THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 15               Seattle Pacific at No. 4 Alaska Anchorage, 8:00 p.m. PST
                                                Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 17                Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PST
                                                The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons already know that they're going to be spending at least part of their women's basketball postseason in Alaska.
 
But for this week, their only concerns are the two Great Northwest Athletic Conference games they'll be playing in The Last Frontier.
 
SPU heads out for its final regular-season road trip this week, visiting No. 4-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and then Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday. Tip-off for both games is at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
After consecutive road losses at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene to open February, the Falcons (18-5, 12-4 GNAC) got back on track at home last week with double-digit victories against Simon Fraser (68-49) and Western Washington (80-62).
 
That helped secure a berth in the GNAC Tournament, which will be played March 1-3 at UAA's Alaska Airlines Center.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's games will feature free live Webcasts and live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
THEY'RE IN
No more worrying about magic numbers or must-win games to get into the playoff picture. Seattle Pacific took care that last Saturday, securing a spot in the GNAC Tournament by defeating Western Washington, 80-62.
 
Heading into last week, the Vikings and Concordia-Portland were the only two teams who conceivably could have caught up with SPU in the standings. But now, while both of those schools still can make the tournament field (and potentially face the Falcons at some point), the most regular-season GNAC wins either of them can finish with is 11. Seattle Pacific already has 12.
 
Last year, the Falcons had to win their regular-season finale to qualify for the tournament. They did, beating Western Oregon, 70-60.  
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- Seniors Courtney Hollander and Lindsay Lee each hit their 100th career shot from 3-point range last Saturday.
--Thursday's game at Alaska Anchorage will be Seattle Pacific's third this season against a top-25 team. It won the first two: 80-69 at then-No. 16 Azusa Pacific on Nov. 17, and 66-48 vs. then-No. 4 Anchorage in Brougham Pavilion on Jan. 20. The Seawolves are No. 4 again this week.
--The Falcons have not won in Anchorage since March 6, 2010, a 67-60 victory in the regular-season finale.
--That also was the last time SPU polished off a sweep of the two-game regular-season series. It had beaten the Seawolves in Seattle prior to that, 57-42.
-- When the teams met in Seattle last month, the Falcons scored the first four points of the game, never trailed, and were never tied. The closest UAA came was 4-3.
-- As was the case last time, Seattle Pacific and Anchorage come in as the top two defensive teams in the GNAC. The Falcons are No. 1, allowing 60.5 points per game, and the Seawolves are No. 2 at 61.5. Last time, it was 60.4 for SPU and 60.7 for UAA.
-- Anchorage's defense forced 22 Seattle Pacific turnovers in the first game (leading to 19 points), but the Falcons forced 19 in return (resulting in 15 points).
-- A total of five players reached double figures in the Jan. 18 game against Alaska Fairbanks, led by the 14 points of Julia Haining.
-- The Falcons have lost their last two games at Fairbanks: 58-56 in 2016, and 63-61 in 2017, both in the final seconds.
-- Seattle Pacific is 10-4 outside of Brougham Pavilion this season: 8-3 in true road games, 2-1 on neutral courts.
-- Those four road losses have been by a combined 16 points: 1 at Concordia-Portland, 5 vs. Oklahoma Christian (at Lacey), 2 at Central Washington, and 7 at Northwest Nazarene.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 12-18 vs. Anchorage and 22-3 vs. Fairbanks.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 20-2, 15-1 GNAC (1^st)
All-time series: SPU leads, 40-29. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 66, UAA 48 (Jan. 20 at Seattle). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: After the loss in Seattle, UAA has put together another winning streak, this one now at six in a row coming into the week. Some of them have been close calls, such as last week on the road when itbeat Concordia in overtime, 73-69, then won at Western Oregon, 86-78. Hannah Wandersee, a 6-foot-2 junior forward / center, continues to lead the way in scoring at 14.3 points per game (No. 7 in the GNAC), and senior 6-foot forward Shelby Cloninger is right behind her at 13.8 (No. 10). Both are among the conference's best shooters. Wandersee ranks No. 3 at .511, and her 138 makes are the second-most behind the 162 of Billings' Alisha Breen. Cloninger is tied for No. 9 in shooting with SPU's Julia Haining at .477. She had 13 points and nine rebounds in the first game against the Falcons; Wandersee tacked on 12 points. Anchorage's pressing defense shows up clearly in the steals stats, with three of the top 4: No. 1 Yazmeen Goo (3.0 per game), No. 2 Kian McNair (2.8), and co-No. 4 Rodericka Ware (2.2).
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 4-18, 0-16 GNAC (11^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 58-16. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 86, UAF 54 (Jan. 18 at Seattle). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks has lost 13 straight games since sweeping a two-game series at home from Multnomah University of Portland on Dec. 17-18. The Nanooks were in position to end the skid last Saturday at Concordia-Portland. They took a one-point lead with 1:13 left in regulation, then climbed into a tie on 3-pointer by Emily Evans with four seconds to go, only to lose on a buzzer-beating lay-up by CU's Bailey Cartwright, 66-64. Sophomore 5-foot-9 guard Lexi Carpenter is the only Fairbanks player averaging in double-figure scoring, chalking up 12.9 points per game. Evans, a 5-9 junior guard, is next at 8.8, and 5-9 junior forward Ashlie Blackburn chips in 8.0 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. UAF plays some solid defense, limiting Alaska Anchorage to 63 points and Western Washington to 46 during the past month. It ranks in the middle of the conference in average points allowed at 67.0, but is on the bottom in offense at just 56.9 per game.
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander each scored 16 points – including the career 1,000^th for each of them – and the Falcons broke open the game with a 27-8 scoring outburst during the third quarter, going on to a 68-49 victory against Simon Fraser last Thursday.
--McPhee poured in 24 points, and SPU drained 11 shots from 3-point range last Saturday to defeat Western Washington, 80-62.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS ARE COMING
The first NCAA West Region rankings of the season are due out on Wednesday. Seattle Pacific, with its 18-5 overall record, is expected to be on that list, and likely somewhere in the top 8.
 
