THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Dec. 13           Seattle Pacific at Concordia Irvine, 5:00 p.m.
                                                CU Arena / Irvine, Calif.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – They've already spent a lot of time on the road this basketball season, and that's where the Seattle Pacific women find themselves again this week.
 
The Falcons fly off to California for a non-conference contest on Wednesday at Concordia Irvine. Tip-off in CU Arena is set for 5:00 p.m.
 
That starting time is an hour earlier than previously posted. Concordia athletic department officials announced the change on Monday.
 
SPU is coming off an 81-66 victory against Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game this past Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, gradually pulling away and finally clinching with a game-closing 9-0 run.
 
This will be Falcons' first trip to Concordia Irvine, which is in its second year as an NCAA Division II school. Of the seven games (counting this one), it is the fifth venue in which Seattle Pacific will have played.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
This week's game, and all remaining games this season, home and away, will have live stats and a free live Webcast. Tom Gialanella will be on the Webcast play-by-play for home contests. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
FIRST SPU-CUI GAME WAS MILESTONE FOR HEISEY …
Although this is just the second time the Falcons and Eagles have played, their first meet, coming last Dec. 16 in Brougham Pavilion, was a particularly memorable one for SPU head coach Julie Heisey.
 
The 76-64 victory on the first night of the SPU Classic was the 400^th in Heisey's coaching career.

 

… AND THIS ONE COULD BE, TOO
 Heisey didn't stop there, of course. Now in her 13^th year with Seattle Pacific and her 22^nd overall as a head coach (her first nine years were at Trevecca Nazarene in Tennessee), she earned her 250^th win at the Falcon helm just 4 ½ weeks ago on Nov. 11 with a 78-70 decision at Fresno Pacific.
 
Heisey has a lifetime record win of 417 wins, 218 losses. So if her team can prevail on Wednesday, she will be 200 games above the .500 mark (418-218) for the first time.
 
For the record, Heisey reached 100 games above .500 on March 14, 2008 when the Falcons beat Saint Martin's in the first round of the NCAA West Region Tournament in Brougham Pavilion, 92-49. That made her record 234-134. It has stayed in triple digits above .500 ever since.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is 5-0 in non-conference games so far this year. With Concordia Irvine this week and Oklahoma Christian next Monday still on the schedule, the Falcons are going for their second straight sweep of non-conference opponents.
-- That performance has been part of a trend across the GNAC, which has a 19-6 record against Pacific West schools (CUI is a Pac West member) and is 13-4 against the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
-- Even though they surrendered 66 points to Saint Martin's on Saturday, Seattle Pacific's defensive average is still below 60 points, sitting at 59.5.
-- The Falcons had 11 steals against the Saints, their third straight game in double digits. In fact, SPU has had double-digit steals in five of its eight games so far.
-- Not only did redshirt senior guard Rachel Shim make all four of her 3-point tries last Saturday, she set a career high in the process. Her previous best was three makes. She hit three from downtown on three previous occasions.
-- Last week, Shim ranked third in Division II for assist / turnover ratio at 4.20 (21 assists divided by just five turnovers). She had one of each against Saint Martin's, leaving her ratio at 3.67, which still is the third-best mark in the country. But players need to average at least three assists to qualify for the national rankings. Shim was at exactly 3.00 last week, but begins this week at 2.75, so is not included in the rankings.
-- Of the Falcons who are expected to be suited up on Wednesday, nine got onto the board in last year's game against Concordia Irvine. Jordan McPhee poured in 18 points, and Courtney Hollander poured in 11.
-- Those two seniors are now dead even on career points with 819 apiece.
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA IRVINE EAGLES (5-3, 3-1 Pac West (3^rd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 76, CUI 64 (Dec. 16, 2016 at Seattle). Eagles on the Web.
Eagles in a nutshell: Concordia was rolling along with a three-game winning streak until Biola – which SPU beat by 26 points on Nov. 22 – interrupted it with 66-55 Pac West victory last Saturday. The Eagles have two players averaging in double figures and one who is practically there. Leading the way is a freshman, 6-foot-1 center Michaela Vanderklugt at 12.1 points per game. She's also the best on the boards at 8.8 per game. Sopavy Seng, a 5-7 guard, averages 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. A mere one point shy of a 10-point average is 5-8 guard Portia Neal, whose 79 points in eight games leave her at 9.9. Those three, along with 6-2 freshman forward Kennedy Fulcher, and 5-8 freshman guard Reilly Walsh, have started all eight games – giving Concordia a lineup that touches both ends of the spectrum: three freshmen and two seniors. Vanderklugt and Fulcher accounted for just more than half of CUI's offense in the loss to Biola, with each one tallying 14 of the 55 points.
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Rachel Shim poured in 16 points, hitting all four of her 3-pointers, and Haining tied her career high with 14 on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field, as SPU gradually pulled away to beat Saint Martin's last Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, 81-66.
 
