THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Jan. 3                   Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Thursday, Jan. 5                 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 – For the first time this season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons will be looking to bounce back.
 
Coming off its first defeat of the 2016-17 women's basketball campaign, SPU winds up a seven-game homestand this week by welcoming Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings to Brougham Pavilion for Great Northwest Athletic Conference games.
 
The Saints will be in town on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The Yellowjackets arrive on Thursday for a 5:15 p.m. game that is part of a women's-men's doubleheader. The Falcon men tangle with defending GNAC champion Western Oregon at 7:30 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific won its first 11 games on the schedule, including last Thursday's 64-58 victory against Central Washington in Brougham. But last Saturday, Northwest Nazarene found its shooting eye during the second half and went home with a 73-66 win.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All four tournament games will have a live Webcast and live stats available. The Webcast will be through Stretch Internet, the official Internet provider of the Great Northwest Athletic conference. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TICKET TALK
Tickets will be available at the door of Brougham Pavilion, with windows opening 60 minutes prior to tip-off time. Prices are $9 for adult reserved, $6 for adult general admission, and $3 for youths, students with identification, and senior citizens age 65 and older. For Thursday's doubleheader, one ticket is good for both games. SPU students, faculty and staff members with proper school identification are free.
 
FALCON THURSDAYS
With GNAC play now in full swing, fans will be encouraged to wear Seattle Pacific gear to all games, but especially on Falcon Thursdays. Throughout the academic year, students, faculty, and staff on campus will be showing their maroon colors to celebrate Falcon Thursdays.
 
NEW YEAR BRINGS HOMECOMING INTO FOCUS
Now that the calendar has changed to 2017, plans will be accelerating for next month's Homecoming and the culmination of Seattle Pacific's 125th anniversary celebration.
 
On the basketball court, the SPU women will take on Simon Fraser in the first game of a women's-men's doubleheader, tipping off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11. The Falcon men play Central Washington at 4:00 p.m.
 
Homecoming Saturday starts at 9:15 a.m. with the Falcon Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It will take place in the Fine Center at First Free Methodist Church, which is located on 3rd Avenue West, directly across from campus. Honorees will include men's soccer coach Cliff McCrath, his 1978 NCAA national championship team, coach Virginia Husted, and SPU stalwart John Glancy. Tickets are $20, and those wishing to attend can register online at www.spu.edu/homecoming.
 
The day concludes with an all-athletics reunion in Brougham Pavilion following the basketball doubleheader.

 

SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Thursday's game against Billings will bring the Falcons to the midpoint of their 28-game schedule.
-- SPU has 50 all-time victories against Saint Martin's – one of two opponents against whom the Falcons have won 50 times. The other is 57 wins against Alaska Fairbanks.
-- Seattle Pacific split with Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings last season, with the home team prevailing every time.
-- When the Saints and Jackets visited Seattle last year, SPU was just coming off of a winless January. The Falcons beat both to start a stretch of six wins in their final eight games.
-- At one time, SPU had won 12 straight against the Saints. That ended in January 2011. In the six seasons beginning in 2010-11, the teams have split three times, with two season sweeps for the Falcons and one sweep for Saint Martin's.
-- During those same six seasons, SPU and Billings have split four times. The Falcons and Yellowjackets each have one sweep.
-- Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings both have gone against UC San Diego. The Jackets opened the season with an 88-60 loss to the Tritons. The following week, the Falcons beat their Southern California counterparts, 62-45.
-- After leading Division II for most of the season for fewest points allowed, SPU is No. 4 this week at 51.6 points per game. Two schools remain below 50: Elizabeth City State of North Carolina (49.1) and Alaska Anchorage (49.5).
-- The Falcons also remain in the national top 10 in three other categories: No. 7 in assists per game (18.4), No. 8 in total assists (221), and No. 10 in assist / turnover ratio (1.28).
-- With SPU's loss to Northwest Nazarene, just six D2 teams remain undefeated: Ashland (Ohio), Colorado State-Pueblo, Lincoln Memorial (Tennessee), Angelo State (Texas), Virginia Union, and Columbus State (Georgia).
-- The Falcons are one of 17 teams across the country with just one loss.
-- All three head coaches in Brougham this week are among the longest-tenured in the GNAC. Julie Heisey is in her 12h year at SPU, Tim Healy is in his 22nd at Saint Martin's, and Kevin Woodin is in his 13that MSU Billings.
-- Heisey is 18-5 against Saint Martin's and Healy, and has a 13-6 record against Billings and Woodin.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS: 4-8, 0-4 GNAC (11th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 50-16. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 71, StM 60 (Feb. 2, 2016 at Seattle). Saints on the Web.
Saints in a nutshell: Saint Martin's got off to a solid start, winning three of its first five games, but comes to Seattle having dropped six in a row. Some of those have been close – a double-overtimer at Cal State San Marcos, a six-pointer against Northwest Nazarene, and an eight-pointer against Central Washington. Elin Johansson, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Sweden, leads the Saints in scoring (13.5), rebounding (6.5) and field goal shooting (50.4 percent). Also in double figures is 6-foot sophomore guard Baylee Olsen at 10.1 per game. Olsen can be deadly from downtown, hitting at a .471 clip (24 of 51), a mark that ranks second in the GNAC. She has the two highest-scoring games for the Saints this season – 22 vs. Holy Names, and 21 vs. Cal State San Marcos. But she and Johansson are hardly the only scoring threats. In 12 games, six players have led or co-led in points.
 
