THE SCHEDULE:
Saturday, Feb. 23    Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                    Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                    Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – It's always nice to win on Senior Day. For the Seattle Pacific Falcons this week, it'll be darn near essential.
 
SPU winds up the Brougham Pavilion portion of its 2012-13 women's basketball schedule when Montana State Billings comes to town on Saturday, with a spwecial tip-off time of 2 p.m. The Falcons and Yellowjackets already have met once this year, with Billings rallying for a 66-56 victory on Jan. 26 in Montana.
 
Unlike that game, however, Seattle Pacific expects to have its regular starting line-up intact for the rematch.
 
Following the game, seniors Rachel Murray, Erin Stephens and Michelle Teng will be honored for their contributions to the program.
 
The Falcons wind up the regular season on the road next week at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and a free live Webcast will be available for Saturday's game. 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.
 
MAGIC NUMBER TIME
It's close enough to the end of the regular season that the Falcons now can quantify exactly what they need to do to make the postseason. In their case, the 'magic number' to clinch a spot in the GNAC Tournament is two. That is, any Seattle Pacific victories or Saint Martin's losses adding up to two secures a trip to Lacey.
 
The Falcons could get halfway there without even stepping on the court. While they have the bye on Thursday, the Saints visit red-hot Alaska Anchorage, which has won four straight to scramble back into the postseason picture.
 
Heading into this week, Western Washington, Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene all have clinched berths. Western Oregon and Alaska Fairbanks are mathematically out of the running. That leaves five teams – Billings, SPU, Anchorage, Saint Martin's, and Central Washington –vying for the final three spots, with the latter two needing plenty of help to make it.
 

REGIONAL RANKINGS ARE HERE

Western Washington (No. 1), Simon Fraser (No. 3), Northwest Nazarene (No. 7) and Montana State Billings (No. 8) are the four GNAC teams on the first NCAA West Region rankings list, which was released on Wednesday. The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) has three teams, led by No. 2 Chico State. The Pacific West Conference had the other three schools, topped by No. 5 Grand Canyon.

Seattle Pacific is not on the list, so unless that changes in the next two weeks, the Falcons would have to win the GNAC Tournament to qualify for regionals. However, there are three eight-loss teams: UC San Diego (17-8), Billings (14-8) and Academy of Art (16-8). The Falcons are 14-9 overall, but get to play both Billings (this Saturday at home) and Northwest Nazarene. (next Saturday in Nampa, Idaho). In addition, NNU is at Western and Simon Fraser this week.

The three conference tournament champions will receive automatic bids to the NCAA West Region tourney. The other five spots in the eight-team regional will go to the highest-ranked teams among the non-champions.

Click on this link for the regional rankings. Click on this link for this week's USA Today Sports/ WBCA national coaches poll.

SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- A win on Saturday lifts SPU into a tie with Billings in both GNAC (9-7) and overall records (15-9).
-- This will be the fifth and final season series in which the Falcons are seeking a split. So far, they're 2-2 in such situations, pulling it out against Simon Fraser and Saint Martins, but coming up short in second chances against Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington.
-- Of Seattle Pacific's nine GNAC opponents, the series against Montana State Billings is the only one that's in an all-time deadlock: 18 wins for each team.
-- When the teams met in Billings on Jan. 26, SPU raced to a 10-0 lead, and was on the verge of taking a double-digit advantage into halftime until Monica Grimsrud hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from way downtown, pulling the Yellowjackets within 34-27.
-- Grimsrud can be a thorn to the Falcons in two sports. She's a starter for MSUB's volleyball squad and had a team-high 13 kills when the Yellowjackets beat SPU in Montana in September. But the Falcons swept the rematch in Seattle, limiting Grimsrud to nine kills.
-- Seattle Pacific continues to lead NCAA Division II in free throw shooting at 79.7 percent, thanks in part to a near-flawless (20 of 22, for 90.9 percent) effort against Western Washington last Saturday. Sophomore guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) is No. 11 nationally at 89.2 percent, and junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome Idaho) is No. 16 at 88.1.
-- The Falcons remain No. 31 in national scoring average, tied now with Western Washington at 72.1 points per game.
-- SPU coach Julie Heisey is 7-4 all-time against Montana State Billings, including 3-2 in Seattle. The Jackets won in overtime here last year, 63-62.
 
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
As much as her team is hungry for a victory on Saturday, so is Montana State Billings – and coach Julie Heisey is reminding the Falcons of that.
 