REBOUNDING THEIR WAY TO NO. 1
Although they played just one game last week, the Falcons have moved to the top of the GNAC's rebounding list.

 

Led by nine boards from senior center Julia Haining, SPU is now averaging 44.5 per game. That is 1.5 more than Western Washington, which is No. 2 at 43.0.
 
Through the first eight games, the Falcons have out-rebounded seven of their opponents. For the season, they have a 73 rebounding margin (356-283).
 
Individually, Seattle Pacific has two of the top three rebounders in the conference. Haining is No. 2 at 9.2 per game. Senior forward Courtney Hollander is No. 3 at 8.4. The only one ahead of them is Concordia-Portland junior Bailey Cartwright at 9.8.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Courtney Hollander logged her third double-double of the season last week, going for 12 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 87-52 victory at Western Oregon. SPU now has five for the year.
 
Courtney Hollander (3 season / 17 career)
11 pts-11 reb vs. Humboldt State, Nov. 10
10 pts-10 reb at Fresno Pacific, Nov. 11
12 pts-12 reb at Western Oregon, Dec. 2
 
Julia Haining (2 season / 2 career)
13 pts-16 reb vs. Humboldt State, Nov. 10
14 pts-17 reb at Concordia-Portland, Nov. 30
 
Jordan McPhee (0 season / 2 career)
 
MARKING A MILESTONE
In reach
100th assist       Jaylee Albert (has 94)
100th rebound      Jaylee Albert (has 102)
300th field goal   Courtney Hollander (has 298)
400th point        Rachel Shim (has 374)
600th rebound      Cici West (has 589)
                   Courtney Hollander (has 569)
900th point        Courtney Hollander (has 819)
                   Jordan McPhee (has 819)

Made last week
100th rebound      Jaylee Albert (has 102)
 
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific climbed two spots to No. 19 in this week's WBCA national coaches poll. The Falcons collected 160 points in the voting.
 
Once again, Ashland of Ohio (10-0_ is a unanimous No. 1, receiving all 24 first-place votes and 600 points. Alaska Anchorage (9-0) remained No. 2 with 575 points. Azusa Pacific is tied for No. 20 with 136 points. Montana State Billings, still undefeated at 9-0, is now third on the "others receiving votes" list (No. 28 overall) with 25 points. That's a jump of four spots from a week ago.
 
SPU also moved up in the D2SIDA West Region poll, now sitting No. 3. Anchorage is still a unanimous No. 1, followed by UC San Diego. This poll is voted on by a select group of sports information directors.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 302 programs in D2, SPU is …
– 21st in rebounding margin ( 9.1)
– 25th in defensive rebounds (31.0)
– 26th in rebounding (44.5)
– 37th in scoring margin ( 14.9)
– 40th in free throw shooting (.761)
 
Click on this link to see how SPU ranks nationally. Click on this link for a look at other GNAC teams and players in the national stats.
 
AROUND THE WEST
There are now just 12 undefeated teams in Division II, a group that still includes GNAC members Alaska Anchorage and Montana State Billings. Both are 9-0 overall, with UAA at 3-0 in conference play and Billings at 2-0. The Seawolves have just one game this week, visiting Notre Dame de Namur. MSUB heads to Hawaii for three games in the Oahu Christmas Classic, set for Friday, Saturday, and next Monday.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC San Diego remain unbeaten in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. The Toros are 4-0, with a 6-3 overall record. UCSD is 3-0, and has the conference's best overall record of 7-2. Humboldt State is currently the hottest team in the CCAA, having won four straight after a 1-5 start. The Lumberjacks are 4-1 in the conference.
 
Dominican and Dixie State are now atop the Pacific West Conference. The Penguins are 3-0, with a 7-2 overall mark and have moved into this week's D2SIDA West rankings at No. 9. Dixie is 2-0 in conference, 6-3 overall, including a 66-62 homecourt win against nationally ranked Azusa Pacific last Saturday. However, Azusa remains the Pac West's best team at 11-2 overall.
 
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays its final non-conference game next Monday when it takes on Oklahoma Christian at the Saint Martin's Classic in Lacey. Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m. That also will be the last game before the NCAA-mandated seven-day dead period for Christmas. The Falcons will resume their action on Thursday, Dec. 28, with a Brougham Pavilion showdown against Montana State Billings. That one tips off at 5:15 p.m., followed by the SPU men against arch-rival Western Washington at 7:30.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage          3-0        9-0
Montana State Billings    2-0        9-0
Seattle Pacific           2-1        7-1
Western Oregon            1-1        5-1
Northwest Nazarene        1-1        5-2
Concordia-Portland        1-1        5-3
Central Washington        1-1        4-4
Western Washington        1-1        4-4
Saint Martin's            1-2        5-5
Simon Fraser              0-2        4-4
Alaska Fairbanks          0-3        2-5