THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, December 5   Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PST
                                              The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
                                              Live Webcast        Live stats
                                       
Saturday, December 7   Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 6:15 p.m. PST
                                             Wells Fargo Center / Anchorage, Alaska
                                             Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – A perfect mark through three preseason tournaments is one thing.
 
But this week, the women's basketball stakes get higher for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
With a 6-0 record that has propelled them to No. 6 in the latest national rankings, SPU begins its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule with two tough tests on the road. The Falcons visit Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time, followed by a stop at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. PST.
 
Seattle Pacific is coming off of a week away from competition after winning the Azusa Pacific Crossover Classic the previous weekend.
 
As was the case last season, these will be the only GNAC games prior to the Christmas holidays. The Falcons will have three other preseason games, but won't return to conference play until Thursday, Jan. 2, in Brougham Pavilion against arch-rival Western Washington.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE      
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available from this weekend's games, and from all GNAC games through Stretch Internet, the conference's official video streaming provider. Appropriate links can be found at the top of this story. The Fairbanks game will have separate links for live stats and the Webcast; the Anchorage game will have both available from the same link.
 
THE BEST VS. THE BEST
The leading offense in the GNAC and one of the most potent in the country will bump into the conference's leading defense and one of the stingiest in the country when SPU and Alaska Anchorage clash on Saturday night.
 
The host Seawolves are averaging 89.7 points per game, which is 10 points better than the next-highest GNAC team (Northwest Nazarene 79.5) and is No. 9 in NCAA Division II. Their lowest outing was in last Saturday's 92-78 loss to Georgetown. UAA has scored in the 80s twice, the 90s twice, and hit triple digits in a 100-49 rout at Brigham Young-Hawaii on Nov. 19.
 
But Seattle Pacific allows just 55.3 points per game (while scoring 67.2). The Falcons are one of three GNAC teams giving up fewer than 60 per game (Anchorage is at 63.3) and rank No. 21 nationally.

                                          



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is 11-1 all-time in GNAC openers. That includes a 6-1 record when that opener has been on the road.
-- The only time the Falcons did not win their first GNAC game was in 2011 when they dropped a 79-74 decision at Simon Fraser.
-- Coach Julie Heisey, now beginning her ninth season in charge at Seattle Pacific, is 7-1 in GNAC openers.
-- Seattle Pacific enters the week as one of 29 unbeaten teams in NCAA Division II. Wayne State of Nebraska is on top at 8-0, followed by four others at 7-0, then eight (including the Falcons and GNAC stablemate Northwest Nazarene) at 6-0.
-- SPU has won 23 straight games against Alaska Fairbanks, its longest winning streak against any conference team.
-- The last win in the series for the Nanooks was 75-71 in Fairbanks on Jan. 12, 2002.
-- Heisey is 16-0 all-time against Fairbanks, and 6-0 against Nanooks coach Cody (Burgess) Bench.
-- Her record against Anchorage is 11-9, including 3-6 at UAA and 0-2 against second-year Seawolves coach Ryan McCarthy.
-- Heisey also has two wins against McCarthy, when he was acting head coach at Northwest Nazarene in 2010-11.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 6-2, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 52-13. Current series streak: SPU won 23. Last time: SPU 87, UAF 71 (Feb. 9, 2013 at Fairbanks, Alaska.). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in the nutshell: This is clearly a Fairbanks team on the rise. With six wins heading into December, UAF already has more victories than all of last year, when it went 5-21, and has matched its most recent best season of six victories (6-22 in 2011-12). The Nanooks are getting the job done with a balanced offensive attack. Their only double-figures scorer is 5-foot-11 freshman forward Jordan Wilson, who averages 15.0 points a game (No. 8 in the GNAC) and set the scoring pace in four of the first five games. She also is Alaska Fairbanks' leader on the boards, pulling down an average of 7.6 per game (also No. 8 in the GNAC), and getting into double-digits four times in eight outings this season. Wilson's .581 mark from the field is the conference's fourth-highest. Behind her are five other players averaging between 6.9 points and 9.3 points per game, and three of those have taken their turns to lead the scoring. Most recently, that was Kailee Skjold, also a 5-11 freshman forward, who had 16 in last Saturday's 82-64 homecourt loss to Wayne State College.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 5-1, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 39-20. Current series streak: UAA won 2. Last time: UAA 93, SPU 82 (Feb. 7, 2013 at Anchorage, Alaska). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: After a string of six straight NCAA appearances ended last season with a loss in the first round of the GNAC Tournament, Anchorage is playing as if it has every intention of starting a new postseason streak. The Seawolves' 5-1 record includes a split against two NCAA Division I teams in last week's Great Alaska Shootout, beating UC Riverside in double overtime, 83-75, then falling to Georgetown, 92-78. Anchorage has four players averaging in double figures, led by the 17.7 of 5-foot-8 junior guard / forward Alli Madison. Freshman guard Kiki Robertson pumps in 14.2 per game, sophomore guard Jessica Madison is at 12.0, and senior forward Kylie Burns averages 11.8. Then there's junior forward KeKe Wright, who chips in 9.2 points and team-leading marks of 8.7 rebounds and .489 shooting from the field. The Seawolves have some quick hands, averaging 18.2 steals per game, ranking No. 4 in NCAA Division II.
 
COACH JULIE HEISEY SAYS …
(On Alaska Fairbanks)
"They're obviously doing really well with young kids. Like they have in the past, Fairbanks runs a lot of really hard sets where they see to get a lot of easy points I the paint, and they get a lot of points in transition. (Guard) Benissa Bulaya has hurt us in the past because she is able to create a lot off of penetration, and she can get the ball and go because she's just quick."
 
