THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 22               Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 24                Concordia-Portland 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 – They're in the final week of the regular season. They're back home. And they know they're going to the conference women's basketball tournament.
 
But the Seattle Pacific Falcons aren't of a mindset to back down or back off.
 
Following a split of last week's game in Alaska, SPU is back in Brougham Pavilion for the last time this year, playing host to Western Oregon on Thursday and Concordia-Portland on Saturday.
 
The WOU contest will be part of Play for Kay Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The game against Concordia Senior Night.
 
Both games tip off at 5:15 p.m. as the opener of doubleheader. The Seattle Pacific men will follow women by tangling with Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Both of those begin at 7:30 p.m.
 
With a 13-5 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play (19-6 overall), the Falcons are assured of a trip back to Anchorage next week to begin play in the GNAC Tournament. Even so, they're looking to keep adding more tallies in the win column – the next of which will be their 20^th of the year – in order to enhance their chances of earning a bid to the NCAA West Regionals.
 
They'll be taking on two teams that will be going all out, as both are 7-11 in the GNAC and still alive for the sixth and final tournament berth.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's games will feature free live Webcasts and live stats. Tom Gialanella will be on the play-by-play for the Webcasts. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
TICKET TALK
The Brougham ticket window opens 60 minutes prior to tip-off. Prices are $10 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission, and $4 for students, youths, and senior citizens. For this week's doubleheaders, one ticket is good for both games. Seattle Pacific faculty, staff, and students are admitted free with proper school ID.
 
SALUTING THE SENIOR SIX
Seattle Pacific will fete its six graduating seniors on Saturday prior to tipping off against Concordia-Portland.
 
Julia Haining, Courtney Hollander, Lindsay Lee, Jordan McPhee, Erica Pagano, and Rachel Shim all will be recognized.
 
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 two graduating players before the 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Northwest Nazarene.
 
PLAY FOR KAY AND WOMEN'S CANCER AWARENESS
The visit from Western Oregon on Thursday night will be part of SPU's annual Play for Kay game to promote women's cancer awareness.
 
The event, hosted by virtually every college women's program around the country, is an initiative of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. It is named in honor of legendary North Carolina State coach Kay Yow, who passed away from the disease in 2009.
 
A group of women's cancer survivors will be honored at the event. In addition, pink T-shirts, with proceeds going to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, will be available for sale.

