THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Jan. 11                Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Jan. 13                Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7:00 p.m.
                                                West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
         Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons will bring some winning momentum onto the road with them this week.
 
And it couldn't come at a better time.
 
After splitting last week's two games – but getting a convincing win in the second of those contests – SPU heads north on Interstate 5 Thursday afternoon for a Great Northwest Athletic Contest at Western Washington. On Saturday, the Falcons head even farther north, crossing the border into Canada to take on Simon Fraser in Burnaby.
 
Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
Things did not end well last Thursday in Brougham Pavilion, a Seattle Pacific's fourth-quarter comeback fell short against Northwest Nazarene, 58-57. That gave an added sense of urgency to the game against Central Washington just 48 hours later, and the Falcons responded with a 62-43romp, past the Wildcats.
 
That pushed SPU's win total into double digits, as it will bring a 10-3 record (4-2 GNAC) into Bellingham.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both games this week, 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.
 
TICKET TALK
Several Falcon fans often make the trip to Western Washington. For those who do, ticket prices are $15 for reserved seating, and $10 for general admission. They are available at the ticket window, or can be purchased online by clicking on this link. http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase   At Simon Fraser, tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for visiting students (with proper student identification).   
 
IT'S BACK TO CARVER
For the first time in three years, the Falcons will get to play in Carver Gymnasium on the Western Washington campus. The newly renovated facility opened this fall in time for the volleyball season, and both Viking basketball teams are back there, as well.
 
SPU played the past two winters in Whatcom CC Pavilion.
 
Over the years, the Falcons and Vikings have played 44 times in Carver, with Western owning a 31-13 advantage. However, Seattle Pacific won its last two games before the remodel: 68-62 on Feb. 1, 2014, and 74-64 on Jan. 1, 2015. In the interim, WWU won both games at Whatcom: 60-43 in 2016, and 71-53 in 2017.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Seattle Pacific is 4-1 in true road games, and 6-2 overall away from Brougham Pavilion.
-- After each of its three losses this season (which have been by a combined total of eight points), SPU has bounced back to win its next game: 87-52 at Western Oregon (after falling 59-57 at Concordia-Portland), 70-61 vs. Montana State Billings (after75-70 defeat to Oklahoma Christian), and 62-43 vs. Central Washington (following 58-57 loss to Northwest Nazarene).
-- The toughest quarter for the Falcons to put points on the board has been the third, with 193. They have topped 200 in the other quarters: 262 in the first, 260 in the second, and 213 in the fourth.
-- Conversely, the fourth quarter has been their best at keeping opponents off the board, allowing just 173 points, compared to 200 in the first, 220 in the second, and 187 in the third.
-- Senior guard Jordan McPhee has led Seattle Pacific's scorers in four straight games: 19 against both Oklahoma Christian and Montana State Billings, 13 against Northwest Nazarene, and 14 against Central Washington. She has led the way in seven games altogether, and was the co-leader in one other game.
--Senior center Julia Haining has been the team's leading rebounder in six games, and Courtney Hollander in four. Those two also shared the top total in one game, each grabbing seven at Concordia Irvine.
-- Haining went for double-digit boards in both Bellingham and Burnaby last season: 10 against the Vikings, 12 against the Clan.
-- However, the Falcons had just one double-digit scorer in the two games against Western. Now-graduated Brianne Lasconia had 10 on the road; Erica Pagano tallied 10 at home.
-- Redshirt senior guard Rachel Shim logged her career scoring high against Simon Fraser, going for 17 points when the teams played in Seattle last Feb. 11.
-- A pair of Falcon seniors come into the week sitting at 99 on one of their personal stats lists: Erica Pagano has made that many free throws, and Lindsay Lee has that many rebounds.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 10-15 vs. Western Washington and coach Carmen Dolfo. She is 7-10 against Simon Fraser and coach Bruce Langford.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 6-8, 2-4 GNAC (tie 7th)
All-time series: WWU leads, 58-29. Current series streak: WWU won 4. Last time: WWU 69, SPU 50 (Feb. 9, 2017 at Seattle). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Western graduated six players from last year, four of whom started all 32 games and accounted for 55 points per game: Taylor Peacocke, Tia Briggs, Kiana Gandy, and Jessica Valley. That foursome accounted for 57 of 71 points in one game against the Falcons, and 59 of 69 in the other. The Vikings are always primed to play SPU, and will be even more so this week, as they seek to snap a three-game losing streak. However, all three of those games were close: 64-54 against Alaska Anchorage, 70-61 at Concordia-Portland, and 54-50 at Western Oregon. WWU has four players averaging in double figures, led by the 13.1 points per game of 6-foot-1 senior forward / center Hannah Stipanovich. There are three other players in the 10s: 5-8 redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda (10.7), 6-2 junior forward / center Nikki Corbett (10.5), and 5-7 sophomore guard Dani Iwami (10.4). Anna Schwecke, a 6-1 sophomore forward, grabs a team-leading 8.4 rebounds per game to go along with 7.2 points.
 
