THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 19              Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 21               Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 5:30 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.               
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – They still have a chance to secure a first-round bye for the conference women's basketball tournament, and they're looking to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Simply put, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have plenty of reasons to be plenty motivated for this week's final two home games of the regular season. And add this one as another reason:
 
Redemption.
 
SPU will play host to Saint Martin's and Western Oregon as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference moves toward its conclusion. The Saints are in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and the Wolves come in on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 
At 19-3 and ranked No. 15 this week, the Falcons will be seeking to turn the tables on both teams. Last month, riding along on an eight-game winning streak, SPU came up short on the road against both teams, 67-62 at Western Oregon and 68-66 at Saint Martin's. It has won five straight since then.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live stats and free live Webcasts will be available from both of this week's game. The Webcasts will be through Stretch Internet, the official Internet provider of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
FALCONS NO. 5 IN FIRST REGION RANKINGS
Seattle Pacific is ranked No. 5 in this season's first set of NCAA West Region rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Alaska Anchorage is No. 1, no surprise since the Seawolves also are ranked No. 1 nationally. Also ahead of the Falcons are No. 2 Humboldt State, No. 3 Cal State Dominguez Hills, and No. 4 Cal Baptist.

Two more sets of rankings will follow on subsequent Wednesdays, Feb. 25 and March 4. After the conclusion of the conference tournaments, the three tourney champions, plus the five highest-ranked teams from among the non-champions will earn places in the NCAA tourney.





JAM-PACKED SATURDAY
SPU's game against Western Oregon will be just part of a busy docket on Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Before the Falcon women tip off against the Wolves, the men will take on Montana State Billings at 3:00 p.m. The television cameras will be here for that one, as the game will be shown live on ROOT Sports around the Pacific Northwest.
 
Then, it'll be women's Senior Night. SPU will salute Aubree Callen, Betsy Kingma, Suzanna Ohlsen, and Maddey Pflaumer for all they accomplished during their years with the program.
 
That will be the first time the Falcons have honored that many seniors since 2007-08, when the graduating class had Jackie Hollands, Libby Magnuson, Jessie Christensen, and Beth Christensen.
 
POSTSEASON POSSIBILITIES
--Last Saturday's 85-79 victory at Northwest Nazarene clinched a spot in the GNAC Tournament, which is set for Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, March 4, 6, and 7, at Montana State Billings.
--SPU's magic number to clinch at least second place in the GNAC standings is three. Any combination of Falcon victories and Western Washington losses adding up to three will secure a bye for the first round of GNACs. That would mean an automatic spot in the semifinals on Friday the 6th.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The Falcons have won five in a row since the back-to-back road defeats at Western Oregon and Saint Martin's.
--SPU was down at halftime in last week's games at Central and NNU before coming back to win. It is now 5-2 in such situations.
--The only game the Falcons lost after being ahead at halftime was at Western Oregon on Jan. 22. They had a 33-25 lead at the break in that one, but got outscored during the second half, 42-29.
--SPU will have to contend with the conference's two leading rebounders this week. Dana Goularte of Western Oregon is on top at 8.9 per game, and Megan Wiedeman of Saint Martin's is right behind at 8.8.
--Three players synonymous with success at the free throw line will be on the court Thursday night. SPU's Aubree Callen is shooting .876, Suzanna Ohlsen is at .857, and Angela Gelhar of Saint Martin's is at .896, having missed just five all season (43 of 48).
--The Falcons are 10-1 at home. Saint Martin's and Western Oregon are both just 2-8 on the road.
--Falcons coach Julie Heisey is 17-3 against Saint Martin's and 19^th-year head coach Tim Healy. She is 18-2 against Western Oregon, 2-1 against second-year Wolves coach Holli Howard-Carpenter.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 8-14, 5-9 GNAC (tie 6^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 49-14. Current series streak: Saint Martin's won 1. Last time: Saint Martin's 68, SPU 66 (Jan. 24, 2015 at Lacey, Wash.). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: After winning four of five, Saint Martin's comes in on a two-game losing streak and is still hanging on the edge of qualifying for the GNAC Tournament. Junior guard Krista Stabler, who buried 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting against SPU last month, continues to set the scoring pace for the Saints, averaging 12.6 points per contest. The 5-foot-6 Stabler had a stretch of five straight games of leading the Saints in scoring, including a season-high 23-point performance in last Wednesday's 66-57 loss to Western Washington. Liz Mills, a 5-11 senior forward. Interrupted that streak last Saturday when she went for her season high of 22 points against Simon Fraser. She averages 10.3 per game. Junior 6-foot forward Megan Wiedeman is a big presence on the boards, with seven double-digit games so far, four of which have gone for double-doubles. She averages 8.8 rebounds per game, and her 193 total boards are the most in the GNAC.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 6-16, 3-11 GNAC (10^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 35-4. Current series streak: WOU won 1. Last time: WOU 67, SPU 62 (Jan. 22, 2015 at Monmouth, Ore). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: The Wolves have lost five of their last six, but the lone win certainly was an impressive one: a 68-45 rout of postseason-bound Simon Fraser last Thursday in Monmouth. Dana Goularte, a 6-foot senior forward, missed four games with an injury, then returned to action by coming off the bench for 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes last month against SPU. She has been back in her customary starting role ever since that Jan. 22 game. Goularte averages team highs of 14.4 points and a conference-leading 8.9 rebounds per game. Jordan Mottershaw, a 5-10 sophomore guard, averages 11.7 points, the only other WOU player in double figures. Freshman 6-1 guard / forward Sami Osborne puts up solid numbers of 8.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. She set the scoring pace the first time against Seattle Pacific with 16 points. Shooting has been a sore spot for the Wolves, as they hit just .371 overall from the field and a mere 29.5 percent from 3-point territory.
 