“They've played very well – they've just been playing some hard opponents,” she said. “They were ahead at halftime at Anchorage, and they came back and played well against Simon Fraser and Western Washington. It's just that our conference is tough – that's the biggest thing. Every night, you have a big game.”
 
It's no secret that Bobbi Knudsen is the go-to player for the Yellowjackets. But there's much more to Billings than just Knudsen.
 
“They have a whole lot of weapons,” Heisei said. “Last time, Monica Grimsrud hurt us, and Kayleen Goggins, too. They have a lot of people who can score. It's going to be really important that we don't let anyone have a big game.
 
Heisey said her players have put last Saturday's tough overtime loss to Western Washington behind them and are focused on Saturday's task at hand.
 
“Everyone is really determined,” she said. “You look at the last three minutes of the Western game … we had several opportunities to win, and we didn't. That's what we're trying to improve on now.”
 
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 15-8, 9-6 GNAC (4^th)
All-time series: Tied, 18-18. Current series streak: MSUB won 1. Last time: MSUB 66, SPU 56 (Jan. 26, 2013 at Billings, Mont.). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Montana State Billings has been playing well from the get-go, handing Northwest Nazarene one of its four losses, sweeping Dixie State, and playing within two points at nationally ranked Western Washington before falling short, 78-76. But the past two weeks have been tougher, and the Jackets come to town having dropped three straight: at Alaska Anchorage, and home last week to Western Washington (71-54) and Simon Fraser (61-55). Junior guard Bobbi Knudsen can and does do it all for Billings. She leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game (No. 2 in the GNAC), passing at 5.9 assists per game (tied for No.1 ), field goal shooting at 43 percent (No. 13) and free throw shooting at 73 percent (No. 15). On the boards, sophomore forward Janiel Olson gets it done with an average of 9.0 per game, tied for No. 2 in the conference. One thing the Yellowjackets typically don't do is beat themselves. They're the second-best team in all of Division II at taking care of the basketball, averaging just 11.5 turnovers per game.
 
HOW DO THEY COMPARE
(GNAC rankings)
                                  SPU                        MSUB
Points                     72.1 (2)                  68.3 (6)
Points allowed     68.1 (9)                  62.3 (4)
Rebounds              40.2 (2)                  38.3 (6)
Assists                  15.5 (3)                  13.8 (T5)
Steals                       7.8 (9)                  10.1 (2)
Blocks                      2.7 (T6)                  2.4 (8)
Turnovers              19.1 (8)                  11.8 (1)
FG percent            .433 (3)                  .375 (8)
3-point percent    .381 (1)                  .278 (9)
FT percent             .797 (1)                  .689 (4)
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Katie Benson poured in a career-high 32 points and passed the 1,000-point mark for her career last Thursday night, leading SPU to a 70-60 victory against No. 8-ranked Simon Fraser in Brougham Pavilion.
-- Aubree Callen scored 20 points and was one of three Falcons in double figures, but Corrin Waltrip poured in 36 points for Western Washington as the No. 9-ranked Vikings escaped from Brougham with an 80-76 overtime victory on Saturday.
 
A GRAND NIGHT, INDEED – AND A GNAC AWARD FOR BENSON
Junior forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) didn't take long to make sure she got to 1,000 career points last Thursday. She came into the game against No. 8-ranked Simon Fraser with 990, put her first basket on the board with 14:54 left in the first half, then converted a lay-in with 7:01 to go before intermission to reach 1,001.
                                                                                   
Benson became the 20^th player in SPU history and the 52^nd in GNAC history to top 1,000.
 
She wound up with a career-high 32 points that evening and 10 rebounds for a double-double. That, added to her 18-point, nine-rebound performance in an overtime loss to No. 9-ranked Western Washington on Saturday, helped Benson earn a share of the GNAC Player of the Week award. It was the first of her Falcon career and SPU's second this season. Western's Corinn Waltrip, who had 36 points and drained eight 3-pointers against Seattle Pacific on Saturday, shared the award with Benson.
 
MOVING UP THE LIST
Benson comes into Saturday's game in the No. 19 spot on the all-time SPU scoring list with 1,040 points. She's just one point away from No. 18 (Debbie Miller, 1995, 97-98) and 11 points away from No. 17 (Daesha Henderson, 2007-10). With three regular-season games and at least one postseason game – possibly more – still to come, it's conceivable that Benson could climb at least as high as No. 15 (Carli Grant, 1,082 from 2003-06). From there, the next rung up is Elizabeth Fenner (1,128 from 1992-95).
 
