THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Feb. 14   Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                     Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.  
                                     Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 16    Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                    Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                    Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Homecourt advantage is especially nice when it's a nationally ranked opponent on the other side of the gym.
 
It's twice as nice when it's two nationally ranked opponents.
 
That will be the case for the Seattle Pacific women as they begin their final homestand of the season – a three-gamer that stretches over the next two weeks – by welcoming No. 8 Simon Fraser and No. 9 Western Washington to Brougham Pavilion. The Clan come down from Canada on Valentine's Thursday at 5:15 p.m. The arch-rival Vikings are in town at 5:15 Saturday on Play for Kay Night, dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.
 
Both games are the openers of doubleheaders. The Falcon men take the court at 7:30 both nights, facing Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
SPU (13-8, 7-6 GNAC) is coming off a split of last week's games in Alaska, falling at Anchorage, 93-82, but beating Fairbanks, 87-71.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available for both games this week. The Webcasts are carried 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.
 
A 'GRAND' NIGHT LOOMING
Junior forward Katie Benson is on the brink of reaching 1,000 points for her SPU career. Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) comes into the week with 990 points after back-to-back 21-point performances in Alaska last week.
 
Benson would be the first SPU player to hit for 1,000 since Daesha Henderson did it in 2010 on the way to finishing her career with 1,051. That also would make her the 20th SPU player all-time with 1,000 or more.
 
Already this season, three players around the GNAC – Simon Fraser's Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, Montana State Billings' Bobbi Knudsen, and Alaska Anchorage's Alyssa Horn – have gone past 1,000. In fact, Horn got there with a 16-point performance against SPU last Thursday night in Alaska. That gives the conference 51 all-time thousand-pointers.
 
One other player probably will get to 1,000 this week. Northwest Nazarene's Megan Hingston has 998 coming into Thursday's game against Alaska Fairbanks – which tips off in Idaho 45 minutes after SPU gets started against Simon Fraser.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is seeking a split of both season series. Western Washington beat the Falcons on Jan. 17 in Bellingham, 61-44, and Simon Fraser prevailed two nights later in Burnaby, B.C., 83-63.
-- The Falcons raced to a 10-0 lead in the first 3 minutes, 13 seconds at Western Washington, and were still up seven at 29-22 after scoring the first basket of the second half. But Western limited SPU to just 15 points the rest of the way.
-- Simon Fraser comes in after beating Western Washington in a battle of nationally ranked teams last Saturday in Canada, 74-59.
-- SPU is seeking its first victory against a nationally ranked team this season. The Falcons fell 86-67 to then-No. 8 UC San Diego on Nov. 16. Then, at the time of last month's games, Western Washington was ranked No. 8, and Simon Fraser was No. 10.
-- Seattle Pacific is still No. 1 in NCAA Division II free throw shooting at 79.4 percent. Winona State of Minnesota is now a full percentage point behind at 78.4. Also, SPU jumped 18 places in scoring from last week, as its 72.0 average is No. 31.
-- The Falcons have three players averaging in double figures: Katie Benson at 15.5 (No. 5 in the GNAC), Suzanna Ohlsen at 13.4 (No. 11), and Aubree Callen at 12.5 (No. 13).
-- SPU, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington are the top three GNAC teams in three different stat categories: scoring (SFU 72.4, SPU 72.0, Western 71.8), assists (SFU 18.4, Western 18.1, SPU 15.3) and field goal shooting (SFU .461, Western .445, SPU .432.
-- Falcons coach Julie Heisey is 7-8 all-time against Western Washington. She is 3-3 against Simon Fraser.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
As was the case last month when the Falcons got Western Washington and Simon Fraser back-to-back, coach Julie Heisey is eager to take the court against the two highly regarded opponents.
 
“Obviously, both teams have won a lot of games. But at the same time, I think we played very competitively at their places,” she said. “Now, we're back home, and we've improved, just like they've improved. We're excited to play. The good thing about playing them the second time is we've seen them.”
                    
Heisey was especially pleased last Saturday with the fact that the Falcons came close to playing a solid 40 minutes at Alaska Fairbanks, It'll take every bit of that and more this week.
 
“Some of that comes with maturity and game experience,” she said. “It has to be focus and it has to be intentional that you make every possession count. One possession becomes two, two becomes three, three becomes four. You have to keep building.”
 
