THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Nov. 20                   Holy Names at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast       Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with updated season statistics (PDF)

SEATTLE – Certainly, the Seattle Pacific Falcons are thankful that they've been showing marked improvement from game to game.
 
Before taking a brief breather for Thursday's holiday, they'd be even more thankful if they could earn a reward in the form of their first win of the season.
 
SPU will get another shot at notching that so-far-elusive initial victory on Tuesday night when it welcomes Holy Names to Brougham Pavilion for a non-conference contest. Tip-off against the Pacific West Conference's Hawks is at 7:00.
 
The Falcons (0-4) are seeking to shake off a pair of losses from last week's Sodexo Classic in Brougham Pavilion. They came up short against Azusa Pacific, 67-58, then dropped an 83-72 decision to UC San Diego, as the Tritons came back from a nine-point third-quarter deficit.
 
Either way, one team is going to collect its first 'W', as the Hawks come in at 0-3.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Tuesday's game will have live stats and a free live Webcast. Maxwell Gun will be calling the play-by-play. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TICKET TALK
Ticket prices are $10 for reserved seats for all ages, $7 for adult general admission, and $5 for youths, students, and senior citizens. Children 2 and under are free. SPU students, faculty, and staff will be admitted free with a valid current identification card.
 
A new ticketing system, which will allow online ordering and payment by credit card at Brougham Pavilion ticket windows, is up and operating. Cash will continue to be accepted at the ticket windows, as well.
 
HOFF HAULS 'EM IN
Coming up with a 10 or more rebounds is an impressive night's work for anyone. Even veteran players will acknowledge that's not an easy thing to do.
 
 

Natalie Hoff hasn't reached veteran status yet. But the Falcon freshman has reached double-digits on the boards.
 
In last Friday's Sodexo Classic contest against Azusa Pacific, Hoff cleaned the glass 12 times. That's a team-high in this still-young season.
 
Through the first four games, she is the second Falcon to reach those double digits. Redshirt senior Cici West grabbed 10 against Humboldt State on Nov. 10, and was just shy of that in two other games, collecting nine against Fresno Pacific on Nov. 9, and nine more last Saturday versus UC San Diego.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- With a win, the Falcons can avoid an 0-5 start. The only time that happened in program history was 1982.
-- Holy Names is one of the more recent additions to NCAA Division II, having joined the Pacific West Conference in 2012.
-- This will be the second game between the Falcons and Hawks. The first one was in 2014 when SPU cruised to an 82-46 victory in the Las Vegas Challenge. None of the current Falcons were at SPU at that time.
-- Holy Names is the third of four Pac West opponents SPU will play. The Falcons already have gone against Fresno Pacific and Azusa Pacific, and will visit Concordia Irvine on Dec. 19.
-- Through the first four games, Seattle Pacific has three players averaging double-figure points: 14.3 for senior guard Riley Evans, and 11.5 for both senior guard Jaylee Albert and sophomore guard Hailee Bennett.
-- Evans' average ranks No. 10 in the GNAC.
-- Redshirt senior Cici West is one of the conference's best rebounders and one of its best shooters. She's averaging 8.8 boards per game to rank No. 4. That average includes 5.8 at the defensive end and 3.0 at the offensive end. West is shooting at a 55.2 percent clip from the field, draining 16 of her 29 shots.
-- As a team, the Falcons are hitting 42.8 percent from the floor, tied for No. 3 among GNAC teams.
-- SPU had its best ball-handling game of the season last Saturday, committing just 12 turnovers against UC San Diego.
-- The Falcons' nine-point lead in the third quarter against the Tritons was their largest of the season in any game. They had three leads of eight points versus Humboldt State on Nov. 10.
 