FALCON REPLAY
-- Aubree Callen swished a pair from the line with 2.4 second remaining last Thursday night to force overtime, then Suzanna Ohlsen scored 11 of her career-high 26 points during the second OT as Seattle Pacific roared back to beat Central Washington in Ellensburg, 73-64.
-- Ohlsen scored 20 points, and Betsy Kingma drained five shots from behind the arc on the way to 18 points as SPU hit a season-high 13 shots from long range to beat Northwest Nazarene last Saturday afternoon in Nampa, Idaho, 85-79.
 
SALUTING THE SENIORS
On Saturday, Seattle Pacific will honor its four senior players prior to tipping off against Western Oregon.

 

After missing most of last year with a knee injury, Aubree Callen is enjoying her finest season as a Falcon. She starts this week averaging a career best 15.9 points, and, even as a guard, is SPU's leading rebounder at 5.1 per game. She will finish in SPU's all-time top 10 in free throw shooting. She scored her 1,000th career point in a 72-68 win against Western Washington on Jan. 31.

 

Betsy Kingma has been a steady presence both offensively and defensively for the Falcons this season. She is known for her timely shooting from downtown, and is among the top 40 in all of Division 2 for both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage. But especially this season, she has become one of the best defensive players for SPU, ranking third on the team with 15 blocked shots.

 

Suzanna Ohlsen racked up her 1,000th career point on Dec. 4 in a 75-47 win against Alaska Fairbanks. She recently joined SPU's all-time top-10scoring list. She has been the program's best free throw shooter since her sophomore year, a spot she will retain after playing her final minute, with a mark of better than 88 percent.

 

Maddey Pflaumer is is having by far her best year in maroon and white. Her 10.5 scoring average is more than double her previous single-season best of 5.0, and she remains one of SPU's best rebounders. She has become one of the best shooters for the Falcons, whether from the floor (.510) or from the free throw line (.794)
                                                                       
CAN FALCONS GET TO NO. 1 AT THE STRIPE?
Seattle Pacific is almost up to 80 percent at the free throw line for the season. After hitting 36 of 43 (83.7 percent) in last week's two games combined, the Falcons come into this week at .794, ranking No. 3 in NCAA Division II.
 
That's just four percentage points shy of the .798 mark that earned them the national free throw title in 2012-13. However, it likely will take better than that to capture the crown this season. Northern Michigan currently leads D2 at .813, and Drury of Missouri is next at .811.
 
Both of those teams, along with SPU, are likely to keep playing for a while. Drury is 20-3 and ranked No. 11 nationally this week. Northern Michigan is 15-8 and at the very least will qualify for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament. The Falcons already are in the GNAC Tournament and very likely headed for the NCAA West Regionals.
 
GOING LONG TO FINISH ON THE LONG END
They couldn't settle it in 40 minutes, or even 45. So Seattle Pacific needed 50 minutes before finally putting last Thursday's 73-64 decision at Central Washington into the win column.
 