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 17-3, 10-2 GNAC (2^nd)
All-time series: SFU leads, 14-6. Current series streak: SFU won 2. Last time: Simon Fraser 83, SPU 63 (Jan. 19, 2013 at Burnaby, B.C.). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser comes to town on a four-game winning streak. That includes last Saturday's 74-59 victory against Western Washington in Burnaby, as the Clan kept the Vikings off the scoreboard for two long stretches of the second half totaling nearly nine minutes. Senior forward Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe is still averaging a monster double-double of 15.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, both ranking No. 1 in the GNAC. She also shoots a conference-leading 66 percent from the field. Sophomore guard-forward Erin Chambers is close behind at 14.4 points per game. Those are the only two Simon Fraser players in double figures, and yet the team leads the GNAC at 72.4 points per game, thanks to its balanced approach. Raincock-Ekunwe had just 11 points against Western – but was one of five Clan players in double figures. She went for 20 last time against SPU, and three teammates joined her in double figures.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 17-3, 11-1 GNAC (1st)
All-time series: WWU leads, 51-26. Current series streak: WWU won 2. Last time: WWU 61, SPU 44 (Jan. 17, 2013 at Bellingham). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Going undefeated in conference play is tough, as Western Washington found out last Saturday at Simon Fraser, as an 11-game winning streak came to an end. But beating the Vikings is still a tall order. Senior center Britt Harris is one of the reason why. The sharpshooter hits 60.1 percent of her field goals, and averages 15.1 points per game, No. 6 in the GNAC. Senior guard Trishi Williams pumps in 11.1 points per game and grabs 5.8 rebounds. Williams logged a triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in an 83-72 homecourt victory against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 2. Senior guard Corinn Waltrip also averages double-digit scoring at 10.8 points per game, and junior forward Sarah Hill is the Vikings' leader on the boards at 6.4 per game. She is one of three WWU players in triple-digit rebounds for the season with 127. Williams has 116, Harris 104. Although Western won its first 11 conference games, four of them were close calls: two points against Simon Fraser, two against Montana State Billings, and six against Central Washington, all at home, and a four-pointer at Northwest Nazarene.
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE
(GNAC rankings)
                                SPU                        SFU                        WWU
Points                     72.0 (2)                  72.4 (1)                  71.8 (3)
Points allowed     68.0 (9)                  54.9 (1)                  60.7 (4)
Rebounds              40.6 (2)                  38.3 (7)                  40.1 (3)
Assists                  15.5 (3)                  18.4 (1)                  18.1 (2)
Steals                       7.8 (9)                    8.8 (6)                    8.5 (7)
Blocks                      2.9 (6)                    4.7 (1)                    3.8 (3)
Turnovers             19.2 (9)                  16.4 (4)                  15.8 (3)
FG percent            .432 (3)                  .461(1)                   .445 (2)
3-point percent    .378 (1)                 .344 (4)                  .347 (2)
FT percent            .794 (1)                  .685 (5)                  .684 (6)
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Katie Benson scored 21 points and was one of four SPU players in double figures last Thursday, but Sasha King pumped in 25 for Alaska Anchorage, leading the Seawolves to a 93-82 victory.
-- Benson scored another 21 points  – including SPU's first six –and added career highs of four blocked shots and four steals as the Falcons led wire to wire to beat Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, 87-71.
 
PASSING FANCY … OR FANCY PASSING?
Call it what you want, but junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) was more successful at it last week than at any other time during her SPU career. On Thursday night at Alaska Anchorage, Callen dished out nine assists, breaking her old career high of seven, a mark she reached last Jan. 14 against Northwest Nazarene.
 
Then, just two days later at Alaska Fairbanks, Callen handed out nine more assists. She now has 73 for the season, just three behind team leader Suzanna Ohlsen. Callen's 3.5 average rankes No. 7 in the GNAC; Ohlsen is one spot ahead at 3.6. The leader is Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State Billings with 127 (6.0 average).
 
FAMILIAR FIRST FIVE
Junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) was back in the starting lineup last week for the first time since going out with an injury on Jan. 3 at Western Oregon. Senior guard Rachel Murray had returned to the starting five on Jan. 31 after getting hurt in that same WOU game.
 
That gave SPU its regular group of Barnes, Murray, Katie Benson, Aubree Callen and Suzanna Ohlsen. The Falcons have an 8-3 record when they're on the floor at the opening tip.
 
NO WONDER THEY'RE NO. 1
For the fourth week in a row, Seattle Pacific leads all Division II teams in foul shooting, now at 79.4 percent. A glance at one of the statistical lists shows a good reason why: The Falcons have had 22 perfect performances of at least three free throw attempts this season.
 
