Complete GNAC release / poll / quick facts (PDF)
 
PORTLAND, Ore. – With so many changes between the end of last season and the start of the upcoming one, the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team certainly will have some challenges in front of them. One in particular that the Falcons are eager to take on:
 
Exceed expectations.
 
That will come to the forefront when the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of the schedule rolls around on the calendar. The Falcons have been tabbed for a seventh-place finish in the preseason poll of the 11 GNAC coaches.
 
SPU received 55 points in the voting. Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage were in a near dead heat for the favorite's role. NNU received six first-place votes and 116 points; UAA collected the other five firsts and wound up with 115 points. Those two teams tied for last year's regular-season title with 18-2 records.
 
"Our conference is very strong. So when you lose six seniors, including some All-GNAC players (Courtney Hollander, Jordan McPhee, and Rachel Shim), I understand that the teams in our conference are going to pick us a little bit lower," first-year head coach Mike Simonson said. "Especially when some other teams are very strong and return a bunch."
 
The Falcons are coming off a 23-8 campaign that included a 15-5 mark in the conference, good for third place. Seattle Pacific then made its first-ever appearance in the GNAC Tournament championship game. That was followed by the program's 18th appearance in the NCAA West Regionals, this one with an all-senior starting lineup of Lindsay Lee, Rachel Shim, Jordan McPhee, Courtney Hollander, and Julia Haining.
 
But the 2018-19 SPU squad will have a much different look. That starts at the top with Simonson, who moved up from his lead assistant coach position after Julie Heisey stepped down this past June after 13 years at the helm.
 
 

"We understand what it takes in this conference to be successful," Simonson said. "Even though we're inexperienced, the ladies on this team have seen championship basketball and know what it takes, and they're excited to get on the court and execute it."
 
The Falcons have five letterwinners returning. That group includes senior guard Riley Evans, who was named last week as a unanimous pick to the GNAC's Preseason All-Conference team. Evans averaged 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds last winter. She had a three-game stretch in which she tallied a career scoring high each time: nine points against Alaska Fairbanks, 13 against Alaska Anchorage, and 20 against Saint Martin's.
 
Senior guard Jaylee Albert played in all 31 games last year, with eight starts. She averaged 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 20.5 minutes per game. Albert dished at least one assist in 29 of the 31 games.
 
 

Senior center Carly Rataushk and sophomore guard Hailee Bennett also saw regular action. Bennett played in 29 games, averaging 3.6 points, and as one of SPU's most reliable players at the free throw line, hitting 85.7 percent (24 of 28).Rataushk averaged 4.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 27 games, and hit a solid 47.1 percent from the field (56 of 119). She topped 50 percent shooting in 12 of those games.
 
The other veteran returners – junior guard Madi Hingston, redshirt senior guard Cici West, and junior center Jane Grisley – all saw very limited playing time last year due to injuries.
 
Back for her second year as a Falcon but her first year of action is 5-9 guard Rachel Berg, who was the 2017 Nisqually League MVP while at Bellevue Christian High School, just across Lake Washington from Seattle.
 
"We have some good pieces that didn't get to play a lot last year that will surprise the GNAC," Simonson said.
 
A trio of talented freshmen all bring impressive credentials. Natalie Hoff, a 6-foot-2 forward from Beaverton, Oregon, was a 2018 McDonald's All-American. Bayley Brennan, a 5-6 point guard from Post Falls, Idaho, was named to the 5A Idaho All-State first team. Ashley Alter, a 5-11 guard / forward from Stanwood (just north of Seattle) was the 3A / 2A Wesco Conference Player of the Year in 2017.
 
Jade Skidmore leads a group of three transfers. The 5-foot-7 junior point guard led Walla Walla Community College to the Northwest Athletic Conference championship in March, averaging 16.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists as the Warriors went 32-1 and finished the season on a 30-game winning streak.
 
Kaprice Boston, a 5-10 sophomore guard, joins the Falcons after spending last season at Division I Northern Arizona. She appeared in 29 games with three starts, averaging 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.
 
Leitasi Cravens did not play last year, but was with Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California, during the 2016-17 season.
 
The Falcons play host to George Fox University in an exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 4:00 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. The official season opener will be on Friday, Nov. 9, against Fresno Pacific at the Western Washington West Region Crossover Classic in Bellingham, tipping off at 5:00 p.m.
 
SPU will host the annual Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17, taking on a pair of 2018 NCAA West Region qualifiers: Azusa Pacific on the first night, UC San Diego on the second, both at 5:00 p.m.
 
Season tickets for SPU women's basketball are available now. For information, please visit the following online link:  http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com/season-tickets
 
 
2018-19 GNAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
 
School (1^st-place votes)                         2017-18 record (GNAC place)         Points
1.   Northwest Nazarene (6)    22-5  (18-2, tie 1^st)       116
2.   Alaska Anchorage (5)      27-5  (18-2, tie 1^st)       115
T3.  Simon Fraser              14-15 (9-11, 6^th)            83
T3.  Western Washington        12-16 (8-12, tie 7^th)        83
5.   Central Washington        15-14 (11-9, 5^th)            77
6.   Concordia-Portland        14-14 (8-12, tie 7^th)        76
7.   Seattle Pacific           23-8  (15-5, 3^rd)            55
8.   Montana State Billings    25-12 (12-8, 4^th)            46
9.   Saint Martin's             8-20 (4-16, 10^th)           36
10.  Western Oregon            11-15 (7-13, 9^th)            27
11.  Alaska Fairbanks           4-22 (0-20, 11^th)           12