SLICK WORK OF THAT
When Suzanna Ohlsen came up with a career-high six steals on Jan. 12 against Alaska Anchorage, it had been nearly two years since an SPU player had five or more in a game.
 
Now, it has happened twice in less than one week. Senior guard Michelle Teng (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue Christian HS) had six – also a career high – last Thursday at Western Washington. Her previous best was two last Feb. 25 against Simon Fraser.
 
EVER-CLIMBING CALLEN
To say this has been a breakout season for junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) is being modest. She has rewritten her career highs in points (26), rebounds (13), blocked shots (2) and steals (3), and recorded her first double double (13 points, 10 rebounds vs. Dixie State on Dec. 31).
 
Single-game accomplishments aside, check out her averages. Her 12.4 scoring mark is more than double the career 5.4 average she had through her first two seasons. Ditto on the boards, where she's at 5.6 this season vs. 2.6 through her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In fact, Callen already has more rebounds in 418 minutes through 16 games this season (89) than she had in 566 minutes through all 27 games last season (78). Her 198 points is just 13 shy of last year's 211.

 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Katie Benson made it three straight double-doubles when she recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds last Thursday at Western Washington. In a three-game stretch that began on Jan. 10 at home against Alaska Fairbanks, Benson put 55 points (18-19-18) and 43 rebounds (13-17-13) into the books. The 13-rebound performance vs. Fairbanks was a career high, but that lasted just 48 hours before she got 17 against Alaska Anchorage. Benson now has four double-doubles this season and eight for her career.
Junior guard Aubree Callen joined the double-double list on Dec. 31 when she scored 10 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in a 76-66 non-conference victory against Dixie State. That was the first of Callen's career.
 
 NATIONALLY SPEAKING, SPU IS …
-- No. 1 in free throw shooting at .805.
-- No. 12 in rebounding margin at +9.3. Shaw of North Carolina leads at +15.3.
-- No. 13 in 3-point percentage at .374. Truman of Missouri leads at .440.
-- Suzanna Ohlsen is No. 10 in free throw percentage at .904, and No. 31 in assist / turnover ratio at 1.82. Ohlsen jumped 15 places on the free throw list this week.
-- Aubree Callen is No. 21 in free throw percentage at .882. She jumped 15 places.

Click on this link to see how SPU and other GNAC players and teams stack up nationally.
 
SIZING UP THE WEST
While Western Washington and Simon Fraser are setting themselves apart from the rest of the GNAC, what's happening around the rest of the West Region as teams battle for eight spots into the NCAA Tournament?
 
Chico State clearly is the class of the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Wildcats have a 13-1 overall record (including an 89-77 non-conference victory against SPU ) and a 9-1 mark in CCAA play. Their only loss was 71-65 at UC San Diego on Jan. 11. Behind them, Cal State Los Angeles is 12-5 overall, and Cal Poly Pomona is 9-5. Both are 7-3 in the conference.
 
Grand Canyon leads the Pacific West at 8-1 (16-4 overall). Hawaii Pacific is 6-1 in conference, 10-3 overall. Also with legitimate regional aspirations is Academy of Art at 12-5 overall (5-2 conference).
 
POLLING PLACE
The GNAC has two teams in the top 10, and the West Region altogether has three in this week's USA Today Sports / WBCA coaches poll that was released on Tuesday. Western Washington moved up three places to No. 5, and Simon Fraser climbed three to No. 7. Chico State, bouncing back from its first loss of the season, moved up four to No. 9.  Grand Canyon is up one spot to No. 18.
 
Ashland of Ohio remained a unanimous No. 1, and is one of four teams still unbeaten in Division II, sporting at 19-0 record. Bentley of Massachusetts (No. 2 at 15-0), Clayton State of Georgia (No. 3 at 16-0) and Colorado Mesa (No. 4 at 15-0) are the others.
 
The only other GNAC or West school receiving votes this week was Northwest Nazarene (7).
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th 3-pointer     Mechela Barnes (has 95)
100th assist          Suzanna Ohlsen (has 92)
100^th point             Brooke Bowen (has 93)
                                 Michelle Teng (has 92)
300th rebound      Rachel Murray (has 286)  
                                 Mechela Barnes (has 283)
500^th point             Aubree Callen (has 505)
800th point            Mechela Barnes (has 780)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK 
200^th FT made      Katie Benson (has 207)
500^th point             Aubree Callen (has 505)
900^th point             Katie Benson (has 900)
 
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 second half of the GNAC schedule begins next week, and the Falcons will be home for five of their final nine games. Saint Martin's comes to Brougham Pavilion next Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m., with SPU seeking to turn the tables after dropping a 70-66 decision to the Saints on Jan. 5 in Lacey. Western Oregon is in town on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                        Conference               Overall
Western Washington          7-0                          13-2
Simon Fraser                       6-1                          13-2
Northwest Nazarene          5-2                          13-2
Montana State Billings       5-3                          11-5
Seattle Pacific                      4-4                          10-6
Saint Martin's                       3-4                          10-7
Central Washington            3-4                            8-7
Alaska Anchorage               2-5                            8-7
Western Oregon                  1-6                            6-11
Alaska Fairbanks                0-7                            2-13