FRESNO PACIFIC WEST REGION CROSSOVER CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 10                     Seattle Pacific vs. Humboldt State, 5:30 p.m.
                                                Fresno Pacific vs. Western Washington, 7:30 p.m.
                                                Special Events Center / Fresno, Calif.
                                                Live Webcast (pay-per-view)        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 11                Western Washington vs. Humboldt State, 5:30 p.m.
                                                Seattle Pacific vs. Fresno Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
                                                Special Events Center / Fresno, Calif.
                                                Live Webcast (pay-per-view)        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release (PDF)

SEATTLE – From the time they formally began practicing, much of the talk about the Seattle Pacific Falcons has been about their abundance of senior-level talent and experience.
 
Beginning this weekend, the Falcons will start putting that to use in games that count.
 
SPU hits the road to open the 2017-18 women's basketball calendar when they head to California for the Fresno Pacific West Region Crossover Classic. The Falcons play the tournament opener on Friday when they tip off against Humboldt State at 5:30 p.m. in FPU's Special Events Center. They return to the court on Saturday against the host Sunbirds at 7:30 p.m.
 
While in town, Coach Julie Heisey's team will be able to get an early-season look at long-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Western Washington, which faces Fresno on Friday and Humboldt on Saturday.
 
Heading into the first of its two preseason tournaments, Seattle Pacific is coming off a 71-56 exhibition victory against NCAA Division III power George Fox last weekend in Brougham Pavilion.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All four tournament games now will have free live Webcasts (a change from earlier information). The Webcasts will be video only (no play-by-play). Live stats also are available. The appropriate link can be found at the top of this story.
 
Pay-per-view also will be in effect for next weekend's tournament at Azusa Pacific. After that, all games, home and away, will have free live Webcasts along with free live stats.
 
RUGGED ROAD SCHEDULE
The Falcons will be spending a lot of time in their maroon road uniforms before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play gets into full swing.
 
Of the seven non-conference games on Seattle Pacific's schedule, six are on the road. In addition to the tournaments this weekend and next, the Falcons will visit Concordia Irvine on Wednesday, Dec. 13, and then take on Oklahoma Christian at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Monday, Dec. 18.
 
The only non-conference home game is Wednesday, Nov. 22, against NCAA Division II newcomer Biola. The Thanksgiving Eve contest tips off at 5:00 p.m.
 
Even SPU's first two conference contests are on the road: at Concordia-Portland on Nov. 30, and at Western Oregon on Dec. 2.
 
ANOTHER HALL OF FAME FOR SPU COACH HEISEY
Julie Heisey, now beginning her 13th season as head coach of the Falcons, was inducted into the Northwest Nazarene University Hall of Fame this past Monday.

 

The native of Nampa, Idaho – which is home to the school, played for NNU from 1986-89. She scored more than 1,000 points during her career, and remains in NNU's all-time top 10 for career blocked shots (4th, 103), rebounds (7th, 777), rebounding average (10th, 7.8), field goals (10th, 469), and free throw attempts (10th, 357). Heisey still has school single-season record for block shots (40 in 1987-88) and field goal percentage (55.5 in 1985-86).
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This is the third Hall of Fame induction for Heisey. Her first one was the Cascade Collegiate Conference hall, as Northwest Nazarene was a member of that circuit during her playing days.
 
In November 2014, she was enshrined into the Trevecca Nazarene Hall. Heisey coached nine years at the school in Nashville, Tenn., starting the program from scratch. Her last six Trevecca teams averaged 21 wins a year and went to the NAIA Division I tournament.
 
At Seattle Pacific, Heisey has put together a 248-97 record. Her overall mark through 21 years as a head coach is 410-216.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is 33-9 all-time in season-opening games.
-- Last year's 90-39 rout of Fresno Pacific in the opener was the first of 11 straight wins to start the season.
-- The Falcons have won their last five season openers and 16 of their last 17.
-- The only one that got away was UC San Diego in 2011, as the Tritons posted a 68-47 victory.
-- This is the fifth straight year the Falcons have started the season with a tournament against Humboldt State and Fresno Pacific – twice in Seattle, once in Humboldt's home town of Arcata, and once in Fresno.
-- The Falcons have swept the two teams in all four of those previous tournaments.
-- The trip to Fresno was in 2013. After a 71-44 romp past Humboldt on the first night, SPU needed a last-second jumper from Aubree Callen to beat the host Sunbirds on the second night, 56-55.
-- Last year in Seattle at the Sodexo Tip-off Classic, the Falcons trailed just twice against both teams: 2-0 and 4-3 vs. Humboldt; 3-1 and 5-3 vs. Fresno. A 15-0 run gave them command against the Lumberjacks, and a 10-0 burst put them comfortably ahead of the Sunbirds.
-- SPU went 9-5 in games away from Brougham Pavilion last season, including 6-4 in true road contests.
-- Most of the 30 meetings between Seattle Pacific and Humboldt came when both schools resided in the same conference – first the Pacific West (1998-2001), and then in the GNAC (2001-2006, after which HSU left for the California Collegiate Athletic Association).
-- SPU's current 28-game winning streak against Humboldt State began after the teams had split their first two games, each prevailing at home: 89-69 for the Falcons on Jan. 2, 1993, and 69-67 for the Lumberjacks on Nov. 27, 1993. The first of the 28 consecutive wins was just a month later, Dec. 30, by a 76-68 margin at the NorCal / Pac West Challenge in Davis, Calif.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 8-0 vs. Humboldt State and 4-0 vs. Fresno Pacific.
-- Falcons senior guard Courtney Hollander scored in double digits against both teams last year (16 vs. Humboldt, 10 vs Fresno) on a combined 10-of-16 shooting.
 