(On Alaska Anchorage)
"They have a lot of quickness. They're playing a totally different style of basketball. They're pressing a lot and they're running a halfcourt zone. The two things they do really well is they cause turnovers and they rebound. We have to take care of the ball and we can't give second shots, that's for sure. They have good 3-point shooters, and they can drive to the basket."
 
FALCONS ARE NO. 6
Barely a month ago, Seattle Pacific was merely among "others receiving votes" in the preseason national poll.
 
Now, the Falcons are receiving enough to climb all the way to No. 6 in this week's USA Today Sports / WBCA coaches poll, which was released on Tuesday.
 
SPU, which was No. 9 last week, received 564 points to jump three places, even though it did not play a game during Thanksgiving week. The Falcons are the highest-ranked among West Region teams, with No. 12 Chico State and No. 18 Northwest Nazarene joining them in this week's top 25.
 
Last week's No. 9 ranking marked Seattle Pacific's first appearance in the national top 10 since Nov. 30, 2011, when it was No. 5.
 
SPU has been part of the national conversation all season. The Falcons were 34^th overall in the preseason poll on Oct. 29. They moved up to No. 21 in the first regular-season poll, followed by their climb to No. 9, and now to No. 6.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Senior forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) logged her third double-double of the season when she scored 31 points – just one short of her career high – and corralled 14 rebounds in an 83-74 victory at Azusa Pacific on Nov. 23.
 
So far this season, Benson is averaging a double-double of 21.3 points and 11.0 rebounds. The last SPU player to average a double-double through an entire season was Carli Smith (10.8 points, 10.1 rebounds in 2004-05).
 
2013-14 double-doubles:
Katie Benson (3 season, 13 career): 20 pts-10 reb vs. Humboldt State, Nov. 8; 20 pts-17 reb vs. Point Loma Nazarene, Nov. 16; 31 pts-14 reb at Azusa Pacific, Nov. 23.
 
HONORS KEEP ROLLING IN
With a total of 57 points and 23 rebounds in the Azusa Pacific Crossover Classic, Benson was named GNAC Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for the second week in a row.
 
In addition to her 31 points and 14 boards against APU on Nov. 23, she also had four steals, two blocked shots, and hit 12 of 16 from the field.
 
In a 66-63 victory against UC San Diego on Nov. 22, Benson had 26 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and three steals.
 
Benson now has three conference Player of the Week awards for her career.
 
BETSY THE BUZZER BEATER
During her career with the Falcons, redshirt junior guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS) has been known to hit a shot just in the nick of time.
 
But never was Kingma more clutch than on Nov. 22 when her 3-point attempt from the right side floated through the air as the horn was sounding and swished through the net to give Seattle Pacific a 66-63 victory against UC San Diego on the first night of the Azusa Pacific Crossover Classic.
 
Twice as a sophomore during the 2011-12 campaign (she missed all but two games of last season with an injury), Kingma drained one as the first-half buzzer was going off. The first one gave SPU a 38-24 lead at home on the way to a 72-58 victory against Northwest Nazarene. The second one, coming exactly two weeks later, put the Falcons up 40-34 at Western Oregon before the Wolves eventually came back to win, 79-74.
 
BRI IS BRINGING IT
Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Shorecrest HS) has earned a more prominent role in SPU's rotation so far this season, and the sophomore guard is making the most of it.
 
Through just six games, Lasconia already has as many points (37) as she totaled through her 24 appearances last winter. That total includes 15 field goals (she had 12 last season). Her assist total of 14 is just one shy of what she had in all of 2012-13, and her seven steals matches last year's mark.
 
Lasconia's increased output is due in large part to her increased dminutes on the floor. Last year, she averaged 7.3 minutes per game. Now, she's up to nearly half of each game at 19.7.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
 – Betsy Kingma nailed a 3-pointer from the right side at the buzzer, boosting Seattle Pacific past UC San Diego in the opening game of the Azusa Pacific Crossover Classic, 66-63, on Nov. 22 in Azusa, Calif.
– Katie Benson amassed 31 points and 14 rebounds the Falcons rally from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Azusa Pacific in the final game of the Crossover Classic, 83-74.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
-- Katie Benson ranks 21^st in NCAA D2 rebounding (11.0 per game), 22n din scoring (21.3), 26^th in blocked shots (2.00) and 42^nd in field goal shooting (.575).
-- SPU is 21^st in fewest points allowed (55.3 per game), 28^th in field goal defense (.342), and 29^th in blocks (4.3).
 
TRACKING THOSE TOP 10s
SPU has three of its starters among the top 10 in various GNAC statistical categories.
-- Katie Benson 1^st in rebounds (11.0), 1^st in blocked shots (2.0), 3^rd in scoring (21.3), 3^rd in steals (2.0), 5^th in field goal shooting (.575).
-- Suzanna Ohlsen tie 6^th in assists (3.5), tie 9^th in steals (1.8), 9^th in free throw shooting (.867), 10^th in assist/turnover ratio (1.8),
-- Betsy Kingma tie 8^th in 3-point field goals made (1.8).
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for results, stats, news, and notes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
This week's trip concludes a stretch with six of SPU's first eight games on the road. But this is the final trip of the calendar year. The Falcons will close out December with three home games, beginning next Saturday, Dec. 14, with a 7 p.m. exhibition in Brougham Pavilion against Warner Pacific of Portland. The Falcons then play host to South Dakota School of Mines on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m., and West Texas A&M on Dec. 21 at 2:30 p.m.


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