Aubree Callen leads the way with nine – including a team-high 9 of 9 against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 17. Callen's other perfectos are 5 of 5 (one game) and 4 of 4 (seven games). Suzanna Ohlsen has five (8 of 8 in one game, 4 of 4 in three, 3 of 3 in one), Katie Benson has two (6 of 6 and 4 of 4), and six players – Rachel Murray, Michelle Teng, Mechela Barnes, Riley Butler, Betsy Kingma and Maddey Pflaumer – have one game of 3 for 3 or better.
 
RAISING THE BAR – FIVE TIMES
SPU had four players combine for five career-high performances during last week's trip to Alaska. Katie Benson had two of those, with four blocked shots and four steals at Fairbanks on Saturday. Her previous best was three in both categories.
 
Aubree Callen set a new mark of nine assists on Thursday at Anchorage, besting her old total of seven, then did it again at Fairbanks with nine more. Freshman guard Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Shorecrest HS) had two blocks at Anchorage. Senior guard Rachel Murray collected 10 rebounds at Anchorage, beating her old high of eight.
 
JOCKEYING FOR POSTSEASON
The top six teams following the regular-season finale on March 2 will qualify for the third edition of the GNAC Tournament, set for March 6, 8 and 9 at Saint Martin's in Lacey. So far, first-place Western Washington (11-1) has clinched a spot, and last-place Alaska Fairbanks (0-13) has been eliminated. That leaves eight teams still alive for the remaining five berths. If the tournament started prior to this week's games, SPU would be in as the No. 5 seed.
 
SENIOR NIGHT IS COMING
The Falcons will honor seniors Rachel Murray, Erin Stephens and Michelle Teng on Saturday, Feb. 23, prior to the game against Montana State Billings. Tip-off is set for a special afternoon time of 2 p.m. in the final home contest of the season.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING, SPU IS …
-- No. 1 in free throw shooting at .794.
-- No. 8 in 3-point percentage at .378. Truman of Missouri leads at .412.
-- No. 12 in rebounding margin at +8.1. Grand Canyon leads at +13.8.
-- No. 31 in scoring offense at 72.0 – a jump of 18 places since last week. Glenville State of West Virginia leads at 96.3
-- Suzanna Ohlsen is No. 11 in free throw percentage at .887.              
-- Aubree Callen is No. 14 in free throw percentage at .879.

Click on this link to see how SPU and other GNAC players and teams stack up nationally.
 
POLLING PLACE
Simon Fraser moved past Western Washington as the top GNAC team in this week's USA Today Sports / WBCA coaches poll that was released on Tuesday, and Northwest Nazarene joined the top 25. Simon is now No. 8 after last Saturday's 74-59 homecourt victory against the Vikings, and Western fell five places to No. 9. NNU, which has been moving steadily up the “others receiving votes” list, moved in at No. 22.
 
Ashland of Ohio (24-0), Bentley of Massachusetts (21-0) and Clayton State of Georgia (22-0) all remained unbeaten and ranked 1-2-3, with Ashland again unanimous at the top.
 
Other West Region teams in the top 25 along with the GNAC trio are No. 11 Chico State and No. 13 Grand Canyon.
 
The first regional rankings are due out next Wednesday, Feb. 20.
  
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th point               Riley Butler (has 94)
100th 3-pointer      Mechela Barnes (has 96)
300th rebound       Rachel Murray (has 295)  
                                  Mechela Barnes (has 290)
400^th rebound       Erin Stephens (has 392)
600^th point             Rachel Murray (has 594)
                                  Erin Stephens (has 585)   
800th point             Mechela Barnes (has 787)
1,000^th point          Katie Benson (has 948)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100th assist          Suzanna Ohlsen (has 101)
100^th point             Michelle Teng (has 102)
400^th point             Suzanna Ohlsen (has 400)

AROUND THE GNAC           
Click on this link for a look at news, notes and statistics from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
               
TICKET TALK
Tickets for SPU's home games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 3rd Ave. W.) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start time for all home games.

Reserved seats are $8 for center court and $7 for the foul lines. General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.

SPU students who show their school identification will be admitted free to all home games.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wind up their 2012-13 home schedule next Saturday, Feb. 23, against Montana State Billings at 2 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. That is SPU's only game, as it has the bye on Feb. 21.
                                                                                                                           
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                        Conference               Overall
Western Washington          11-1                        17-3
Simon Fraser                       10-2                        17-3
Northwest Nazarene             9-3                        17-3
Montana State Billings          9-4                        15-6
Seattle Pacific                         7-6                        13-8
Alaska Anchorage                  6-7                        12-9
Central Washington              4-8                           9-11
Saint Martin's                         4-9                        11-12
Western Oregon                    3-10                        8-15
Alaska Fairbanks                  0-13                        2-19