THE SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 18                  Seattle Pacific vs. Oklahoma Christian, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Marcus Pavilion (Saint Martin's) / Lacey, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF) 

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons will try for another women's basketball sweep on Monday.
 
Not of a particular school or even a season series.
 
But instead, a sweep of a whole portion of their schedule.
 
The Falcons takes a quick trip south to Lacey for a game against Oklahoma Christian in the Saint Martin's Classic. Tip-off in Marcus Pavilion is at 5:15 p.m.
 
A victory against the Eagles would give SPU a perfect record against non-conference competition for the second year in a row. The Falcons have won all six of those games this season, and went 8-0 last season.
 
Monday's game also will be the last one before the NCAA Division II-mandated seven-day "dead period" surrounding the Christmas holiday. During that stretch, teams have no games, practices, film or weightlifting sessions, although athletes are allowed to work out on their own.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Monday'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.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- This will be SPU's first-ever game against a school from Oklahoma.
-- That means the Falcons will have played opponents from 24 of the 50 states in the 43-year history of the program. Along with all (except Wyoming) of what are generally regarded as the Western states, Seattle Pacific teams have gone against schools from both Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina.
-- Oklahoma Christian will be SPU's second opponent from the Heartland Conference. The Falcons played St. Edward's of Austin, Texas, in the 2010 Falcons Invitational in Brougham Pavilion, rolling to an 81-41 victory.
-- Although this is coach Julie Heisey's first game with SPU against Oklahoma Christian, she has been across the court from the Eagles previously as an assistant coach at Southern Nazarene (1992-96) when both schools were NAIA. They are located just 15 miles apart.
-- Last Wednesday's 74-67 win at Concordia Irvine pushed Heisey's all-time coaching record to 200 games above .500 for the first time in her career. She is now 418-218.
-- SPU's 6-0 non-conference record is part of an overall solid performance by the 11 GNAC schools against outside competition. The conference is 49-19 overall heading into the weekend. That includes 40-11 against the two other West Region conferences (21-7 vs. Pacific West, 13-4 vs. California Collegiate Athletic Association).
-- The Falcons continued their quick-fingered ways in Wednesday's win at Concordia Irvine, coming up with another 10 steals. That's their fourth game in a row in double digits and sixth in nine games this year.
 
SCOUTING THE OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN EAGLES: 2-8, 0-1 Heartland (tie 6th)
All-time series: First meeting. Eagles on the Web.
Eagles in a nutshell: The first five weeks of the season have been tough for Oklahoma Christian, as it has gone through a pair of four-game losing streaks. However, the Eagles will come in to Monday's game on a winning note after downing nearby rival Southern Nazarene on Dec. 9 at OCU, 77-63. Although they started out 0-4, all four of those losses were by single digits. By far and away, the biggest weapon for OCU is 5-foot-7 junior guard Addy Clift, as she averages 21.8 points per game. That's tops in the Heartland by a whopping 6.1 points. She shoots 41.5 percent from the floor, and is decent from downtown at 34.6 percent (27 of 78). Clift already has pushed past 200 points for the season, coming in with 218. The closest one to her – 5-11 freshman forward Delyssa Miller – has 84, having come off the bench in nine of the 10 games so far (Clift has started all 10). Miller is the team's best overall shooter at 52.5 percent (31 of 59), and has buried 9 of 20 from 3-point range (45 percent). Finding Clift for many of her baskets is 5-6 freshman guard Maddison Collyer. She is the Heartland's assists leader at 5.4 per game and has started six of Oklahoma Christian's 10 games.
 
 

EVERYTHING FROM MOST EVERYONE
Coaches everywhere love it when their players on the floor can do more than just score or rebound. In that regard, Julie Heisey had to love what she saw in Wednesday's win at Concordia Irvine.
 
The entire Seattle Pacific starting five – Courtney Hollander, Jordan McPhee, Julia Haining, Rachel Shim, and Lindsay Lee – along with reserves Erica Pagano and Hailee Bennett all had points, rebounds, assists and steals in the box score. That's seven of the nine who got into the game.
 
That's the second straight game the Falcons' starting five has pulled off that accomplishment, having also done so on Dec. 9 at home against Saint Martin's. In that one, three reserves also had points, rebounds, assists, and steals.

Through the first nine games, SPU has had at least three players in every game make a tally in all four columns.
 