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 7-7, 2-4 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: Simon leads, 21-10. Current series streak: Simon won 2. Last time: Simon 72, SPU 60 (Feb. 11, 2017 at Seattle). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Like Western, Simon Fraser lost some big scoring power from last year, as Meg Wilson (14.2 per game, 35 in two games combined against SPU), Ellen Kett (12.2, 33 vs. SPU), Elise Homer (9.8, 19 vs. SPU), and Rachel Fradgley (9.5, 21, plus 14 rebounds vs. SPU) are gone. Just seven players have seen regular action this season. One of those is 5-foot-11 junior forward Sophie Swant, who scores a team-leading 13.4 points per game and also leads the way on the boards with a 5.6 average. Swant has three teammates who also average double-digit points: 6-foof redshirt sophomore guard Nicole Vander Helm (12.6), 6-3 junior center Tayla Jackson (11.9), and 5-9 redshirt freshman guard Jessica Jones (10.4). Jones has one game of 30 points and another of 23; Jackson has a 25- and a 23-pointer. Jones and 5-7 sophomore point guard Tayler Drynan have the eye from downtown, as Jones has drained 30 (shooting .337 from there), and Drynan had buried 28 (shooting .389). Jackson has the Clan's best overall shooting mark of .450 (63 of 140).
 
DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE
Thanks to a pair of solid efforts last week, the Falcons have become the GNAC's least-generous defensive team.
 
Seattle Pacific is allowing exactly 60 points per night (780 through 13 games). It began last week allowing 61.7, so sliced nearly two points off that average, thanks to allowing just 58 to Northwest Nazarene and a season-low 43 to Central Washington.
 
In fact, although the average allowed is 60, opponents are sometimes finding it tough even to get that many. Of the 13 other teams they've played so far, only six have topped 60. Of the seven who haven't gotten that many, two didn't even reach 50 against the Falcons. In addition to just 43 for Central, Humboldt State managed just 49 in the season opener.
 
SPU moved ahead of Alaska Anchorage in the defensive rankings. The Seawolves, who have finished atop that list for the last three seasons, are right behind at just 60.7 allowed through 14 games. The next-best team is Concordia-Portland, yielding 63.0 through 14.
 
WHEN A NEGATIVE IS A POSTIVE
Northwest Nazarene arrived in Seattle last week averaging a GNAC-high 83.3 points per game. The Falcons kept them 25 points below that, allowing just 58, although the Nighthawks still pulled out a 58-57 victory.
 
Central Washington was putting an average of 71.4 on the board, but was 28 points below that in a 62-43 SPU win. That made for a combined total of 53 points below the scoring average for those two teams.
 
But just about everyone else is getting the same stingy defensive treatment from the Falcons.
 
Team                          Avg     Actual   Difference
Humboldt St.    56.3   49     -7
Fresno Pacific  72.0   70     -2
Azusa Pacific   82.2   69     -13
UC San Diego    67.6   59     -8
Biola           63.3   52     -11
Conc.-Portland  69.2   59     -10
Western Oregon  73.6   52     -21
Saint Martin's  69.0   66     -3
Conc-Irvine     60.9   67      6
Okla. Christian 78.7   75     -3
MSU Billings    72.7   61     -11
NW Nazarene     83.3   58     -25
C. Washington   71.2   43     -28
 
The averages above are immediately prior to that particular game. As the list shows, 12 of the 13 opponents have scored below their average, with eight of those double-digits below their average. Or looked at another way, SPU has kept its opponents a combined 136 points below their averages.

 

COACH JULIE HEISEY SAYS …
(On WWU and Simon Fraser)
"They always shoot the ball really well, and they're well-coached teams. Even though they're both young because they lost a lot of experience from last year, they still have a lot of good players. It's always going to be hard at Western and it's always going to be hard at Simon Fraser. Western is going to be physical, and Simon Fraser is always going to shoot a lot of 3's and spread the floor."
 
