THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Feb. 2         Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                       Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                       Live Webcast        Live stats                      
 
Thursday, Feb. 4       Montana State Billings 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 – Yup … it's February. That means the basketball regular season is starting down the stretch run.
 
For the Seattle Pacific women, that stretch run includes four more Great Northwest Athletic Conference home games, with two of those this week in Brougham Pavilion.
 
On Tuesday, Saint Martin's comes up from Lacey for a 7:00 p.m. contest. They'll be followed into town on Thursday by Montana State Billings. That one tips off at 5:15 p.m. as part of a doubleheader. The Falcon men take the court at 7:30 p.m. against Concordia.
 
The Tuesday-Thursday slate concludes a brutal stretch of four games in eight days for the Falcons. It's the second time this season they've had a crammed four-gamer, although first one, all on the road, was over 10 days. This one has been all at home.
 
SPU will have a rare Saturday off and will have seven days after the Billings game to get ready for next week's road contests at Western Washington and Simon Fraser.

FOLLOW IT LIVE
Free 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.
 
TICKET TALK
Tickets can be purchased on the day of the game at the Royal Brougham Pavilion ticket windows, which open 60 minutes before tip-off time. Prices are $9 for adult reserved, $6 for adult general admission, and $3 for senior citizens and non-Seattle Pacific students. SPU students, faculty, and staff are admitted free with proper current school identification. 

EVERY GAME STILL A PLAYOFF GAME
Even during a stretch when things haven't been going their way, the Falcons still are in position to snag a berth in next month's GNAC Tournament.
 
SPU starts the week tied for eighth place with Saint Martin's at 3-9. The top six teams qualify for the tournament, and Northwest Nazarene (6-6) currently occupies the sixth and final spot. All teams have eight games remaining.
 
As was the case last week against Northwest Nazarene, Tuesday's game against Saint Martin's will be particularly important. A win would put the Falcons one game ahead of the Saints, and would give them a split of the season series. That takes the first tiebreaker (head-to-head competition) out of play if a tournament spot were to come down to that, and would put other tiebreaker scenarios into consideration.





SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Somebody is going to snap out of a slump on Tuesday. SPU has lost nine straight; Saint Martin's has dropped seven in a row.
-- SPU is seeking a split of both season series this week.
-- Saint Martin's and Billings both won on their home courts against the Falcons in January – the Saints 78-70, and the Yellowjackets 61-50.
-- The game at Saint Martin's was tied six times, and the lead changed hands seven times. Neither side ever went up by double digits.
-- Different story in Billings, where the SPU raced to a 17-2 lead in the first quarter before the Yellowjackets stormed back to win by 11.
-- The Falcons will square off against the GNAC's leading scorer and the leading rebounder on Tuesday against Saint Martin's. Krista Stabler averages 17.8 points and Megan Wiedeman pulls down 9.9 boards per game.
-- SPU is 3-5 in Brougham Pavilion, with wins against Western Oregon, Concordia, and Eastern New Mexico.
-- Although Seattle Pacific has a commanding 49-16 all-time lead on Saint Martin's, the Saints have won the last three games.
-- The series against Montana State Billings is the closest of any GNAC opponent. The Falcons have a 23-20 edge.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 17-5 against Saint Martin's and coach Tim Healy. She is 12-6 against Billings and coach Kevin Woodin.
-- Courtney Hollander is the second-best offensive rebounder in the GNAC, averaging 6.3 per game.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 5-14, 3-9 GNAC (tie 8^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 49-16. Current series streak: Saint Martin's won 3. Last time: StM 78, SPU 70 (Jan. 5, 2016 at Lacey). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: The most recent win for Saint Martin's was its 78-70 decision against SPU. Last Saturday at home against Northwest Nazarene, the Saints wiped out most of a 16-point halftime deficit before falling by five, 74-69. Senior guard Krista Stabler and senior forward Megan Wiedeman are the team's two most potent offensive forces. Stabler, the GNAC's leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, went off for 32 points against the Falcons last month in Lacey – and that wasn't even her high game of the year. She torched Western Oregon for 38 in December. Wiedeman, who stands an even 6 feet, comes into the week averaging 12.8 points and 9.9 rebounds. With 179 in 18 games, she is one rebound short of averaging a double-double. Wiedeman had a double-double against Seattle Pacific, with 24 points and 11 boards, and has nine for the year. She has 11 double-digit rebound games, including a stretch of six in a row from Jan. 5-23. Wiedeman also ranks No. 3 in GNAC blocked shots at 2.3 per game.  Saint Martin's is one of the better free throw shooting teams in the GNAC at 72.6 percent, the second-highest mark.
                                                                                                                                            
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 14-6, 10-2 GNAC (tie 2^nd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 23-20. Current series streak: MSUB won 1. Last time: MSUB 61, SPU 50 (Jan. 9 at Billings). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: A year ago, Montana State Billings trying just to make the GNAC postseason tournament. This year, the Jackets are aiming much higher, well within reach of a spot in the NCAAs. They recently had an eight-game winning streak and were tied for the conference lead with Alaska Anchorage heading into last Saturday's showdown in Billings. The Seawolves won, 85-73, but MSUB is still tied for second coming into this week. Junior forward Alisha Breen, at 5-10, has a 17.4 scoring average that ranks third in the GNAC. She's also a top-10 rebounder with her 6.1 average. Monica Grimsrud, a 6-1 senior forward, scores at a 10.3 clip. Senior forward Janiel Olson, at 5-10, is the second-leading rebounder in the conference at 8.5 per game. Junior center / forward Tiana Hanson leads the GNAC in free throw shooting at 88.9 percent, hitting 64 of 72. The Yellowjackets are the best ball-handling team in the conference at just 15.1 turnovers per game.
                                                                                                                                                                            
FALCON REPLAY                                
-- Courtney Hollander had 14 points and 10 rebounds, recording her second straight double-double for Seattle Pacific, but Ellie Logan poured in 18 points for Northwest Nazarene on as the Crusaders beat the Falcons last Thursday, 64-58.
-- Central Washington went on a 12-0 scoring run spanning the second and third quarters to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead, shot a stratospheric 78 3 percent from the field during the second half, and pulled away to beat SPU last Saturday, 67-46.

