THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 29               Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Dec. 1                  Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2.650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – Sure, every game counts. But some count more than  others.
 
For the Seattle Pacific Falcons, that means Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. And those start this week.
 
The Falcons open the GNAC portion of their women's basketball schedule on Thursday when Concordia-Portland comes to Brougham Pavilion. Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m. Following the Cavaliers, SPU will play host to Western Oregon on Saturday, also at 5:15 p.m.
 
This will be the first time during the just-getting-started season that Seattle Pacific (1-4) will bring some winning momentum into the week. That is courtesy of last Tuesdays 84-73 non-conference victory against Holy Names.
 
In fact, all three schools are coming off of W's, and coming in well-rested. Along with SPU, both Concordia and Western Oregon played their most recent games before Thanksgiving, and both won: the Cavaliers 72-71 over Humboldt state, and the Wolves 69-64 over Colorado Mesa.
 
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.
 
FALCONS PICKED FOR 7^TH IN GNAC
Seattle Pacific has been tabbed for a seventh-place finish in the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference season.
 
SPU received 55 points in the voting by the conference's 11 coaches. 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.
 
LET'S PLAY TWO TODAY
Both of this week's games are parts of doubleheaders. The SPU men will follow the women onto the court both nights, playing Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday. Both tip off at 7:30 p.m.
 
On the GNAC docket, the Falcon women will be part of six twin bills this winter.
 
Along with the two coming up against the Oregon schools, other home doubleheaders will be on Thursday, Jan. 31, and Thursday, Feb. 21. In both of those, the women will play the second game: Montana State Billings on the January date, and Alaska Anchorage in February. The men have the 5:15 game, facing Simon Fraser in January and Billings in February.
 
SPU's women are the opening game in a pair of road doubleheaders, when they visit Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 10, and at Central Washington on Jan. 12.
 
The Falcons already have been on a multi-game docket four times, as part of their two preseason tournaments.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Through the first 17 years of GNAC play, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington are deadlocked for the best conference record. Both teams have 234 wins and 72 losses against conference opponents (.765 winning percentage).
-- The Falcons started last year seven games behind the Vikings. SPU was 219-67, WWU was 226-20. Seattle Pacific pulled even by going 15-5 while the Vikings were 8-12.
-- During those same 17 years, SPU has the best overall record of 382-116 (.767). Next on the list is Western Washington at 362-137 (.725).
--The games versus the Oregon schools will mark the fourth year in a row that the Falcons have opened GNAC play against them.
--SPU swept the weekend in 2015 at home and in 2016 on the road. Last year, the Falcons had to settle for a split: a 59-57 loss at Concordia in Portland, followed by an 87-52 rout of Western Oregon in Monmouth.
--When those teams came to Brougham Pavilion  to wind up the regular season, Seattle Pacific won both: 73-68 against WOU, 72-65 against Concordia.
--After being limited to just eight points for the game in Portland, Maltezo erupted for 23 points off the bench in Seattle last Feb. 24.
-- The Falcons are 15-2 all-time in GNAC openers. That includes 7-0 at home.
-- Aside from last year's game at Concordia, SPU's only other conference-opening loss was 79-74 at Simon Fraser in 2011.
-- At one time, the Falcons had a 28-game winning streak against Western Oregon. That ended on Jan. 28, 2012, when the Wolves won in Monmouth, 79-74.
-- Seattle Pacific has won 10 of the 12 games since then.
-- After hitting 50 percent (12 of 24) from behind the arc against Holy Names last Tuesday, SPU now has the best 3-point percentage in the GNAC at 38.9. Right behind are Central Washington and Montana State Billings, both at 38.7.
-- Redshirt senior forward / guard Cici West is among the GNAC's top 10 in two categories: No. 3 in rebounding at 9.4, and No. 4 in field goal shooting at .579.
--Senior guard Riley Evans is No. 3 in GNAC scoring at 17.2 points per game. Her 14 makes from downtown is tied for the fourth-highest total in the conference.
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA-PORTLAND CAVALIERS: 4-1, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 9-2. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 72, CU 65 (Feb. 24, 2018 at Seattle). Cavaliers on the Web.
Cavaliers in a nutshell: Concordia is off to a quick start, and is coming off an almost-wire-to-wire 72-71 win against Humboldt State on Nov. 20. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 6 in this week's D2SIDA West Regional poll. Leading the way is 5-foot-4 junior guard Kizzah Maltezo, averaging 16.2 points per game, the only Concordia player in double figures. Maltezo went for 27 points against Humboldt, the last two of which came at the free throw line with 11 seconds left in the game as the Cavs came from their only deficit of the night – 71-70 – to pull out the win. Olivia Vezaldenos, a 5-7 sophomore guard, averages 9.0 point, per game, followed closely by 5-6 senior guard Keesha Sarman at 8.8 and 55.6 percent shooting from the field. Sarman is big on the boards at 8.6 per game, and that's not even the team's leading average. Iraide Juez, a 6-2 junior forward, owns that number at 8.8 per game, with 25 of her 44 total boards coming at the offensive end. She also averages 5.4 points.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 1-3. 0-0 GNAC.
All-time series: SPU leads, 42-4. Current series streak: SPU won 7. Last time: SPU 73, WOU 68 (Feb. 22, 2018 at Seattle). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: Western Oregon hasn't played since Nov. 17 when it cracked the win column by downing Colorado Mesa at a tournament in Utah, 69-64. That was the highest-scoring game of the season for the Wolves, who have been in the 60s twice and in the 40s twice. Setting the pace on offense is 5-foot-11 senior forward Ali Nelke at 9.3 points per game. Most of what she puts up goes down, as she is shooting 66.7 percent (16 of 24). Nelke also is WOU's leader on the boards with an average of 7.0 per game. Close behind in the scoring department is 6-2 junior center Natalie DeLonge at 9.0. Doing some of everything is 5-6 sophomore guard Keyonna Jones. She averages 7.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and has dished a team-leading 12 assists. Tresai McCarver, a 5-5 freshman guard from Washington state Class 4A powerhouse Kentridge, averages 8.8 points off the bench and shoots a solid 52.2 percent (12 of 23).
 