This will be the first of three sets of rankings, with others to follow on Feb. 21 and 28. Those rankings ultimately determine who gets into the NCAA Tournament. Each of the eight regions around the country has eight qualifiers for the 64-team bracket.
 
In the West, the three conference tournament champions (GNAC, California Collegiate, and Pacific West) automatically qualify. After that, the five highest-ranked teams that did not win their conference tournaments will fill out the eight-team regional field. The top-ranked team among those eight earns the right to host.
 
SENIOR NIGHT SET FOR FEB. 24
With the end of the regular season looming, SPU will honor its six graduating seniors when Concordia-Portland comes to Brougham Pavilion. The Cavaliers will be in town on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5:15 p.m.
 
Before tip-off, the Falcons will recognize the contributions of Julia Haining, Courtney Hollander, Lindsay Lee, Jordan McPhee, Erica Pagano, and Rachel Shim.
 
Haining, who dealt with injuries in previous years, is having by far the finest season of her career. Hollander and McPhee are both two-time preseason and postseason All-GNAC selections. Lee, in her first full year as a starter, is a go-to player when the Falcons need a basket from long range. Pagano is a solid contributor both as a starter and off the bench, and Shim has been a steady presence at the point guard spot.
 
It actually will be a double Senior Night for the Falcons, as the men will salute their seniors before the 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Northwest Nazarene.
 
1,000 DOWN, TOP 20 TO GO
 Now that seniors Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander both have reached 1,000 points for their careers, the next question is how far can they move up Seattle Pacific's scoring list before taking their final shots?
 

Last Thursday, those two became the 23^rd and 24^th players to reach the millennium scoring mark. McPhee, who now has 1,038 points, is in the No. 22 spot on the career list, and is just 13 points away from a place in the top 20. The No. 20 position currently belongs to Daesha Henderson, who tallied 1,051 points from 2007-10.
 
Hollander has 1,022 points and is in the No. 23 position. The player immediately ahead of her and McPhee is No. 21 Debbie Miller, with 1,041 points from 1995-98.
 
LITTLE THINGS ADDING UP FOR THE BIGS
At 6-foot, 6-foot, and 6-foot-2, it's reasonable to expect that the primary tasks for Courtney Hollander, Erica Pagano, and Julia Haining are to score, rebound – and of course, play defense.
 
The three of them do all of that very effectively. But they've also been doing a lot more.
 
Last Saturday, for instance, Hollander tied her career high with six assists. She also dished six against Montana State Billings on Dec. 28. In her past three games, Hollander has had five, four, and six assists.

 

Pagano also was on the lookout for open teammates in last Saturday's 80-62 win against Western Washington, recording three assists.