 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- These teams met in Oregon during the first week of conference play. Per the GNAC scheduling format, teams that open the season against each other also close the season against each other.
-- With a total of 17 points in her two games, senior guard Jordan McPhee moved into the all-time SPU scoring top 20 last week. She now has 1,055 points and moved past Daesha Henderson into the No. 20 spot. Henderson had 1,051 points from 2007-10. Courtney Hollander, who had 10 points last week to push her total to 1,032, remains in the No. 23 spot.
-- The 66-47 victory at Alaska Fairbanks last Saturday marked the fourth this season that the Falcons have bounced back after a loss to win their next game.
--A win against Western Oregon on Thursday would give SPU its sixth series sweep of the season. Previous teams to get the broom from the Falcons were Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings, Simon Fraser, Western Washington, and Alaska Fairbanks.
-- Seattle Pacific has swept Western Oregon each of the past two seasons. It swept Concordia during that school's first GNAC season (2015-16), but split last year, with each team winning on the other's home court.
-- When the Falcons visited the Wolves in Monmouth on Dec. 2, they raced to a 16-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. The closest Western Oregon ever got was 11 at 16-5 near the end of the opening quarter.
-- The 87 points in that game is SPU's second-highest total of the season, exceeded only by the 94 at Saint Martin's on Jan. 23.
--The Falcons will be looking for some better marksmanship against Concordia. They shot just 30.8 percent (20 of 65) in the Nov. 30 GNAC opener at Portland, but it took until late in the game to get back above 30 percent. The final mark included a season-low 9.5 percent (2 of 21) from 3-point range.
-- Senior center Julia Haining grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against the Cavaliers, making it a double-double by scoring 14 points.
-- The Falcons have kept teams in the 50s seven times this season and won five of those. The Concordia game (59-57) was one of the two losses. The other was 58-57 at home against Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 4.
-- Coach Julie Heisey is 24-2 all-time vs. Western Oregon, and 8-1 vs. Wolves coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. She is 3-2 vs. Concordia and Cavaliers head coach Sean Kelly.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES: 11-13, 7-11 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 41-4. Current series streak: SPU won 6. Last time: SPU 87, WOU 52 (Dec. 2, 2017 at Monmouth). Wolves on the Web.
Wolves in a nutshell: A late-season surge has helped Western Oregon go from out of the running to the brink of a spot in the GNAC Tournament. The Wolves come into the week having won three of their past four, including a sweep of last week's games at Concordia and Montana State Billings. Shelby Snook, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, had back-to-back 20-point outings last week with 20 at Concordia and 25 at Billings. That bumped her season average by more than a full point from 8.8 to 10.0. Sydney Azorr, a 5-10 senior guard, also has gotten hot lately, with 22, 11, and 18 in the past three games to get her average into double digits at 10.5. Leading the Wolves at 11.4 per game is 5-11 senior forward Savannah Heugly, and she also is tops on the boards at 5.9. The Wolves are accurate at the foul line, hitting 79.5 percent. That included a monster 96 percent performance (24 of 25) at Billings last Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE CONCORDIA-PORTLAND CAVALIERS: 13-13, 7-11 GNAC (tie 7^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 8-2. Current series streak: CU won 2. Last time: CU 59, SPU 57 (Nov. 30, 2017 at Portland). Cavaliers on the Web.
Cavaliers in a nutshell: At one point in mid-January, Concordia was 10-4, 4-2 in GNAC play, with those four wins coming against SPU, Central Washington, Western Washington, and Simon Fraser. But since then, the Cavaliers have dropped nine of their last 11, so they'll need to win and get help from elsewhere this week to make the tournament. Bailey Cartwright, a 6-1 junior forward, and 5-9 senior guard Danielle Hartzog continue to be the biggest threats for Concordia. Cartwright averages an impressive double-double – the only double-double average in the GNAC – of 13.7 points (No. 9) and 10.8 rebounds. In fact, she has gone for double-digit boards in 16 of CU's 26 games this winter. Hartzog is No. 2 in GNAC scoring at 15.4 points per game, and 5-4 sophomore guard Kizzah Maltezo is also in double digits at 11.0. Hartzog dumped in 15 on the Falcons in the November game; Cartwright had nine boards that night, but was limited to seven points on 1-of-7 shooting. But was not Cartwright's norm, as she hits at a solid .475 clip for the season. 
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- The No. 4-ranked Alaska Anchorage Seawolves went on an early 8-0 run, kept Seattle Pacific to a season-low offensive output, and rolled to a 73-47 last Thursday at UAA. Riley Evans led the Falcons with eight points.
-- Hailee Bennett came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points last Saturday, leading SPU to a 66-47 rout of Alaska Fairbanks.
 
SIZING UP THE GNAC TOURNAMENT
When the Falcons fly off to Alaska next week for the GNAC Tournament, they will do so as the No. 3 seed. That much was set in stone by last Saturday's results, which saw Northwest Nazarene win and Montana State Billings lose.
 
At 16-2, the second-place Nighthawks are three games ahead of SPU with two left, so can not be caught.
 
MSUB begins the final week at 11-7. Mathematically, the Yellowjackets still could tie SPU if they were to win their games at Simon Fraser and Western Washington, and the Falcons were to lose to both Western Oregon and Concordia.
 
However, even in that case, SPU would retain the No. 3 seed by virtue of having swept the season series.
 
What has yet to be determined is who the Falcons will play in next Thursday's first round, and at what time. They will take on whoever secures the No. 6 seed. Depending on this week's outcomes, that could be any one of five teams: Central Washington, Western Washington, Concordia-Portland, Western Oregon, or Simon Fraser.
 
Tip-off time will be either 6:15 or 8:30 p.m. PST. The winner will take on either Northwest Nazarene or host Alaska Anchorage in a Friday semifinal at 6:15 or 8:30.

HITTING THE BIG 2-0
With a victory in either game this week, the Falcons will reach 20 for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they finished 22-7. That also was the last time they made it to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the West Regional semifinals.
 
It would be the 19^th time in program history that at least 20 wins have gone into the book, and the eighth time under the guidance of coach Julie Heisey, now in her 13^th year at the helm.
 
In addition to a 20^th overall victory, a win in either game would give 13-5 Seattle Pacific its highest total in GNAC play since 2009-10, when it went 15-1.
 
The most conference wins since then has been 13 in 2014-15 when the Falcons went 13-5. (The GNAC schedule then was just 18 games, as the conference was still 10 teams before Concordia joined the following season.)
 
AN 'A' IN ACADEMICS
Led by four seniors making it for the third time in their careers, SPU has placed seven players on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team.

