THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 31 Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 2:00 p.m. Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
Live Webcast Live stats Saturday, Jan. 2 Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 4:15 p.m. PST Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
Live Webcast Live stats Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF) SEATTLE – All right, the break is over. Time to get back to work.
Following an eight-day hiatus for the Christmas holiday, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are back on the basketball court to prepare for the heart of their women's basketball schedule.
Now at the one-third mark of the 27-game schedule, SPU resumes Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this week, visiting Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. The New Year's Eve afternoon game against the Wildcats in Ellensburg tips off at 2:00 p.m. The clash against the Crusaders on Saturday in Nampa, Idaho, has a 4:15 p.m. Pacific time start.
The Falcons have not played since Dec. 19, when they staged a furious second-half comeback to erase a 14-point deficit, only to fall short of Wisconsin-Parkside on the final night of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham Pavilion, 60-53.
FOLLOW IT LIVEFree live Webcasts and live stats will be available for all GNAC games. Webcasts will be through Stretch Internet, the conference's official internet provider. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
SERIES AGAINST CENTRAL WILL REACH A MILESTONEWhen the Falcons walk into Central Washington's Nicholson Pavilion on Thursday afternoon, they will be getting ready for a diamond jubilee of sorts: the 75th all-time game between the two in-state rivals.
The teams tipped off for the very first time during the 1974-75 season when the Falcons were officially still a club program. SPU won in Ellensburg, 47-42.
SPU owns a 45-29 lead in the series. Both teams have had lengthy winning streaks. CWU won eight in a row from 1984-88. The Falcons had one streak of 10 and two more of nine, and now have won the last six.
The 74th game – played last Feb. 12 in Nicholson Pavilion – certainly was one of the classics in the series. SPU was down by eight with 4:41 to play, then tied the game on a pair of
Aubree Callen free throws with 2.4 seconds left in regulation before going on to win in double overtime, 73-64.
HAPPY NEW YEAR? IT USUALLY IS FOR FALCONSAlthough playing on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day isn't an ideal situation, the SPU women have made the most of it through the years.
The Falcons are 5-1 in games played on Dec. 31. The most recent of those was in 2012 when they beat Dixie State in Brougham Pavilion, 76-66.
There's no Jan. 1 game this season, but Seattle Pacific also has a habit of starting new calendar years off right. Through the first 40 Januarys since the program moved up to full-fledged varsity status in 1975-76, the record in first games of the new year is 27-13.
This past January, the Falcons were on the court just 19 hours after 2015 began, and came from behind to win at Western Washington. 74-64.
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?-- The Falcons are
2-0 in GNAC play for the
first time since 2012-13.
-- Seattle Pacific's last
3-0 start in the conference
also was in 2012-13.
-- The most recent
4-0 GNAC start was way back in
2009-10 with victories.
-- The
Falcons and
Central Washington both have won
GNAC Team of the Week honors this season. SPU was the pick on Nov. 16 after winning both games at the season-opening West Region Challenge. Central was selected on Dec. 21 following road victories at Cal State Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona to complete a 7-1 run through non-conference play.
-- Seattle Pacific
swept both Central and NNU last year.
-- When the Falcons visit Nampa, coach
Julie Heisey will be back at her alma mater. The 1989 Northwest Nazarene grad has a
16-4 record against the Crusaders.
-- Heisey is
18-2 against Central Washington.
-- The Falcons are
2-3 away from Brougham Pavilion, including
1-2 in true roadb games, winning at Humboldt State in the season opener, but losing at Azusa Pacific and at Point Loma Nazarene.
-- The
Falcons and
Central Washington are two of the three conference teams
allowing fewer than 60 points per game. SPU is No. 3 at 59.8. Central is No. 1 at 53.7.
--
Central (+12.3) and
Seattle Pacific (+8.2) have the Nos. 2 and 3
scoring margins in the GNAC.
-- Northwest Nazarene currently occupies a spot to which the Falcons have become accustomed. The Crusaders are the
conference's best team at the foul line, hitting 75.3 percent. SPU comes into the week No. 5 at 72.5 percent.
SCOUTING THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS: 8-2, 1-1 GNAC (tie 4th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 45-29.
