THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 18       Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                         Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                         Live Webcast        Live stats                      
 
Saturday, Feb. 20         Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 6:00 p.m.
                                          Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash. 
                                          Live Webcast        Live stats
 
                

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons are back in Brougham Pavilion one last time – make that two last times – in 2016.
 
SPU closes the home portion of its women's basketball schedule this week when the Alaska schools come to town. Fairbanks is here on Thursday, with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off, and No. 1-ranked Anchorage visits on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
 
The outcome of both games ultimately could determine whether the Falcons qualify for Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament.
 
Seattle Pacific certainly comes in with some confidence. Last Saturday against Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C., the Falcons found themselves down by 19 points early in the third quarter, but roared back to force overtime, then used those extra five minutes to put a 61-56 victory into the books.
 
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.
 
EVEN MORE REASON TO COME
On Thursday, all Seattle Pacific students can receive some Molly Moons ice cream as part of I Love SPU Week.
 
Saturday's game, in addition to being Senior Night, also is Women in Sports Night. And, the Falcons will conduct an autograph session after the game.
 
SIZING UP THE POSTSEASON PICTURE
The Falcons are still in the hunt for a place in the GNAC Tournament, which is set for March 3-5 at Saint Martin's in Lacey.
 
Mathematically, SPU (6-10 in conference) still can finish fourth, fifth, or sixth in the standings. But more to the point, the team is focused on overtaking Northwest Nazarene (7-9) for the No. 6 (and last) tournament berth.
 
In the final four regular-season games, the Falcons can do that if they go 4-0 (and NNU goes 2-2), or 3-1 (if NNU goes 1-3), or 2-2 (if NNU goes 0-4). They must finish at least one game in front. A tie in the final standings would go in favor of the Crusaders, since they beat Seattle Pacific in both regular-season games.
 
While SPU is home against the Alaskas this week, Northwest Nazarene plays host to Concordia (3-13) on Thursday and Western Oregon (3-13) on Saturday.
 
SALUTING SENIOR CENTER GRAGER ON SATURDAY
It'll be the smallest Senior Night in a long time: Molly Grager will have the pre-game ceremony all to herself when Alaska Anchorage comes to town on Saturday.
 
Grager is having by far the best year of her career with averages of 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and a team-leading .459 shooting percentage from the floor.
 
At one point, this had the potential to be a four-member graduating class. Grager, Brianne Lasconia, and Brooke Bowen all came to SPU in the fall of 2012, and Maddey Pflaumer was a redshirt freshman in 2012 after missing her true freshman year with an injury.
 
But Bowen transferred, Lasconia is a redshirt junior after sitting out last year to recover from knee surgery, and Pflaumer chose to graduate on time last June and not use a medical redshirt year that she had available.





SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons certainly will have redemption on their minds when they play Alaska Fairbanks. On Jan. 23 in UAF's Patty Center, the Nanooks scored four points in the final 15.5 seconds to rally past SPU, 58-56.
-- That outcome snapped Seattle Pacific's 27-game winning streak against Fairbanks, dating back to January of 2002.
-- The Falcons had four more field goals (24-20), but the Nanooks had a sizable advantage at the free throw line (13 of 17 to SPU's 4 of 11).
-- Molly Grager scored a career-high 16 points in that game.
-- This is the third straight time Alaska Anchorage will have been ranked No. 1 nationally when playing Seattle Pacific. The first one was last Feb. 26 in Alaska (UAA won, 83-70), then came the game on Jan. 21 in Alaska (an 82-47 victory for the Seawolves).
-- The Falcons are going for their first win against Anchorage since Ryan McCarthy took over as head coach in 2012-13. His teams are 7-0 against SPU.
-- The last Seattle Pacific win in the UAA series was 67-62 in Seattle on Feb. 2, 2012.
-- With last Saturday's 61-56 comeback victory at Simon Fraser, the Falcons are now 1-1 in overtime games this season.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 20-1 against Fairbanks and 11-14 against Anchorage.
-- The victories against Saint Martin's (71-60) and Montana State Billings (52-43) during the first week of February leveled Seattle Pacific's home record at 5-5.
-- Alaska Anchorage is 13-1 away from its home court. Alaska Fairbanks is 3-10.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 11-15, 6-10 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 56-14. Current series streak: UAF won 1. Last time: UAF 58, SPU 56 (Jan. 23, 2016 at Fairbanks). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks is coming off of a home split last weekend, knocking off Central Washington, 70-61, then wiping out most of a 17-point third-quarter deficit to get as close as three before falling to Northwest Nazarene, 78-74. Of UAF's five starters, three average in double figures, led by 5-foot-11 junior forward Jordan Wilson at 17.0 points per game. She is one of three players tied for the GNAC scoring lead, along with Elisa Homer of Simon Fraser and Alisa Breen of Billings. She is one of the more accurate shooters in the conference at .494 from the field, ranking No. 8. She had a team-high 15 points in the first game against SPU. Kaillee Skjold, another 5-11 junior forward, averages 12.5 points. She and Wilson both pull down an average of 6.2 rebounds. Junior 5-5 guard Jaylee Mays is at 11.5 points. It was Mays who made the go-ahead three-point play in the first Seattle Pacific game. The Nanooks score a healthy 67.5 points per game, but are one of two conference teams allowing more than 70 (72.1).
                                                                                                                                            