SCOUTING THE HUMBOLDT STATE LUMBERJACKS: 8-19, 7-13 CCAA (10th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 29-1. Current series streak: SPU won 28. Last time: SPU 67, HSU 36 (Nov. 12, 2016 at Seattle). Lumberjacks on the Web.
Lumberjacks in a nutshell: Humboldt has some important pluses heading into the year. That starts at the top, with head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson now entering her second season with the team. Another plus: Most of the players who endured last year's struggles are back looking for better results. Among those are four who were regular starters and two more who had double-digit starts. Included in that group is Tyra Turner, a do-itt-all sophomore guard who averaged 11.8 points, shot 43 percent from the floor and a team-leading 41.3 percent from 3-point range. Even at just 5-foot-5, she was Humboldt's leading rebounder at 4.7 per game. She also dished a team-high 124 assists (4.6 per game). Other regular returning starters are 5-4 senior guard Catharine Rees (9.5 points), 6-0 senior forward Mikaela Shannon (4.9) and 5-8 senior forward Riann Thayer (4.1).
 
SCOUTING THE FRESNO PACIFIC SUNBIRDS: 5-23, 2-18 PAC WEST (14th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 6-1. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 90, FPU 39 (Nov. 11, 2016 at Seattle). Sunbirds on the Web.
Sunbirds in a nutshell: Among the eight returners for Fresno Pacific are its top scorer and its top rebounder from last season. Bree Alvarez, a 5-foot-8 redshirt junior guard averaged 15.5 points, and earned a spot on the All-Pac West third team. Her 3-point percentage of 39.0 (62 of 139) was tops in the conference. Viviana Vasquez, a 5-9 junior who can play guard or forward, pulled down 4.8 boards per game, also averaging 4.3 points. Ashley Cross and Cassie Pisik had impressive freshman seasons, starting 18 and 16 games, respectively. Pisik averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game; Cross scored at a 6.3 clip and collected 4.4 rebounds per night. Megan Lee, a 5-9 senior who can swing between guard and forward, averaged 10 points coming off the bench in 27 of the 28 games.
 
OHLSEN MAKES COACHING DEBUT
Suzanna Ohlsen, who starred for Seattle Pacific from 2011-15, will be on the sidelines as a coach for the first time when SPU faces Humboldt State on Friday night.
 
Ohlsen averaged 12.7 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 rebounds during her four seasons at SPU. She won numerous awards, not only for her accomplishments on the court, but for what she did in the classroom, as well. After leading the Falcons to the NCAA West Regional semifinals and a 22-7 record as a senior in 2014-15, Ohlsen earned All-American honorable mention status from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and from the Division II Bulletin.

 

That same season, she was a Daktronics All-West Region second-team selection, and was an All-GNAC first-teamer.
 
Ohlsen received just as much acclaim for what she did in the classroom. She carried a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a biochemistry major through her entire four years at Seattle Pacific. In February 2015, she was named the Academic All-America of the Year for D2 women's basketball by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
After a year of playing professionally in South Korea, Ohlsen returned to the area planning to study pharmacy at the University of Washington. But she has changed tracks, and now is applying for medical school. While she goes through that lengthy process, she was offered the chance to become the second assistant on head coach Julie Heisey's staff and decided to take it.
 
"Coach Heisey reached out and offered the position, and I was super-excited, and honored to accept," Ohlsen said. "I love basketball, and I jumped at the opportunity to get back in it and be with some of these girls."
 
In fact, Ohlsen was well acquainted with several of them before she even arrived back on campus.
 
"It's especially exciting for me, because when I was a senior, the kids who are seniors now were freshmen," she said. "It's a cool opportunity to see them come full circle."
 
This is the first time in Heisey's 13 years here that she has had an alum come back as a coach.
 
"It's something that I've desired, so I'm happy it has worked out," she said. "Su is about excellence. She really enjoyed her time at SPU, and she's excited to give back.
 
"It's going to be a fun transition," Heisey added. "Su knows who we are, she knows the conference, and knows our players. She was a great point guard and was part of some really successful teams. The nature of the job is she'll get to work with everybody. But for sure, she'll be able to do a lot with our guards, specifically the point guards."

FALCONS TABBED FOR 2ND - BUT IT'S CLOSE
SPU has been picked for a second-place finish in the upcoming GNAC season behind three-time defending champion Alaska Anchorage. But the difference between them is very small in polling by the GNAC's 11 coaches. The Seawolves received six of the 11 first-place votes and 106 points. Right behind were the Falcons with two first-places and 103 points.
 
