THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 30               Seattle Pacific at Concordia-Portland, 7:00 p.m.
                                                LCEF Court / Portland, Ore.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Dec. 2                  Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 2:00 p.m.
                                                New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
  
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – With five straight non-conference victories, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have put themselves into a solid early-season position among West Region women's basketball teams.
 
This week, they'll have an opportunity to start dong the same thing among their Great Northwest Athletic Conference counterparts.
 
The Falcons take to the road to begin their 2017-18 GNAC schedule. They'll visit Concordia in Portland on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., then head southwest to Monmouth for a Saturday afternoon contest at Western Oregon. That one tips off at 2:00.
 
Although it has two more non-conference games still to play in December, this marks the second straight year Seattle Pacific will head into GNAC play with an undefeated record. The Falcons are coming off a 78-52 rout of Biola last Wednesday.
 
These are two of the three conference games on the docket prior to Christmas. That portion of the slate begins in earnest on Dec. 28 at home against Montana State Billings.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
This week's games, and all remaining games this season, home and away, will have live stats and a free live Webcast. The appropriate link can be found at the top of this story.
 
GNAC COACHES PICK SPU FOR A 2ND-PLACE FINISH
In what many believe will be a down-to-the-wire race, Seattle Pacific has been voted by GNAC coaches to finish second in the upcoming campaign.
 
The preseason poll, released on Oct. 30, has defending champion Alaska Anchorage on top – but not by much. The Seawolves received six of the 11 first-place votes and 106 total points. Right behind was SPU with two first-places and 103 points.
 
So far, Anchorage (6-0) and SPU (5-0) are living up to expectations. But two teams that didn't rank high in the poll are right up there with them. Montana State Billings, tabbed for seventh place, is 5-0. Western Oregon was voted ninth, but is 4-0.
 
Along with the team polls, coaches selected their preseason all-conference team. That 15-player group included Falcon seniors Courtney Hollander and Jordan McPhee.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Of the 302 NCAA Division II teams, Seattle Pacific is one of 33 still undefeated.
-- This is the third straight season the Falcons have begun GNAC play with the Oregon schools. They have swept the previous two weekends – at home in 2015, and on the road last season (68-59 at WOU, 66-51 at Concordia).
-- Seattle Pacific is 15-1 all-time in GNAC openers, and 8-1 on the road.
-- The only time the Falcons have lost a conference opener was 79-74 at Simon Fraser on Dec. 1, 2011.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 11-1 in GNAC openers.
-- Heisey is 23-2 all-time against Western Oregon and 7-1 against fifth-year head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter.
-- Her record is 3-1 against Concordia-Portland and Cavaliers head coach Sean Kelly.
-- Through the first 16 years of the GNAC, the Falcons have a 219-67 record in conference play, for a .766 winning percentage. That is the second-best mark, seven games behind leader Western Washington (226-20 for a .771 percentage).
-- During those same 16 years, however, Seattle Pacific has the best overall record of 359-108 – .769. The next-best overall record belongs to WWU at 350-121 – .743.
-- SPU won the first eight games against Concordia before the Cavaliers prevailed last Feb. 23 in Brougham Pavilion, 70-62.
-- At one time, the Falcons had a 28-game winning streak against Western Oregon. That ended on Jan. 28, 2012, when the Wolves won in Monmouth, 79-74. Seattle Pacific has won eight of the 10 games since then.
-- Falcons senior forward Courtney Hollander set her career high of 23 points in a 66-51 win at Concordia last Dec. 3.
-- Senior guard Jordan McPhee has two career double-doubles. One of those came in that same win at Concordia, when she logged 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA-PORTLAND CAVALIERS: 4-2, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 8-1. Current series streak: CU won 1. Last time: CU 70, SPU 62 (Feb. 23, 2017 at Seattle). Cavaliers on the Web.
Cavaliers in a nutshell: Concordia comes into the week on a two-game winning streak. No surprise that 5-foot-9 senior guard Danielle Hartzog and 6-1 junior forward Bailey Cartwright once again are the go-to players for the Cavs. Cartwright, the team's lone selection to the Preseason All-GNAC team, is averaging 12.8 points and 10.0 rebounds – and is the only GNAC player with that double-double distinction. She is shooting a solid 46.2 percent from the field. Hartzog is averaging a team-high 13.5 points, and also pulls down 3.7 rebounds. She had 35 points in the two games combined against SPU last season. Junior guard Keesha Sarman is only 5-6, but knows how to crash the boards, with an average of 6.7 per game that is second on the team. She also averaged 8.3 points on .487 shooting from the field, and she can drain 'em from downtown (7 of 12).
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 4-0, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 40-4. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 70, WOU 60 (Feb. 25, 2017 at Seattle). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: The Wolves have won by a lot (20 against Cal State San Bernardino, 19 at Notre Dame de Namur) and by a little (two points, 64-62, in Monmouth vs. Humboldt State last Tuesday after trailing by single digits for most of the fourth quarter). WOU has five players averaging in double figures, led by 5-foot-9 senior guard Shelby Snook's 14.0 per game, ranking No. 8 in the GNAC. Snook went for 19 points in Monmouth and 20 in Seattle against SPU last season. Also with early-season double-digit averages are 5-10 senior guard and Preseason All-GNAC pick Sydney Azorr (11.3), 5-6 freshman guard Keyonna Jones (11.0), 5-11 redshirt junior guard / forward Maddy Pape (10.3), and 5-11 senior forward Savannah Heugly (10.0). In the first four games, four different players have led or co-led the team in scoring. Kaylie Boschma, a 5-8 junior guard, grabs a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per game, fourth-highest in the GNAC.
 