SIMONSON SAYS …
(On coming back from the three-day Thanksgiving break)
"Typically when you have that long of a layoff, you're a little rusty when you come back. I was pretty surprised at how crisp we were on Saturday and Sunday. We had two really good practices over the weekend. It shows that we're eager and still hungry. Hopefully we can keep building on our win last week. We like the taste of the win. Hopefully, we get addicted to that."
 
 

(On Concordia-Portland)
"They have some good players that they've had playing for them for the last three years now, to the point where I think they're seasoned. I've seen a lot of pieces about their style of play that are impressive. They're going to test us in a lot of things, and we need to make sure we stay disciplined going into this game. (CU head coach) Sean Kelly has done a very good job of getting them to play hard, and they play fast in transition."
 
(On Western Oregon)
"Western Oregon has always been a very disciplined team and very gritty. They're scrappy and they'll be well-prepared. We need to make sure we hold down our turnovers in that game and that we rebound well. All the little things will matter in that game, for sure."
 
(On some individual standouts)
"Kaprice Boston had her best game last week. She's figuring some things out on the defensive and, and she's someone I've definitely seen coming out of her shell. Jade Skidmore has played very good basketball for us. We're hoping she can continue to keep growing. Cici West is averaging almost a double-double Her being consistent is a huge piece for us going forward.
 
CAREER HIGH DÉJÀ VU' FOR EVANS
When senior Riley Evans pumped in 25 points in an 83-72 loss to UC San Diego on Nov. 17, it was a career high with five points to spare, topping her previous mark of 20 achieved on the road against Saint Martin's this past Jan. 23.
 
 

But that new career high lasted for all of one game. Last Tuesday against Holy Names, Evans went two better than that, tallying 29 in an 84-73 victory.
 
Back-to-back career highs – especially with that many points – certainly is a big deal.
 