Current series streak: SPU won 6.
Last time: SPU 73, CWU 64; 2 OT (Feb. 12, 2015 at Ellensburg).
Wildcats on the Web.
Wildcats in a nutshell: Central Washington's rapid rise continues under second-year coach
Jeff Harada. At 8-2 overall, the Wildcats are one win ahead of where they were last year after 10 games, and already have more victories than the seven they recorded in 2013-14, after which Harada took the program's reins. Defense has become the team's hallmark. Central allowed 69 points per game in 2013-14, dropped that to 60.7 last year, and now yields a GNAC-low 53.7, ranking No. 11 in Division II for fewest points allowed. Senior forward / center
Jasmine Parker leads the offense at 11.5 points per game, and is deadly accurate from the field at 61.3 percent (49 of 80). She also averages 8.4 rebounds per game, ranking No. 4 in the GNAC.
Jasmin Edwards, a 5-5 sophomore guard, is close behind at 11.2 points per game, with 5-8 freshman guard
Mandy Steward at 9.6 and 6-2 senior forward / center
Alexis Berrysmith at 9.2. Berrysmith shoots at a .545 clip (36 of 66) and Steward is sharp from 3-point range at 40.5 percent (15 of 37), the eighth-best conference mark.
SCOUTING THE NW NAZARENE CRUSADERS: 2-6, 0-2 GNAC (tie 9th).
All-time series: SPU leads, 29-5.
Current series streak: SPU won 2.
Last time: SPU 85, NNU 79 (Feb. 14, 2015 at Nampa).
Crusaders on the Web.
Crusaders in a nutshell: Northwest Nazarene certainly can put up the points – it hasn't scored fewer than 60 in any of its eight games so far, with two in the 80s, two in the 70s and an average of 73.1 per night. The Crusaders are one of three GNAC teams to average more than 70. But they also give up an average of 79.1 They played their first seven games on the road, and their only home contest so far was a 78-65 victory against College of Idaho on Dec. 14 – their most recent game before resuming action this week.
Ellie Logan, a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard, leads NNU in scoring at 12.1 points per game. She shoots 43 percent from the floor, and is nearly automatic from the foul line, hitting 31 of 33 (.939).
Lexi Tubbs, a 5-11 sophomore guard, averages 11.4 points per game, and 5-8 senior guard
Taylor Simmons scores at a 10.0 clip. Another sophomore, 5-11 guard / forward
CoCo Gall, contributes 9.1 points and a team-leading 5.4 rebounds per game. Gall (17 of 18, .944) and Logan (.939) are 1-2 in GNAC free throw shooting.
FALCON REPLAY-- Sophomore guard
Jordan McPhee scored 12 points and was one of four SPU players to hit for double figures in a
76-62 victory against Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 18 in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.
-- SPU wiped out a 14-point second-half deficit, but a tie late in the third quarter ultimately was as close as it got before Wisconsin-Parkside forged back in front and hung on to beat the Falcons in the final game of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic,
60-53.
Randi RichardsonREUNION TIME IN E-BERGThe Falcons will be seeing a familiar face on the sidelines when they walk into Nicholson Pavilion on Thursday afternoon.
Randi Richardson, who served as an assistant on coach
Julie Heisey's staff for two years, is now the lead assistant for Central Washington coach Jeff Harada.
Richardson, an all-state player and with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while at Arlington High School north of Seattle, came to SPU 2013 after serving as an assistant with her alma mater. She joined CWU last spring when that job came open.
ANOTHER NEWBIE GETS INTO THE ACT 
Riley EvansAfter missing the first five weeks of the schedule while recovering from an injury, freshman guard
Riley Evans finally got onto the court earlier this month.
Evans, a 5-foot-10 freshman guard from Terrigal, Australia, suited up for the first time when the Falcons hosted Eastern New Mexico in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Dec. 18. She subbed into the game with 1:18 left and SPU up by 16 points.
During those 78 seconds Evans got clear for one shot, a 3-pointer that bounced away as time expired.