PACKING 'EM INTO THE GNAC TOP 10
The Falcons begin this week with numerous players among the GNAC's top 10 in various statistical categories:
-- Lindsay Lee 2nd in FG shooting (.621), 2nd in assist / TO ratio (3.0), 3rd in 3-point shooting (.526).
-- Jordan McPhee 3rd in scoring (16.6), tie 6th in blocks (1.0), 8th in FG shooting (.510).
-- Courtney Hollander 5th in rebounding (8.6), tie 10th in FT shooting (.833).
-- Rachel Shim 5th in FT shooting (.900).
-- Julia Haining 8th in rebounding (7.8).

Click on this link for a complete look at GNAC stats.

 

COACH JULIE HEISEY SAYS …
(On Concordia)
"They beat us the last they played us here, and they have pretty much their whole team back. They're an experienced team, they have a lot of really good juniors, and they're fast and athletic. They are pretty complete players. Their guards can penetrate and shoot 3s, and Baily Cartwright is really coming along in her position, as well."
 
(On Western Oregon)
"Kaylie Boschma is quick and she just plays hard and makes things happen all the time, whether it's a rebound or a steal or attacking the basket. And between Sydney Azorr and Shelby Snook, those are two kids who can score 20 points apiece pretty easily. Western Oregon is a good team, and they're going to compete for 40 minutes. There's no question they're going to play hard, rebound hard, and they're going to scrap."
 
ANOTHER SIZZLING START
Any team can win its opening game, and some can even sweep through the opening weekend if they're in a preseason tournament.
 
But the teams that keep going from there are the ones that start to get some notice. And – so far, anyway – the Falcons have kept going.
 
At 5-0, SPU is now tied for the seventh-best start in program history, which is now in its 43^rd year. Beginning in the 1975-76 season, when things went to full varsity status for the first time, a total of 12 Falcon teams – including this one – have triumphed in their first five games.
 
A win on Thursday at Concordia, would mark the 11th time that Seattle Pacific has started 6-0 – the most recent of which was last year, and would tie for the sixth-best start. If that happens and if the Falcons follow up with a win at Western Oregon on Saturday, they would be just the eighth group to start 7-0.
 
The record for consecutive victories from the opening of the season was 30-0 in 2003. The only loss for that team was in the West Region final. A pair of teams went 29-0 (2002-03 and 07-08), one went 12-0 (1997-98), and last year's squad went 11-0 before falling.
 
TOP 25 IN D2 TIMES TWO FOR LEE
For three seasons, Lindsay Lee has been the ultimate role player off the bench. No matter what coach Julie Heisey needs, the 5-foot-8 Lee out of Spokane's Lewis & Clark High School has come in and gotten it done, whether it was for 12 games as a freshman, all 27 as a sophomore, or all 30 as a junior.

 

Now, Lee is getting more minutes than ever, is being more productive than ever, and, for the past three games, has earned a backcourt starting job for the Falcons.
 