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 4-8, 1-3 GNAC (tie 6th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 24-20. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 52, MSUB 43 (Feb. 4, 2016 at Seattle). Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings suffered a big blow before the season started when senior forward Alisha Breen, the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and last year's conference scoring leader at 17.4 points per game, was lost for the year because of a knee injury. The Yellowjackets lost their first four games, then won four of their next six before falling at home to both Alaska schools last week. Tiana Hanson, a 6-foot-senior forward, has stepped up as MSUB's scoring leader, averaging 15.8 points per game, a tie for No. 4 in the GNAC. She has led or co-led Billings in scoring in eight of the 12 games. Hanson also is the top rebounder for the Yellowjackets at 6.0 per game, ranking No. 8 in the GNAC. While she is the only player with a double-digit scoring average, Junior 5-6 guard Rylee Kane is close at 9.8 points per game. As has been the case in recent seasons, Billings is the best ball-handling team in the GNAC, averaging just 14 turnovers per game.
 
FALCON REPLAY
-- Jordan McPhee scored14 points, including four at the free throw line in the final minute, and Courtney Hollander polished off a double-double with a tie-breaking three-point play as SPU pulled out 64-58 victory against Central Washington last Thursday night.
-- Northwest Nazarene shot 57 percent in the second half last Saturday, which included hitting 5 of 6 during a third-quarter scoring run, and handed Seattle Pacific its first loss of the year, 73-66.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Courtney Hollander recorded a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds last Thursday against Central Washington, giving her three doubles for this year.
 
Junior forward Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) now has 12 double-doubles for her career, with the other nine coming last season.
 
The only other Falcon with a double-double this winter is junior guard Jordan McPhee, who logged 14 points and 10 rebounds at Western Oregon on Dec. 1. She has two for her career.
 
Among the other current SPU players, senior guard Stacey Lukasiewicz has one double-double, recording 13 points and 12 rebounds last season against Western Oregon.
 
LEE LIGHTIN' UP THE BOARD
In a mid-November game against Azusa Pacific, junior guard Lindsay Lee showed how adept she is at finding her teammates for easy baskets, racking up a career-high six assists in a 75-49 rout of the Cougars. In fact, with 19 assists so far (she has at least one in nine of the 12 games), Lee is nearly two-thirds of the way to last year's total of 30.

 

But in last Saturday's game against Northwest Nazarene, Lee (Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark HS) showed she can fill up the hoop on her own, too. She pumped in a career-high 11 points, hitting 4 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line.
 
Lee's previous career high was 10, set last Feb. 27 in the season-finale at Western Oregon.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
Not one, but two Falcons have a chance to tally their 500th career point in the same game. Senior forward / guard Hannah Rodrigues and junior guard Jordan McPhee both come into Tuesday's contest against Saint Martin's with 495 points.
 