While that left those two schools far ahead of others in the poll, they aren't considered to be the only potential challengers for the championship. Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene tied for third with 85 points apiece, but both received first-place votes: two for the Wildcats, one for the newly-renamed Nighthawks.
 
HONORS ROLLING IN ALREADY
For the second straight year, SPU's Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander earned places on the GNAC's Preseason All-Conference team.
 
The 5-foot-10 McPhee was a unanimous selection. A guard, she averaged 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season, ranking No. 2 on the team in both categories as she earned All-GNAC honorable mention status for the second straight year. McPhee was one of just two players on the team to start all 30 games. She led SPU in total points with 335, her first time with more than 300 in a season.
 
Hollander, a 6-footer who can player either guard or forward, return as SPU's leading scorer (11.8) and rebounder (7.0), and was named to the All-GNAC 2nd Team after being an honorable mention pick as a sophomore. Hollander put those numbers into the book even though she missed five games with an injury. In 25 games, Hollander logged five double-doubles, giving her 14 for her career.
 
COACH JULIE HEISEY SAYS …
(On heading into the season openers)
"We're all ready to play a game, and excited to play. It's all different once you get out there and get a crowd. It was nice to play at home last Saturday (in an exhibition game against George Fox) and play in front of people with our uniforms on – that's a little bit different atmosphere. It's always fun to play the opening games."
 
(On Humboldt State)
"I like that they play really hard. They have a lot of 3-point shooters – they hit 13 of 26 against Southern Oregon (in an exhibition last Saturday). They're just a team that can create momentum fast because they hit back-to-back 3s. They have a really quick little point guard (sophomore Tyra Turner), and she's good at pressuring the ball and picking up the pace."
 
(On Fresno Pacific)
"They're playing at home, and they have two kids who have been playing a lot for them for three years. They're going to penetrate a lot and push the pace. We'll get to watch them against Western Washington (on Friday), so we'll see a bit more."
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Click on this link for a look at Coach Heisey's preseason video interview, as she talks about the team and what she's expecting in the upcoming months.
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Jordan McPhee scored 17 points, and Seattle Pacific led from start to finish in a 71-56 exhibition victory against George Fox last Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Of the 13 Seattle Pacific players on the active roster, two are in the double-double column.
 
Courtney Hollander has 14 in her three years, including five last season. In the first of those, Hollander grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 13 points in a 62-45 victory against UC San Diego, which was ranked No. 17 nationally at the time.
 
Jordan McPhee has two career double-doubles, getting one last season when she had 14 points and 10 boards in a GNAC-opening 68-59 victory at Western Oregon.
 
That accounted for all six of SPU's double-doubles in 2016-17.

 
DOMINICAN DELIGHTS
SPU took a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic in September. The team did play three games against local competition – winning all three – but basketball was not the primary reason for the trip.
 
Instead, the focus was on service, which included hoops clinics, painting a new medical center, and getting immersed in a culture unlike anything any of the Falcons had ever experienced.
 
Click on this link for a story about the trip. Within the story are links to individual journal entries written by individual players and coaches.
 
MARKING A MILESTONE
Several Falcons are within reach of statistical milestones as they begin the new season.
 
100th field goal   Lindsay Lee (has 99)
100th rebound      Jaylee Albert (has 86)
200th free throw   Jordan McPhee (has 194)
200th point        Julia Haining (has 165)
200th rebound      Erica Pagano (has 198)
300th point        Lindsay Lee (has 268)
700th point        Jordan McPhee (has 695)
800th point        Courtney Hollander (has 736)
 
POLLING PLACE
Though not in the top 25, Seattle Pacific was receiving votes in the WBCA preseason top 25. The Falcons had 23 point in the first tabulation of the year, putting them 33rd on the list.
 
Ashland of Ohio, which went 37-0 on the way to the national championship last season, is a near-unanimous No. 1, with all but one of the 24 first-place votes.
 
Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 4, and Azusa Pacific is No. 16.
 
AROUND THE WEST
While Alaska Anchorage is the favorite, and Seattle Pacific has been picked for a very close second in the GNAC, the other two West Region conferences also have released their preseason polls.
 
UC San Diego, which will square off against the Falcons next Saturday in the Azusa Pacific West Region Crossover Classic, is the ever-so-slight favorite in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons received eight of the 13 first-place votes and 138 points. Right behind are Cal State East Bay (three firsts, 133 points) and Cal Poly Pomona (two firsts, 127 points. Friday opponent Humboldt State was picked for 10th in the 13-team conference with 50 points.
 
Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene are the dead-even co-favorites in the Pacific West Conference, both with 180 points. APU, which will be across the court from Seattle Pacific next Friday night in Azusa, got six of the 14 first-place votes; Point Loma had five. The Fresno Pacific team set to play SPU this Saturday, was tabbed for 12^th with 41 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will fly home from California, but then head right back down there next week for the Azusa Pacific West Region Crossover Classic. SPU takes on host APU on Friday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Then it's highly regarded UC San Diego on Saturday the 18th at 5:30 p.m.