In the latest national Division II statistics that were released on Monday, Lee ranks 18^th nationally in 3-point shooting at 52.6 percent (10 of 19). She also is part of a three-way for 24^th in assist / turnover ratio at 3.00 (15 assists / 5 turnovers).
 
For the three games Lee has started, she has shot 66.7 percent from the field (12 of 18), with the exact same percentage from 3-point territory (8 of 12), grabbed 12 rebounds, and handed out seven assists. She had a career-high seven rebounds in an 80-69 win at then-No. 16 Azusa Pacific (along with eight points), went for 10 points and four boards against UC San Diego, then popped in a career-high 16 points last Wednesday at home against Biola. She drained 12 of those 16 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
The last time Lee came off the bench was on Nov. 11 at Fresno Pacific. In that game, she tied her career high by handing out six assists.
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Lindsay Lee pumped in a career-high 16 points, and was one of four players in double figures as 16th-ranked SPU rolled to a 78-52 non-conference victory against Biola last Wednesday night in Brougham Pavilion.
 
POLLING PLACE
The Falcons jumped three spots to No. 13 in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association national poll, which was released on Tuesday. SPU received 279 points in the voting.
 
Ashland of Ohio remained a unanimous No. 1 with 600 points, and Alaska Anchorage stayed at No. 2, collecting 572 points. Azusa Pacific is still No. 17 and is the only other West Region team in the top 25.
 
Seattle Pacific remained No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region rankings, with Anchorage a unanimous No. 1.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 302 programs in D2, SPU is …
– 31st in free throw shooting (.786)
– 35th in rebounding margin (+8.4)
– 39th in field goal defense (.341)
– 48th in scoring margin (+14.2)
 
Individually …
– Lindsay Lee 16th in 3-point shooting (.526)
– Lindsay Lee tie 24th in assist / turnover ratio (3.00)
– Jordan McPhee tie 41st in free throws made (28)
– Courtney Hollander tie 41st defensive rebounds per game (7.00)

Click on this link to see how SPU stacks up in all statistical departments. Click on this link to see where other GNAC teams and players rank.
 
MARKING A MILESTONE
IN REACH
100th assist      Lindsay Lee (has 96)
                  Jaylee Albert (has 89)
100th rebound     Jaylee Albert (has 95)
200th point       Julia Haining (has 199)
200th rebound     Julia Haining (has 181)
300th field goal  Courtney Hollander (has 292)
400th point       Erica Pagano (has 390)
                  Rachel Shim (has 345)
600th rebound     Cici West (has 588)
                  Courtney Hollander (has 545)
800th point       Courtney Hollander (has 793)
                  Jordan McPhee (has 778)
 
MADE LAST WEEK
1,000th minute    Jaylee Albert (has 1,004)
 
AROUND THE WEST
Heading into this week's conference openers, not only to all 11 GNAC teams have some wins, all 11 of them have at least a .500 record. At the top are undefeated Alaska Anchorage (6-0), SPU (5-0), Montana State Billings (5-0) and Western Oregon (4-0). Furthermore, three teams won at least their last game, and seven others are on a multi-game winning streak.
 
The CCAA already has begun its conference schedule, with Chico State and Cal State Dominguez Hills at 2-0. But Chico is just 3-2 overall, and Dominguez Hills is 4-3. The best overall record is UC San Diego's 4-2.
 
The Pacific West Conference begins its schedule on Thursday. Azusa Pacific has by far the best overall record at 9-1, having won three straight since it's 80-69 loss to Seattle Pacific on Nov. 17. Hawaii Pacific is 3-1, and Point Loma Nazarene is 5-2.

 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will have most of next week off while focusing on academic finals. They return to action on Saturday, Dec. 9, when Saint Martin's comes to Brougham Pavilion at 2:00 p.m. Through the rest of the month, SPU will have one game per week, visiting Concordia Irvine on Dec. 13, facing Oklahoma Christian at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Dec. 18, then hosting Montana State Billings on Dec. 28.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                              Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage                0-0          6-0
Montana State Billings          0-0          5-0
Seattle Pacific                 0-0          5-0
Western Oregon                  0-0          4-0
Northwest Nazarene              0-0          4-1
Concordia-Portland              0-0          4-2
Simon Fraser                    0-0          4-2
Saint Martin's                  0-0          4-3
Central Washington              0-0          3-3
Western Washington              0-0          3-3
Alaska Fairbanks                0-0          2-2