SO WHO'S NEXT TO 1,000 POINTS?
It won't happen this year, but the millennium threshold appears to be well within reach of two other current Falcons. Junior guard Aubree Callen comes into the week with 600 career points. By season's end, she probably will be 300-plus points away, and will have scored more than 300 this year. (She's currently at 293).
 
Sophomore guard Suzanna Ohlsen will take the court Saturday with 454 career points. That puts her well within striking distance of passing 500 before it's all over this year, and she'll still have two seasons left.
 
LET ME HELP YOU
From the moment she picked up the assist on Seattle Pacific's first field goal of the season, Suzanna Ohlsen has been setting the team's pace for that stat.
 
Now, Aubree Callen has joined her. The two backcourt mates are in almost a dead heat heading into this week. In fact, Callen – who has had nine, nine, eight, and five assists in her last four games – has edged in front, 86-84. For both players, that works out to a 3.7 average, effectively tying them for No. 6 in the GNAC.
 
GNAC FREE THROW RECORD IN SIGHT
Seattle Pacific continues to set the NCAA Division II pace in foul shooting, bumping up to 79.7 percent this week after an impressive 20-of-22 performance (90.9 percent) last Saturday against Western Washington. The Falcons are still in a tight race with Winona State of Minnesota (.793) for national honors.
 
If they keep it up, they'll be in position to take down the single-season GNAC record for free throw success. Saint Martin's shot .792 in 2008-09.
 
SHE'S A WINNER AS A COACH, TOO
During her four seasons at Seattle Pacific, Beth Christensen (now Madill) played a major role in the program's success. The Falcons went 103-19 overall, won three conference titles, forged a school-record 29-game winning streak, and, in 2005, played in the national championship game. She led SPU in assists for three straight seasons, and still ranks No. 4 on the all-time career assist list.

Now, Madill has transferred her winning ways to the coaching ranks at her alma mater of Enumclaw High School, located about an hour and a quarter southeast of Seattle. In her fourth year with the program, the Hornets are ranked No. 9 in the state and have made it to the single-knockout Class 3A (larger mid-size schools) regional playoffs. Enumclaw is on the road at Glacier Peak on Friday night. The winner advances to the eight-team state tournament, set for next week in Tacoma.
 
Earlier this week, Madill was named the South Puget Sound League 3A Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
With her 18 points and 10 rebounds against nationally ranked Simon Fraser last Thursday, Katie Benson put her sixth double-double of the season into the books. She now has 10 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 .797.
-- No. 5 in 3-point percentage at .381. Truman of Missouri leads at .422.
-- No. 16 in rebounding margin at +7.7. Shaw of North Carolina leads at +14.0.
-- No. 21 in field goal shooting at .433. Ashland of Ohio leads at .479.
-- No. 31 (tie, with Western Washington) in scoring offense at 72.1. Glenville State of West Virginia leads at 96.6
-- Suzanna Ohlsen is No. 11 in free throw percentage at .892.              
-- Aubree Callen is No. 16 in free throw percentage at .881.
 
Click on this link to see how SPU players and other GNAC players and teams stack up nationally.
  
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th assist           Katie Benson (has 92)
100^th rebound       Suzanna Ohlsen (has 98)
200^th assist           Aubree Callen (has 191)
400^th rebound       Erin Stephens (has 394)        
600^th point             Erin Stephens (has 595)   
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
100^th point            Maddey Pflaumer (has 103)
100th 3-pointer   Mechela Barnes (has 100)          
300th rebound     Mechela Barnes (has 305)
600^th point            Aubree Callen (has 600)
1,000^th point         Katie Benson (has 1040)
               
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
Seattle Pacific concludes the regular season on the road next week, visiting Central Washington on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 5:15 p.m., then playing at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 4:15 p.m. PST. The GNAC Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 6, at Saint Martin's in Lacey. Assuming the Falcons wrap up a berth, they will play either at 5:15 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                        Conference               Overall
x-Western Washington       13-1                        19-3
x-Simon Fraser                    11-3                        18-4
x-Northwest Nazarene       10-4                        18-4
Montana State Billings         9-6                        15-8
Alaska Anchorage                 8-7                        14-9
Seattle Pacific                        8-7                        14-9
Saint Martin's                         5-9                        12-12
Central Washington             4-10                        9-13
y-Western Oregon                 3-11                       8-16
y-Alaska Fairbanks               1-14                       3-20
 
x-clinched GNAC Tournament berth
y-eliminated from GNAC Tournament contention