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 28-1, 15-1 GNAC (1^st)
All-time series: SPU leads, 39-25. Current series streak: UAA won 7. Last time: UAA 82, SPU 47 (Jan. 21, 2016 at Anchorage). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Anchorage simply isn't slowing down or letting its collective foot off the pedal for anyone. Since its lone loss (71-62) at Western Washington on Dec. 5, the Seawolves have won 16 straight game. All but two of them have been by double-digit margins. One of them that wasn't was last Saturday's home contest against Central Washington, as the Wildcats stayed close most of the night before UAA closed out a 69-61 victory. Senior 6-foot-1 forward Megan Mullings and 5-8 senior guard Jenna Buchanan are Anchorage's most dangerous offensive players, with Mullings averaging 13.9 points (along with a team-high 6.1 rebounds), and Buchanan at 13.4. Also in double digits is 5-8 senior guard Jessica Madison at 10.7. Mullings poured in 20 and collected nine boards in January's 82-47 win against Seattle Pacific. In the driver's seat on offense is 5-7 junior guard Kiki Robertson at a conference-leading 5.1 assists per game. Alaska Anchorage leads the GNAC in scoring offense, scoring defense, rebounding, assists, and steals. 
                                                                                                                                                                            
FALCON REPLAY                                
-- A frigid second-half shooting spell was the ultimate difference last Thursday as SPU dropped a 60-43 decision to Western Washington in Bellingham.
-- Jordan McPhee scored seven of her team's 11 points in overtime, including two clinching free throws with five seconds left as SPU rallied from 19 down in the third quarter to beat Simon Fraser last Saturday, 61-56.
 
A DIFFERENT KIND OF DOUBLE DIP
Saturday's game against No. 1-ranked Alaska Anchorage at 6:00 p.m. will be part of a women's-men's doubleheader in Brougham Pavilion. The men take on Montana State Billings at 9:00 p.m.
 
The reason for the three-hour gap is to allow technicians from ROOT Sports to set up their equipment for the region-wide telecast of the SPU-Billings contest. It is part of this year's GNAC Game of the Week package on ROOT.
 
One ticket is good for admission to both games. They can be purchased on the day of the game at the Royal Brougham Pavilion ticket windows, which will open at 5:00 p.m. 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.
 
YOUNG ONES GET IT DONE
For a good chunk of the fourth quarter and at the start of overtime last Saturday at Simon Fraser, the Falcons had four sophomores and a redshirt freshman on the floor.
 
The sophomores were regular starters Courtney Hollander and Jordan McPhee, and reserves Lindsay Lee and Erica Pagano. The redshirt freshman was Julia Haining.
 
It was Lee who buried a 3-pointer with 52.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 50-50 and force the extra five minutes. Then at the start of OT, the Clan missed their initial shot after winning the opening tip, Haining rebounded, and McPhee buried a jumper.
 
SPU scored 11 points during overtime, with seven by McPhee, two by Haining, and one by Hollander.
 