However, no one has managed to do it in all nine games. Coming the closest is senior guard Lee, with eight. The only game in which she had a zero in one of those columns was no steals against Biola on Nov. 22.
 
MS. HOLLANDER'S OPUS
Concordia Irvine got a little more of Courtney Hollander than they would have liked last Wednesday night.
 
But for Seattle Pacific, there's no such thing as too much Hollander.

 

The senior, who normally can play forward or guard but moved into the post against the Eagles, came through with a career-high 25 points, making a career-high 11 field goals in the process as SPU prevailed, 74-67.
 
Hollander, an All-GNAC second-team selection last year and on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team this year for the second straight time, gave some hints in the first quarter about what kind of night might be coming, as she had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. By halftime, she had drained seven of 10 and was up to 15 points.
 
Heading into the final period, Hollander was at 21 points on 9 of 14 from the field. That left her just two points from her career high, and she already had matched her previous best by making those nine field goals.
 
She had back-to-back fourth-quarter baskets to tie her career high of 23 (a lay-in on a third-chance opportunity) and give SPU a 65-57 lead with 7:18 left in the game, then another lay-in at the 5:58 mark for her 24^th and 25^th points.
 
"I was just excited to finally get out there and get comfortable playing," Hollander said. "I feel like I've struggled the last couple games, so it was good to find a flow. Having a point guard like Rachel (Shim) on the floor was a big help tonight." (Of Shim's four assists, two went to Hollander.)
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Seattle Pacific led for all but a few moments of the first quarter to beat Concordia Irvine in a non-conference women's basketball game last Wednesday night in CU Arena, 74-67, notching their third straight victory.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
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 99)
400th point         Rachel Shim (has 382)
600th rebound       Cici West (has 589)
                    Courtney Hollander (has 576)
900th point         Courtney Hollander (has 844)
                    Jordan McPhee (has 829)
 
Made last week
300th field goal    Courtney Hollander (has 309)
 
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific is at No. 19 in the latest WBCA national coaches poll, released on Dec. 12. The Falcons collected 160 points in the voting.
 
Once again, Ashland of Ohio is a unanimous No. 1, receiving all 24 first-place votes and 600 points. Alaska Anchorage 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 most recent (Dec. 11) 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 (+8.8)
– 43rd in scoring margin (+14.0)
– 44th in defensive rebounds (29.0)
– 44th in free throw shooting (.757)
– 46th in rebounding (43.2)
--49th in assist / turnover ratio (1.06)
 
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
Alaska Anchorage has emerged as the final unbeaten team in the GNAC, and one of just 11 unbeatens in Division II. Montana State Billings was hit with its first defeat on Saturday, dropping a 74-69 decision to Drury at the Oahu Christmas Classic. The Yellowjackets are now 9-1 overall. Anchorage (10-0) became the first GNAC school with double-digit wins, climbing to 10-0 by winning at Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday, 87-76.
 
Dominican remains alone atop the Pacific West Conference at 4-0, and is 10-2 overall. Dixie State is still undefeated in conference play at 2-0, and has a 6-3 overall record. Azusa Pacific, tied for No. 20 in the latest WBCA national poll, continues to post the best overall record in the Pac West at 12-2, and is 3-1 in conference play.
 
UC San Diego has the final perfect record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association at 3-0. The Tritons also have the best overall mark of 7-2. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which has been unbeaten in CCAA play, dropped a 78-66 decision at home to Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 14. That left the Toros at 4-1 in conference, Humboldt State is 5-1 in the CCAA and 6-5 overall, thanks to a still-intact five-game winning streak.
 
UP NEXT: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GNAC
Regardless of outcome, Monday's game will be Seattle Pacific's final tune-up before going all-in on the GNAC schedule, which will encompass the final 17 games of the regular season. That schedule starts with a tough challenge at home against Montana State Billings on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 5:15 p.m. The Yellowjackets are 9-0 heading into this weekend's three-game Oahu Christmas Classic, and are led senior Alisha Breen, the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and a recent Division II National Player of the Week.
 
The SPU-Billings game will be the opener of a doubleheader, followed by the Falcon men against arch-rival Western Washington at 7:30 p.m.
 

GNAC STANDINGS
                                                        Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage             3-0        10-0
Montana State Billings       2-0         9-1
Seattle Pacific              2-1         8-1
Northwest Nazarene           1-1         5-2
Concordia-Portland           1-1         6-3
Western Oregon               1-1         5-3
Central Washington           1-1         5-5
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