 

PAGANO PROVING HER POINT
With more consistent on-court opportunities this season, sophomore forward Erica Pagano is playing her way up the ladder.

Playing off the bench for a career-high 23 minutes last Saturday against Central Washington, Pagano (Happy Valley, Ore.) established career highs in three major statistical categories. She scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds (half of those off the offensive glass) and came up with two steals.
 
Last year, Pagano got into just nine of the 29 games for a total of 49 minutes. This season, she has played in all 19 games, with double-digit minutes in 14 of those. She is closing in on her 100th career point (currently at 77) and now has 65 career rebounds.
 
AT LEAST SHE'S A FALCON THIS TIME
Thursday's game against Montana State Billings will be the second for SPU assistant coach Bobbi Knudsen against her alma mater. The first of those was Jan. 9 on her former home court in Alterowitz Gymsium, and the Yellowjackets wound up with the upper hand that night, 61-50.

 

During the four years she starred for Billings, Knudsen always came up big in Brougham Pavilion, helping her team go 2-2. In those four games, she had a combined 63 points and 17 assists, playing 154 of the 165 possible minutes (one game went to overtime).
 
As a freshman, Kudsen had 11 points and two assists in 34 minutes as MSUB won, 59-50. The following year, she delivered 18 points and three assists in 41 minutes of a 63-62 victory in OT.
 
Knudsen's best game in Seattle came as a junior with 22 points and six assists in 39 minutes, but this time, SPU won, 76-71. Then as a senior in a game that was televised around the Northwest on ROOT Sports, Knudsen played all 40 minutes, scoring 12 and dishing six assists, but the Falcons prevailed, 63-57.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
For the first time in her career, Courtney Hollander has put back-to-back double-doubles into the book. The sophomore forward had 14points and 10 rebounds in last Thursday's home game against Northwest Nazarene. That came on the heels of 14 points and 12 boards at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 23.

 

Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) now has six double-doubles for the season. The last SPU player with that many in a single year was Katie Benson, who logged eight in 2013-14.
 
The Falcons now have eight double-doubles this season, matching the 2012-13 and 2013-14 squads. Last year, just two were recorded.
 
SPU had eight each in 2012-13 (six for Benson, one for Callen, one for Rachel Murray) and in 2014 (all for Benson).
 
Individually, Benson finished her career with 19 double-doubles, and Sims had 15.
 
2015-16 double-doubles:
Courtney Hollander (6 season / 6 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
11 pts-12 reb at Northwest Nazarene, Jan. 2
14 pts-12 reb at Alaska Fairbanks, Jan. 23
14 pts-10 reb vs. NW Nazarene, Jan. 28
 
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 SPEAKING
Among the 318 programs in Division II, SPU ranks …
57th in rebounding margin (+4.6)
58th in offensive rebounds (15.0)

Individually, Courtney Hollander ranks 63rd in offensive rebounds at 6.0 per game.
 
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.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th assist        Brianne Lasconia (has 98)
                               Stacey Lukasiewicz (has 98)
100th field goal  Jordan McPhee (has 88)
300th point         Stacey Lukasiewicz (has 285)
                               Molly Grager (has 284)
                              Jordan McPhee (has 283)
 
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK
None
                                               
AROUND THE WEST
The pair of one-loss teams are still the same pair of one-loss teams heading into the new week. Alaska Anchorage (24-1, 11-1) took over sole possession of first place in the GNAC with last Saturday's 85-73 victory at Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets and Western Washington are both 14-6, 10-2 GNAC.

Cal Baptist is still half a game out of the Pacific West Conference lead. But at 19-1 overall (11-1 conference), the Lancers, like Anchorage are virtually assured of going to the NCAA West Regionals. Academy of Art still leads the Pac West at 12-1 (17-6 overall). Azusa Pacific is looking for a postseason bid at 17-3 (11-1 Pac West).
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills remains alone atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Toros are 13-0, with a 15-6 overall record. UC San Diego (17-3, 12-2 CCAA) and Cal State East Bay (17-4, 11-2) are next in the order.
 
UP NEXT
After four straight games at home, Seattle Pacific returns to the road next week, although this is a much shorter trip. The Falcons play Western Washington in Bellingham on Thursday, Feb. 11, at Whatcom Community College. That is the temporary home for the Vikings while their on-campus Carver Gymnasium is being renovated. On Saturday the 13th, SPU crossed the border to play Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                                      GNAC                 Overall
Alaska Anchorage               11-1         24-1
Montana State Billings         10-2         14-6
Western Washington             10-2         14-6
Central Washington              8-4         15-5
Simon Fraser                    7-5          9-8
Northwest Nazarene              6-6          8-10
Alaska Fairbanks                4-8          9-13
Seattle Pacific                 3-9          6-13
Saint Martin's                  3-9          5-14
Concordia                       2-10         4-16
Western Oregon                  2-10         3-17