That was the second OT game this season for the Falcons. The first one was an 83-74 win against Humboldt State in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 15 in Brougham Pavilion. In both games, Seattle Pacific came from behind – down by six with 3:14 left against Humboldt; down by eight with 4:41 to go against Central.
 
The double OT was the Falcons have gone that far since Dec. 28, 2009, when they fell 82-80 at UC San Diego. The last time they played two overtime games in a season was 2012-13, beating Azusa Pacific in Bellingham, 76-74, but losing to Western Washington in Seattle, 80-76.

AND ON 13^TH TRY, NEW CAREER HIGH FOR LUKASIEWICZ
 

Sophomore guard Stacey Lukasiewicz is known for her tough play defensively when she comes off the bench for Seattle Pacific. That effort occasionally results in a steal, and she has had one in 12 games during her two years.
 
Finally, in last Thursday's 73-64 win at Central Washington, Lukasiewicz did herself one better. She came up with two steals, setting a new career high. Both came during the first half and were part of SPU's overall total of 11 steals. That's the 12th time this season the team has been in double-digits for a game.
 
POLLING PLACE
The Falcons moved up three spots to No. 15 in this week's USA Today Sports / WBCA national poll. They received 311 points in the voting.
 
There's a new No. 1 in this week's poll, and it's a familiar name to Seattle Pacific fans. Alaska Anchorage took over the top spot after Lewis of Illinois was hit with its first loss last week. But it's far from unanimous. The Seawolves picked up 15 of the 30 first-place votes and 727 points. Lewis, which came up three points short at home against Drury (75-72), got 14 first-place votes and 699 points. Limestone College of South Carolina had one No 1 vote and 667 points.
 
SPU is part of a three-way tie for No. 13 in this week's D2SIDA national poll, voted on by sports information directors. Anchorage also climbed to No. 1 in that poll. In the D2SIDA West Region poll, the Seawolves and Falcons remained 1-2.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
SPU is (out of 289 Division II teams) …
-- 3^rd in free throw percentage (.794)
-- 6^th in 3-point percentage (.390)
-- 16^th in field goal percentage (.452)
-- 27^th in blocked shots (4.3)
-- 37^th in scoring (74.6)
-- 37^th in assist / turnover ratio (1.03)
-- 42^nd in fewest turnovers per game (14.5)
 
Individually, Aubree Callen is 23^rd in free throw percentage (.876) and Suzanna Ohlsen is 43^rd (.857). Ohlsen also is 43^rd in steals at 2.48 per game. Betsy Kingma is 29th in 3-point percentage (.413) and 33rd in 3-point makes per game (2.77).

Click on this link to see how the Falcons rank in all Division II statistics. Click on this link to see how other GNAC teams and players stack up nationally.
 
AROUND THE WEST
While Alaska Anchorage won its only game last week to extend its streak to 11 and maintain a two-game lead over Seattle Pacific, it's still anybody's title for the taking in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pacific West Conference.
 
Humboldt State and Cal State Dominguez Hills remain deadlocked for first place in the CCAA at 16-2. They won't meet again until a possible rematch in the conference tournament, and split their two games against each other. Humboldt is 20-3 overall; Dominguez Hills is 21-5 and riding an eight-game winning streak. Both figure to be shoo-ins to make the West Regionals.
 
Hawaii Pacific remains 1 ½ games ahead of Cal Baptist in the Pac West. The Sharks are 16-2; the Lancers 14-3. Both are 21-4 overall. Cal Baptist won the only regular-season game between them.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
300^th assist            Aubree Callen (has 283)
300^th rebound       Maddey Pflaumer (has 298)
1,300^th point          Suzanna Ohlsen (has 1,281)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
700^th point             Betsy Kingma (has 710)
                                                                                        
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for results, stats, news, and notes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season concludes next week when the Falcons head north. The first stop is at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Feb. 26, for a rematch against the Seawolves, who currently are ranked No. 1 nationally. Anchorage won on Dec. 6 in Seattle, 85-58, leading from start to finish. The finale is on Saturday, Feb.28, at Alaska Fairbanks. Both games tip off at 6:15 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                            GNAC    Overall
Alaska Anchorage            13-1     23-1
Seattle Pacific             11-3     19-3
Western Washington          11-4     17-7
Simon Fraser                 9-6     13-10
Central Washington           6-9     11-12
Alaska Fairbanks             5-9     13-11
Montana State Billings       5-9     13-11
Saint Martin's               5-9      8-14
Northwest Nazarene           4-11     6-18
Western Oregon               3-11     6-16