RODRIGUES REVS IT UPJunior forward-guard
Hannah Rodrigues has been a steady, reliable reserve for SPU this season. Through the first eight games, Rodrigues (Eugene, Ore.) averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds while playing more than half (21 minutes) of each one.
On Dec. 19 against Wisconsin-Parkside, Rodrigues was back in a starting role, and she delivered one of her best performances ever. She scored 16 points (just one short of her career high), grabbed five rebounds, dished two assists, and came up with one steal in her 30 minutes of action. She hit 5 of 9 from the floor and drained all five of her free throws.
Rodrigues has at least five points and at least one rebound in every game she has played this season. That includes three double-digit scoring nights and four contests with five or more boards.
FOUR TIMES TOP 10Sophomore forward
Courtney Hollander has been making an impact from the opening tip in November, and that's showing up in the GNAC statistics.
Courtney HollanderThe 5-foot-10 Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) is among the conference's top 10 in four categories: No. 4 in defensive rebounds (6.4), No. 6 in overall rebounding (7.9), tied for No. 4 in 3-point shooting (.418), and No. 9 in free throw shooting (.840).
Other top-10 Falcons are senior center
Molly Grager (Kirkland, Wash. / Juanita HS; No. 7 in field goal shooting at .520, and tied for No. 9 in blocked shots at 1.0), along with junior guard
Stacey Lukasiewicz (Centennial, Colo.) and sophomore guard
Jordan McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS; tied for No. 7 in offensive rebounds at 2.7)
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTSThe Falcons have put five double-doubles into the book through the first nine games. That included two on Dec. 5 in a 55-46 victory against Concordia.
Courtney Hollander poured in a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and
Jordan McPhee pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with 11 points. It was the first time since Feb. 28, 2011, that SPU had two in the same game.
2015-16 double-doubles:
Courtney Hollander (3 season / 3 career)13 pts-13 reb vs. Fresno Pacific, Nov. 14.
17 pts-13 reb at Point Loma, Nov. 24.
20 pts-10 reb vs. Concordia, Dec. 5.
Stacey Lukasiewicz (1 season / 1 career)13 pts-12 reb vs. W. Oregon, Dec. 3.
Jordan McPhee (1 season / 1 career)20 pts-10 reb vs. Concordia, Dec. 5.
NATIONALLY SPEAKINGAmong the 318 programs in Division II, SPU ranks …
29th in 3-point defense (.261)
32nd in rebounding margin (+7.0)
59th in rebounds per game (42.22)
63rd in scoring defense (59.8)
66th in fewest turnovers (146)
71st in defensive rebounds (28.0)
Click on
this link to see how SPU stacks up nationally. Click on
this link to see where GNAC teams and players rank within Division II.
AROUND THE WESTHeading into the new year, no one is undefeated in the West Region (and only nine of the 318 teams in D2 have perfect records).
Alaska Anchorage (15-1) of the
GNAC and the
Pacific West's Cal Baptist (10-1) are the only one-loss teams in the West. The two-loss group also is small, with
Central Washington (8-2),
Azusa Pacific of the Pac West (9-2), and
UC San Diego of the
California Collegiate Athletic Association (8-2).
The other 33 schools among the West's three conferences are sitting on at least four losses. So while the first region rankings won't be out until Feb. 17, some of those spots are likely to be very much up for grabs.
AROUND THE GNACClick on
this link for news, notes, results, and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
UP NEXTThis week's two games are the start of a four-game road stretch for Seattle Pacific. The Falcons visit
Saint Martin's in Lacey next Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7:00 p.m., then fly off to
Montana State Billings for a game against the Yellowjackets on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. The next home game will be Thursday, Jan. 14, against
Simon Fraser at 5:15 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
GNAC STANDINGS
GNAC OverallMontana State Billings 2-0 6-4
Western Washington 2-0 6-4
Seattle Pacific 2-0 5-4
Alaska Anchorage 2-1 15-1
Central Washington 1-1 8-2
Simon Fraser 1-1 3-4
Concordia 1-1 3-7
Saint Martin's 1-1 2-6
Northwest Nazarene 0-2 2-6
Western Oregon 0-2 1-9
Alaska Fairbanks 0-3 5-8