FIRST TIME IN THE FIRST FIVE
Freshman guard Jaylee Albert got her first two career starts last week for the Falcons.

 

Albert (Hamilton, Mont.) stepped in for junior Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Shorecrest HS), who missed Thursday's game at Western Washington with an illness, then came off the bench for eight minutes at Simon Fraser. Albert played 55 minutes in the two games combined, contributing three points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
 
Coach Julie Heisey used first-time starting lineups in each of those games. At Western, it was Albert, Stacey Lukasiewicz, Molly Grager, Courtney Hollander, and Jordan McPhee. At Simon Fraser, Hannah Rodrigues stepped in for Grager.
 
OF CAREER HIGHS AND CENTURY MARKS
Although the 'W' was the most important thing the Falcons brought home from Canada last Saturday, they also came back with a couple other statistical souvenirs.
 
--Sophomore Jordan McPhee notched both her 100^th field goal and 100^th free throw. She now has 101 of each.
--Julia Haining set a career high for rebounds (8) and steals (2). Both of those were double her previous bests.
 
In last Thursday's game at Western Washington, junior guard Stacey Lukasiewicz reached 300 points for her career.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Sophomore forward Courtney Hollander recorded her team-leading seventh double-double last Saturday, going for 16 points and 12 rebounds at Simon Fraser.
 
The Falcons now have nine double-doubles in 2015-16. That's the most since the 2011-12 team put 14 on the board, and is closing in on the 11 in 2009-10. SPU had eight each in 2012-13 and in 2014.
 
Individually, Benson finished her career with 19 double-doubles, and Sims had 15.
 
2015-16 double-doubles:
 

Courtney Hollander (7 season / 7 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
16 pts-12 reb at Simon Fraser, Feb. 123
 
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 …
55th in offensive rebounds (15.0)
56th in rebounding margin (+4.3)
71st in free throw shooting (.724)
 
Individually, Courtney Hollander ranks 80th in defensive rebounds at 6.0 per game, and 84th in free throw percentage (.817).
 
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 point             Lindsay Lee (has 96)
                                  Erica Pagano (has 94)
300th rebound      Courtney Hollander (has 291)
300th point            Molly Grager (has 298)
                                                       
MILESTONES MADE LAST WEEK                                         
100th field goal    Jordan McPhee (has 101)
100th free throw  Jordan McPhee (has 101)
300th point            Stacey Lukasiewicz (has 304)
                                                               
AROUND THE WEST
As impressive as their overall records are, Alaska Anchorage and Cal Baptist still have a ways to go before they wrap up their respective regular-season titles. Anchorage (28-1, 15-1 GNAC) is still just one game ahead of Western Washington (18-6, 14-2), and plays host to the Vikings next Thursday. The only loss for the Seawolves was 71-62 at Western on Dec. 5.
 
Cal Baptist is 23-1 overall and 15-1 in the Pacific West, but actually begins the week half a game behind Academy of Art (21-6, 16-1). Those two square off next Tuesday on the Art campus in San Francisco. Azusa Pacific (21-3, 15-1) also remains in the championship hunt.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills continues to lead the California Collegiate Athletic Association, but not by much. The Toros are 17-7, 15-1 in the conference, half a game better than UC San Diego (20-3, 15-2), and Cal State East Bay (21-4, 15-2). Dominguez Hills plays at East Bay on Friday.
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for the latest news, notes, results, and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season concludes on the road next week for SPU. The Falcons visit Concordia on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7:00 p.m., then heads to Monmouth for a Saturday game against Western Oregon at 2:00 p.m. Those teams met in Seattle during the first week of December, with SPU winning both, 79-58 vs. Western Oregon and 55-46 vs. Concordia.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                                            GNAC              Overall
Alaska Anchorage                 15-1       28-1
Western Washington               14-2       18-6
Montana State Billings           13-3       17-7
Simon Fraser                     10-6       12-9
Central Washington                8-8       15-9
Northwest Nazarene                7-9        9-13
Alaska Fairbanks                  6-10      11-15
Seattle Pacific                   6-10       9-14
Saint Martin's                    3-13       5-18
Concordia                         3-13       5-19
Western Oregon                    3-13       4-20