 

Seniors Courtney Hollander, Lindsay Lee, Jordan McPhee, and Erica Pagano all made the team for the third consecutive year. That gave the Falcons more three-time selections than any other school in the conference.
 
Senior Julia Haining and junior Jaylee Albert are on for the second time, and junior Riley Evans is a first-time pick.


 

McPhee (3.98 grade-point average), Pagano (3.72) and Hollander (3.68) are all business administration majors. Lee (3.50) is a health and fitness education major.
 
Haining, carries a 3.71 GPA as an accounting major. Albert has a 3.58 in business administration, and Evans also has a 3.58. She is a communications major.
 
To earn a place on the All-Academic team, players must be a sophomore or higher with a minimum 3.20 GPA. They must be in at least their second year on the team and have played in at least half of the games.

FALCONS NO. 6 IN FIRST REGIONAL RANKINGS
Seattle Pacific was in the No. 6 slot in the first official set of NCAA West Region rankings, which were released last Wednesday.
 
Azusa Pacific of the Pacific West Conference was No. 1, mean it would be the host school for the eight-team tournament if the season were to end right now. Alaska Anchorage, currently atop the GNAC standings, is No. 2.
 
Hawaii Pacific is No. 3, although the Sharks are current atop the Pac West standings. UC San Diego, leading the California Collegiate Athletic Association, is No. 4, and Northwest Nazarene of the GNAC is No. 5.
 
The second set of rankings will be released this Wednesday, and the final set is out next Wednesday, Feb. 28. The top five teams all won their games last week.
 
These 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.

Click on this link for a look at this week's national top-25 rankings, which were released on Tuesday. Click on this link to see the D2SIDA West Region media rankings, which came out Monday.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
In reach
100th free throw   Rachel Shim (has 96)
100th point            Hailee Bennett (has 96)
100th steal            Rachel Shim (has 96)
200th free throw   Courtney Hollander (has 180)
500th point            Rachel Shim (has 473)
700th rebound      Courtney Hollander (has 659)
 
Made last week
200th field goal    Erica Pagano (has 203)
300th free throw   Jordan McPhee (has 304)
 
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 (2 season / 4 career)
19 pts-10 reb vs. Oklahoma Christian, Dec. 18
16 pts-10 reb vs. Simon Fraser, Feb. 8
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 301 programs in D2, SPU is …
-- 30th in assists per game (16.2)
-- 33rd in assist / turnover ratio (1.10)
-- 40th in total assists (405)
-- 44th in steals per game (9.9)
-- 44th in total steals (248)
 
Individually, Jordan McPhee ranks 42nd nationally in free throws made with 110.
 
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.
 
AROUND THE WEST
This is the week for wrapping up conference titles and conference tournament berths. In the GNAC, it very likely comes down to Thursday in Idaho when first-place Alaska Anchorage visits second-place Northwest Nazarene. UAA (17-1 in the conference) is one game ahead of NNU (16-2), and beat the Nighthawks earlier this season in Alaska. The Seawolves clinch if they win. If Northwest Nazarene wins, that would leave the teams tied, and it won't be known until Saturday's results are in the book which team winds up with the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Tournament.
 
It's also showdown week in the Pacific West Conference, as first-place Hawaii Pacific (17-1) hosts second-place Azusa Pacific (16-2) on Thursday. HPU won at Azusa last month, 73-69, part of its current 19-game winning streak. APU has won seven in a row since then.
 
UC San Diego already has the top spot wrapped up in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons are 19-1 (23-3 overall), and 4½ games ahead of Cal Poly Pomona (15-6, 18-8 overall). The Broncos are the only CCAA team besides San Diego without a double-digit loss total.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will play in the first round of the GNAC Tournament next Thursday, March 1, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Tip-off will be at either 6:15 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Pacific time. A win would send SPU against whoever emerges as the No. 2 seed (Anchorage or Northwest Nazarene) in a semifinal game on Friday, also at either 6:15 or 8:30. The championship game is Saturday, March 3, at 8:30 p.m. PST.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                               Conference        Overall
Alaska Anchorage        17-1         24-2
Northwest Nazarene      16-2         20-3
Seattle Pacific         13-5         19-6
Montana State Billings  11-7         18-10
Central Washington      10-8         14-12
Western Washington       8-10        12-14
Concordia-Portland       7-11        13-13
Simon Fraser             7-11        12-14
Western Oregon           7-11        11-13
Saint Martin's           3-15         7-19
Alaska Fairbanks         0-18         4-20