 

Then there's Haining, In the Simon Fraser game on Thursday, she tied her career high with four steals, to go along with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Against Western Washington, Haining set a career high with five assists, also adding four points, four boards, another steal, and a blocked shot. She has had at least one assist and one steal in 20 of the 23 games this season.
 


SHARPENING THEIR SHOOTING
Just six weeks ago as they headed into January, the Falcons ranked seventh among the11 GNAC teams for field goal shooting accuracy at 40.5 percent. The following week, they were down to an even 40 percent, although that actually ranked No. 5 in the conference.
 
Since then, it has been a steady climb. SPU was at 40.6 percent (No. 5) before the Jan. 18-20 games, 40.9 (No. 5) before Jan. 23-27, then 41.5 (No. 4) before Feb 1-3, and 41.8 (again No. 4) before last week's games.
 
And now? The Falcons come into this week at 42.4 percent, and have moved all the way up to No. 2 in the conference rankings. The only team ahead of them is Northwest Nazarene at an even 45 percent.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
In reach
100th free throw    Rachel Shim (has 96)
100th steal            Rachel Shim (has 96)
200th free throw   Courtney Hollander (has 176)
200th field goal     Erica Pagano (has 198)
300th free throw   Jordan McPhee (has 299)
500th point           Rachel Shim (has 473)
700th rebound      Courtney Hollander (has 654)
 
Made last week
100th 3-pointer     Lindsay Lee (has 100)
                           Courtney Hollander (has 100)
200th point          Carly Rataushk (has 201)
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 301 programs in D2, SPU is …
-- 29th in assists per game (16.4)
-- 30th in assist / turnover ratio (1.14)
-- 37th in total assists (377)
-- 42nd in rebound margin ( 5.8)
-- 42nd in steals per game (10.1)
-- 42nd in total steals (233)
-- 44th in scoring margin ( 12.3)
-- 44th in fewest turnovers (332)
 
Individually, Jordan McPhee ranks 42nd nationally in free throws made with 105, and 46th in free throws attempted with 137.
 
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
The Falcons climbed two spots to No. 6 in this week's D2SIDA West Region basketball poll, as voted on by a select group of sports information directors. SPU received 15 points in the voting. Alaska Anchorage remained a unanimous No. 1.
 
Seattle Pacific did not receive any votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association top 25 national poll. Ashland of Ohio (24-0) is still a unanimous No. 1, and Alaska Anchorage moved up two spots to No. 4.
 
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene, and Seattle Pacific all have secured their places in the GNAC Tournament. However, everything – including the top two seeds and the accompanying first-round byes – is still officially up for grabs. Also up for grabs are the final three spots in the six-team tournament. Heading into this week, only Saint Martin's and Alaska Fairbanks have been mathematically eliminated from making the tourney.
 
UC San Diego has clinched the regular-season title and No. 1 tournament seed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons are 17 in conference play and 21-3 overall with four games left. The next four places, however, are very much undetermined, as Cal Poly Pomona (13-6), Humboldt State (12-6), Cal State Los Angeles (12-7) and Chico State (11-7) are all in the thick of it. Chico and Humboldt both host San Diego this week.
 
Hawaii Pacific kept on winning in the Pacific West Conference, it's streak now at 17 in a row (with some non-conference contests included).The Sharks are 15-1 in conference play (21-2 overall), half a game ahead of Azusa Pacific (15-2, 24-3 overall). They meet next Thursday in Honolulu with the crown probably on the line. However, with their impressive overall marks, both are likely assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
UP NEXT
SPU winds up the regular season next week when the Oregon schools come to Brougham Pavilion. Western Oregon is here on Thursday, Feb. 22, followed by Concordia-Portland on Saturday the 24^th. Both start at 5:15 p.m. as part of women's-men's doubleheaders. The Falcons opened GNAC play with a 59-57 loss at Concordia, but came back two days later to rout WOU in Monmouth, 87-52.
 

GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage        15-1         22-2
Northwest Nazarene      14-2         18-3
Seattle Pacific         12-4         18-5
Montana State Billings  10-6         17-9
Central Washington      10-6         14-10
Concordia-Portland       7-9         13-11
Western Washington       7-9         11-13
Simon Fraser             6-10        11-13
Western Oregon           5-11         9-13
Saint Martin's           2-14         6-18
Alaska Fairbanks         0-16         4-18