Also potentially hitting a career scoring milestone in that game are junior guard Courtney Hollander (she's 13 away from 600 points), and senior guard Rachel Shim (she's 14 shy of 200).
 
Here's a list of those closest to various century marks:
 
100th assist            Jordan McPhee (has 80)
100th point              Jaylee Albert (has 88)
100th rebound        Julia Haining (has 97)
100th steal              Jordan McPhee (has 85)
                                  Hannah Rodrigues (has 85)
200th point             Rachel Shim (has 186)
                                  Lindsay Lee (has 172)
400th point             Stacey Lukasiewicz (has 353)
400th rebound       Hannah Rodrigues (has 383)
500th point             Jordan McPhee (has 495)
                                  Hannah Rodrigues (has 495)
                                  Brianne Lasconia (has 435)
600th point             Courtney Hollander (has 587)
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 318 programs in D2, SPU is …
-- 4th in scoring defense (51.6)
-- 7th in assists per game (18.4)      
-- 8th in total assists (221)
-- 10th in assist / turnover ratio (1.28)
-- 12th in scoring margin (+19.3)
-- 13th in free throw shooting (.777)
-- 23rd in steals per game (11.5)
-- 23rd in total steals (138)
-- 32nd in field goal defense (.348)
-- 43rd in fewest turnovers per game (14.3)   
 
Click on this link to see how the Falcons stack up nationally in all statistical categories. Click on this link to see how other GNAC teams and players rank.
 
POLLING PLACE
The Falcons are at No. 15 in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association national poll, receiving 228 points. SPU was at No. 13 in the final poll before Christmas. Ashland of Ohio retained its No. 1 ranking, garnering 22 of the 24 first-place votes and 598 points. Alaska Anchorage is up one spot to No. 7, and Cal Baptist, the only other West Region team in the top 25, is No. 11.
 
The D2SIDA national poll, voted upon by sports information directors, SPU was No. 8 in the last one. The latest D2SIDA West Region rankings were released on Monday, Jan. 2, and the Falcons remained No. 2 behind Alaska Anchorage.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage (4-0) and Northwest Nazarene (4-0) are the two remaining undefeated GNAC teams. An early-season gap already has developed While SPU, Simon Fraser, and Western Washington are all close to the top spot at 3-1 in conference play, it's a two-game gap to the five beams bunched behind them. Only Saint Martin's is seeking its first GNAC victory.
 
UC San Diego is top the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 5-1 record (9-3 overall). Cal State Stanislaus is just half a game back at 4-1, but is just 6-8 overall. Chico State has the second-best overall record after UCSD at 8-4. However, the Wildcats are merely tied for seventh in the conference at 3-3.
 
Cal Baptist (13-2 overall), riding a 10-game winning streak, is one of three undefeated teams in the Pacific West Conference. The Lancers are 4-0, half a game in front of Hawaii Pacific (3-0, 6-2 overall) and Academy of Art (3-0, 6-4 overall). Point Loma Nazarene is 10-2 overall, including 4-1 in conference play, fourth behind the aforementioned three schools.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons are in for a stern test over the next couple of weeks as they take the three other top teams in the GNAC. That starts next Thursday night, Jan. 12, in Burnaby B.C., against Simon Fraser. Then on Saturday the 14th, SPU visits the Whatcom Community College Pavilion in Bellingham for a game against Western Washington. Both tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
Upon returning home, the Falcons get to tangle with Alaska Anchorage on Thursday the 19th in Brougham Pavilion, also at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage                     4-0                     11-1
Northwest Nazarene                 4-0                       6-4
Seattle Pacific                             3-1                     11-1
Simon Fraser                              3-1                     12-2
Western Washington                 3-1                       9-3
Central Washington                   1-3                       6-6
Alaska Fairbanks                       1-3                       5-6
Western Oregon                         1-3                       5-6
Concordia                                   1-3                       4-8
Montana State Billings             1-3                       4-8
Saint Martin's                             0-4                       4-8