SCOUTING THE HOLY NAMES HAWKS: 0-3, 0-0 PAC WEST
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 82, HNU 46 (Dec. 18, 2014 at Las Vegas). Hawks on the Web.
Hawks in a nutshell: Holy Names lost to both Alaska schools – 92-52 against Anchorage, 79-72 against Fairbanks – at the San Francisco State Gator Invitational on Veteran's Day weekend, then fell at home to Chico state in a non-conference contest last Tuesday, 72-54. Redshirt junior center Onjalise Carley-Hilliard, a 6-footer, is averaging 16.3 points per game, and went for 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Chico State. For the season, she is hitting 55.9 percent (19 of 34) from the floor. Carley-Hilliard is one of just two 6-footers on the team (junior forward Gernijah Martin is the other.) Ariana Hernandez, a 5-foot-1 senior guard, is averaging 13.3 points through those three games. Sophomore 5-11 guard Monica Valenzuela is chipping in 9.0 per game. Even with all of that, points haven't come easily, as Holy Names averages just 59.33 per game, which is 25 fewer than the 81.0 it is allowing.
 
SIMONSON SAYS …
(On SPU's stepped-up play against UC San Diego)
"We put up a much better fight. We withstood runs better throughout most of the game. That's what we're preaching every day. We took the fight to them, which we really haven't done (in the first three games). UCSD had to adjust to our intensity, and I'm really proud of our team for setting that tone."
 
 

(On the speed-it-up offense)
"We played confident. The pace of the game was what we wanted it to be. We really were able to push the tempo and had them on their heels. Jaylee Albert is the one who really does a great job of pushing the pace. Every missed shot, every made shot, we really try to push the tempo to get the defense on their heels. I thought (Saturday against UCSD) was the first night where you could really feel it in the gym how fast we wanted to play."
 
(On the improved rebounding)
"Rebounding was a non-negotiable going into the (San Diego) game. We were ahead of them on the boards all the way into the fourth quarter. Cici West (with nine rebounds) had the best game she has played. She was locked in and ready to go. That's what she needs to be night in and night out."
 
 

TRIPLE THREAT … MAKE THAT TREY THREAT
At 6-foot-2, one would expect senior center Carly Rataushk to battle with other players in around-the-rim traffic jams for her points. And most of the time, she does.
 
But Rataushk also can catch opponents off guard when she launches one from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Doesn't happen often – matter of fact, the has taken just six tries from downtown during her career. But Rataushk has nailed five of them. The latest came in the opening minutes of last Friday in the 67-58 loss to Azusa Pacific. That gave SPU a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th point     Kaprice Boston (has 94)
100^th rebound   Carly Rataushk (has 94)
200^th point     Riley Evans (has 194)
300^th point     Jaylee Albert (has 313)
               Carly Rataushk (has 261)
600^th point     Cici West (has 589)
1,000^th point   Jade Skidmore (has 889)
 
MADE LAST WEEK
300^th point     Jaylee Albert (has 313)
 
AROUND THE WEST
The GNAC still has three undefeated teams after the first two weekends of the season. Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, and Northwest Nazarene all have 4-0 records. Alaska Fairbanks and Concordia-Portland are right on their heels at 3-1.
 
In the California Collegiate Athletic Association, four teams are still batting a thousand. UC San Diego is 4-0, including wins against Western Washington and Seattle Pacific last weekend. Chico State has a 3-0 ledger; Cal State Los Angeles and Humboldt State are both 2-0. Conference play begins this Friday.
 
Hawaii Hilo is the only Pacific West team with a perfect mark. The Vulcans swept two home games from Multnomah of Oregon last weekend. Azusa Pacific is 3-1. Its perfect record went down last Saturday in Brougham Pavilion when Lexie Bland's 3-pointer went down as the buzzer was sounding to give Western Washington a 77-74 victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will have nine days to get ready for the start of their GNAC schedule. They'll open at home, hosting Concordia-Portland next Thursday, Nov. 29, at 5:15 p.m., followed by Western Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 5:15. Both games are the openers of doubleheaders with the Seattle Pacific men. They will play host to Northwest Nazarene on the 29^th and Central Washington on the 1^st, both at 7;30 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference              Overall
Alaska Anchorage          0-0            4-0
Central Washington        0-0            4-0
Northwest Nazarene        0-0            4-0
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0            3-1
Concordia-Portland        0-0            3-1
Montana State Billings    0-0            2-1
Simon Fraser              0-0            2-1
Western Washington        0-0            2-2
Saint Martin's            0-0            1-2
Western Oregon            0-0            1-3
Seattle Pacific           0-0            0-4