But Evans had done that back-to-back thing once already. Last Jan. 20 at home against Alaska Anchorage, she went for 13 points – her first time in double-digits – to help the Falcons knock off the No. 4-ranked Seawolves, 66-48. It was just three nights later when she went for the 20 at Saint Martin's to help the Falcons prevail, 94-76.
 
HINGSTON, BOSTON FILL IT UP
All Madi Hingston wanted was the opportunity. Now that she's getting it, the junior guard is making it work.
 
Coming off a sophomore season during which an injury limited her to just five games, Hingston has been on the floor for double-digit minutes in each of the last three games – 23 against Azusa Pacific, 29 against UC San Diego, and 17 last Tuesday against Holy Names. In the last of those three contests, she tossed in a career-high 13 points. Hingston was 3 of 3 from behind the 3-point arc and 4 of 4 at the foul line.
 
But she wasn't the only one for whom 13 was a lucky number. In that same Holy Names game, sophomore Kaprice Boston put that many points on the board, She also collected a career-high six rebounds. Her point total exceeded her previous best of 10, scored last year while at Division 1 Northern Arizona.
 
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
The Holy Names contest was just a good night overall when it came to career highs, as a total of seven were established.
 
For openers, there were the aforementioned scoring marks by Riley Evans, Madi Hingston and Kaprice Boston. Evans also logged a career-best four steals, and Boston had those six rebounds.
 
The other two belonged to redshirt freshman Rachel Berg, as she set new personal standards for rebounds (2) and assists (3).
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100^th field goal   Jaylee Albert (has 93)
100^th rebound      Carly Rataushk (has 99)
300^th assist       Jade Skidmore (has 291)
300^th point        Carly Rataushk (has 265)
600^th rebound      Jade Skidmore (has 585)
700^th rebound      Cici West (has 636)
1,000^th point      Jade Skidmore (has 901)
 
MADE LAST WEEK
100^th game         Cici West (has 100)
100^th point        Kaprice Boston (has 107)
200^th point        Riley Evans (has 223)
600^th point        Cici West (has 603)
 
AROUND THE WEST
As the GNAC schedule gets going this week, three teams head into it with perfect records. Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene are both 6-0; Central Washington has a 5-0 mark. One of those quick starts is destined to hit a speed bump on Thursday, as Anchorage visits Central in Ellensburg. Then on Saturday, the Seawolves are in Idaho to take on NNU. All 11 teams have at least one victory.
 
The California Collegiate Athletic Association already has begun conference play, and has two unbeaten teams remaining. UC San Diego is 5-0; Cal State Los Angeles has a 3-0 record. A pair of CCAA schools are still seeking their first wins of the year, as Stanislaus State is 0-3, and Cal State Monterey Bay is 0-5.
 
Just one undefeated remains in the Pacific West Conference, which gets its schedule started on Thursday. Hawaii Hilo has played just twice, but has won both games. The next best is Fresno Pacific at 3-1. Still seeking to crack the 'W' column are Concordia Irvine (0-4), Holy Names (0-5) and Point Loma Nazarene (0-5).
 
UP NEXT

The Falcons will be off for the entirety of next week to focus on fall quarter academic finals. They will return to action in their final home game of 2018 when they play host to Academy of Art on Wednesday, Dec. 12. That one has a rare weekday afternoon tip-off time of 2:00 p.m.
 
SPU then will play six in a row on the road, starting with the final two non-conference games of the year at Cal State Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 17, at 7:00 p.m., and at Concordia Irvine on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 1:00 p.m. The next home game won't be until Thursday, Jan. 17, when arch-rival Western Washington visits Brougham Pavilion for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference        Overall
Alaska Anchorage          0-0        6-0
Northwest Nazarene        0-0        6-0
Central Washington        0-0        5-0
Concordia-Portland        0-0        4-1
Simon Fraser              0-0        4-1
Montana State Billings    0-0        3-1
Western Washington        0-0        4-2
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0        3-3
Western Oregon            0-0        1-3
Saint Martin's            0-0        1-4
Seattle Pacific           0-0        1-4