(On bouncing back from the NNU loss to beat Central)
"The GNAC is tough – anybody can beat anybody on any given night. We have to be able to focus on the task at hand, and not look ahead or look behind. Although we lost on Thursday, NNU is a very good team and we did a lot of good things. We have to build on the good and find ways to improve on the other. We have a lot to work on if we're going to keep growing."
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- SPU went more than seven minutes without a point during the third quarter, and a fourth-quarter comeback fell short last Thursday as it dropped a 58-57 decision to Northwest Nazarene in Brougham Pavilion. Jordan McPhee pumped in 13 points, but was the only player in double figures for the Falcons.
-- McPhee scored 14 points and had seven rebounds, and Seattle Pacific limited Central Washington to just 13 first-half points last Saturday on the way to a 62-43 rout of the Wildcats.
 
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 (1 season / 3 career)
19 pts-10reb vs. Oklahoma Christian, Dec. 18
 
MARKING A MILESTONE
In reach

100th free throw   Erica Pagano (has 99)
100th rebound      Lindsay Lee (has 99)
300th point        Julia Haining (has 276)
400th point        Rachel Shim (has 391)
600th rebound      Cici West (has 589)
900th point        Jordan McPhee (has 894)
                   Courtney Hollander (has 879)
 
Made last week
200th point        Jaylee Albert (has 202)
300th field goal   Jordan McPhee (has 302)
600th rebound      Courtney Hollander (has 604)
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 302 programs in D2, SPU is …
– 32nd in rebounding margin ( 7.2)
-- 32nd in steals per game (10.8)
-- 40th in rebounds per game (43.15)
-- 39th in fewest turnovers (186)
-- 42nd in assist / turnover ratio (1.09)
-- 45th in defensive rebounds per game (29.0)
-- 46th in turnovers per game (14.3)
 
In addition, senior guard Jordan McPhee is 46th nationally (and No. 2 in the GNAC) in steals per game at 2.46.
 
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.
 
POLLING PLACE
SPU is No. 5 in the D2SIDA West Region poll, released on Monday. The Falcons were No. 4 before splitting last week's home games with Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Alaska Anchorage is still No. 1, with five of the six first-place votes. The other first-place vote went to UC San Diego. Azusa Pacific is No. 3, and NNU moved up to No. 4, followed by Seattle Pacific. This poll is voted on by a select group of sports information directors.
 
Seattle Pacific is not in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association national top 25 or on the "others receiving votes" list. Ashland of Ohio (15-0) remains a unanimous No. 1. Alaska Anchorage is still No. 6, and Azusa Pacific of the Pac West remained at No. 18.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage had just one game last week, routing Montana State Billings by 21 points on the road to remain the only unbeaten team in GNAC play at 6-0 (13-1 overall). The Seawolves closest pursuer is now Northwest Nazarene, which swept its road games at Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's, and is 5-1, with a 9-2 overall record. SPU, Concordia-Portland, and Billings are knotted for third at 4-2. Concordia and NNU each have four-game winning streaks.
 
UC San Diego, riding a nine-game winning streak, now has a two-game lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons are 13-2 overall (one of those losses being 65-59 to Seattle Pacific in November). Cal Poly Pomona, which has won six straight, is 7-2, with a 10-4 overall record. Humboldt State, which had seven in a row, saw that streak end with a 64-63 loss at UCSD last Friday, then fell 68-63 at Cal State San Marcos on Saturday. Humboldt plays host to Pomona on Thursday.
 
Dominican had been the final team with a perfect Pacific West Conference record, but no more. The Penguins were blown out twice on the road last week: 94-76 at Cal Baptist, 93-79 at Dixie State. They are now 10-4 overall, 4-2 in the conference. Azusa Pacific, with a 16-2 overall record, now leads the way at 7-1, with Hawaii Pacific (11-2 overall) two back in the win column at 5-1.

 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wind up the first half of GNAC play next week in Brougham Pavilion when Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage visit. The Nanooks are in on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m., the second half of a doubleheader that starts with a 5:15 game between the SPU and Montana State Billings men. Then on Saturday the 20th, Anchorage comes to town for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
 

GNAC STANDINGS
                                              Conference     Overall
Alaska Anchorage       6-0       13-1
Northwest Nazarene     5-1        9-2
Seattle Pacific        4-2       10-3
Concordia-Portland     4-2       10-4
Montana State Billings 4-2       10-5
Central Washington     3-3        7-7
Simon Fraser           2-4        7-7
Western Oregon         2-4        6-6
Western Washington     2-4        6-8
Saint Martin's         1-5        5-9
Alaska Fairbanks       0-6        4-8