THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 8                  Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Feb. 10                Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – It's back to 0-0 on the scoreboard, and time to hit the reset button.
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons will be out to do precisely that as they return to Brougham Pavilion this week.
 
Following four straight games on the road, the SPU women will seek to halt their first losing streak of the current women's basketball season when they welcome Simon Fraser and Western Washington to town.
 
The Clan will be here on Thursday, and the arch-rival Vikings will follow on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
At 16-5 overall and 10-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Seattle Pacific is eager to get back into the groove that helped produce seven straight wins in January. That streak ended last Thursday night with a 70-68 loss at Central Washington, and was followed by a 77-70 defeat at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
This is the next-to-last homestand of the season.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's games will feature free live Webcasts and live stats. Tom Gialanella will call the play-by-play for both. 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. Seattle Pacific faculty, staff, and students are admitted free with proper school ID.
 
WHITE OUT WESTERN ON SATURDAY
While it's true that Falcon fans might indeed bleed maroon, they'll have a different color in mind when Western Washington visits Brougham Pavilion on Saturday.
 
A special White Out Western promotion will be in full force. Fans are encouraged to come to the game dressed in white. The first 200 students through the doors will receive a special white Falcons T-shirt. The series against Western Washington is the longest-running rivalry in the history of the Seattle Pacific program.
 
HITTING 1,000 IS SO CLOSE FOR FALCON PAIR
When SPU began its recent four-game road trip, the thought was that seniors Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander both might score their 1,000th career point in a gym other than their own. McPhee started that stretch with 944 points, and Hollander had 933.

 

Both came close, but didn't quite get there. Now, they'll have a chance to get a grand on the floor they've called home for the past four years.
 
McPhee will begin Thursday's game against Simon Fraser with 998 points, needing only one basket or a pair of free throws. Hollander comes in with 989. She has scored at least that many in 12 of her 21 games this season.
 
Regardless of when it happens, McPhee and Hollander will become the fourth Falcon duo to make the millennium scoring mark in the same season. And, if it works out, they potentially can be the first of those four to get there the same night.
 
Others who scored their 1,000th in the same season:
1988: Linda Johnson, Lori Robinett.
2004: Valerie Gustafson, Kristin Poe
2015: Suzanna Ohlsen, Aubree Callen
 
Johnson and Robinett both reached 1,000 as juniors in 1988. The others were seniors.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- It has been almost a full year since SPU's last losing streak, a stretch of five in a row last Feb. 9-18.
-- The Falcons have a chance to sweep Simon Fraser and Western Washington for the first time since the 2014-15 season. That year, they beat the Clan in Burnaby, 61-58, and again in Seattle, 89-76. Against the Vikings, it was 74-64 in Bellingham and 72-68 in Seattle.
-- Both of this week's opponents have won the past two seasons in Brougham Pavilion.
-- With 10 victories in GNAC play, Seattle Pacific already has matched last season's total, when it finished 10-10.
-- The last time the Falcons won more conference games than that was in 2014-15, when they went 13-5.
-- SPU is 6-1 at home this winter.
-- The six homecourt wins have been by an average of 19.8 points. The one loss (to Northwest Nazarene) was by a single point.
-- When the Falcons played these two teams on the road in January, they bolted to big first-half leads – 21 points at Western Washington (47-26 at the half) and 19 at Simon Fraser (42-23, including 10-0 to start the game), but then had to survive rugged third quarters, as the Vikings got as close as five and the Clan came within four before SPU regained control and pulled away.
-- At Simon Fraser, Jordan McPhee tied the Seattle Pacific single-game free throw shooting accuracy record at 92.9 percent by hitting 13 of 14. That mark was initially set by Kerie Hughes on Jan. 5, 2002.
-- McPhee finished with 26 points that night, the second-highest total by an SPU player against Simon Fraser since the Clan joined the GNAC in 2010. The only one higher was 32 by Katie Benson in 2013.
-- While Julie Heisey is in her 13th season as coach of the Falcons, both of her counterparts this week have been at their schools even longer. Bruce Langford is in his 17th year at Simon Fraser, and Carmen Dolfo is in her 27th at Western Washington.
-- Heisey is 8-10 vs. Langford and the Clan, and is 11-15 vs. Dolfo and WWU.
 
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER CLAN: 10-12, 5-9 GNAC (8th)
All-time series: Simon leads, 21-11. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 74, Simon 63 (Jan. 13 at Burnaby, B.C.). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: Simon Fraser ended a two-game losing streak with a 74-57 victory against Western Oregon last Saturday in Burnaby. Junior 6-foot-3 center Tayla Jackson logged her second 20-point game of the season, dropping in 22. She has been Simon Fraser's top scorer in seven of the 22 games, including 14 against SPU on Jan. 13, averages 11.9 per game, and is the team's best field goal shooter at 45.9 percent. Sophie Swant, a 5-11 junior forward, leads the Clan at 14.4 per game, and grabs a team-high 5.7 rebounds per night, as well. Redshirt sophomore guard Nicole VanderHelm puts in 12.1 points per night, and redshirt freshman guard Jessica Jones is close to double digits at 9.7. Simon Fraser is the best free throw shooting team in the GNAC and ranks No. 5 in all of NCAA Division II at 80.3 percent. The Clan have two players in the 90 percent range (Tayler Drynan at .926 on 25 of 27, and Swant at .905 on 95 of 105) and two more in the 80s.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 10-12, 6-8 GNAC (tie 8th)
All-time series: WWU leads, 58-30. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 75, WWU 63 (Jan. 11 at Bellingham). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Watch out for Western. Yes, the young Vikings have had their struggles this year, but they are starting to find their way, coming into the week with a season-high three straight wins. A different player has led Western Washington in scoring in each of those three victories, topped by the 21 of 6-foot-1 freshman forward / center Kelsey Rogers in last Saturday's 84-68 win at home against Concordia-Portland. She got all of those – four times her 4.9 average – in 28 minutes off the bench. Senior 6-1 forward / center Hannah Stipanovich leads the Vikings at 12.5 points per game, and 5-8 redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda averages 10.1 The Falcons will have to pay appropriate defensive attention to 5-7 sophomore guard Dani Iwami. She averages 9.7 points, but went off for 21 – 18 of those from 3-point range on 6-of-16 shooting – last month in Bellingham. Iwami also averages a team-high 3.9 assists.
 
MAGIC NUMBER TIME
The Seattle Pacific players certainly have their sights set on making it to the NCAA West Regionals for the first time since 2015. But first up is the GNAC Tournament, set for March 1-3 in Anchorage.
 
For the Falcons to get there, the magic number is three: Any combination of wins for SPU and losses for Concordia-Portland and Western Washington adding up to three will secure a spot.
 
Host Alaska Anchorage already has clinched a berth, and Northwest Nazarene's magic number to do so is one.
 
The top six teams in the standings get to go, with the top two receiving byes into the semifinals on March 2. They will await the winners of the two March 1 first-round games. The final is on March 3.
 
LET'S GO TO THE REPLAY
-- Alexis Pana scored on a lay-in with 2.5 seconds left, and Central Washington capped a comeback from a 13-point third-quarter deficit on Thursday night to beat Seattle Pacific, 70-68, and end the Falcons' seven-game win streak.
-- SPU cut a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit all the way down to four, but could come no closer as Northwest Nazarene hung on for a 77-70 victory last Saturday.
 
NEXT TO 500
While a good deal of attention is focused on Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander nearing their 1,000th career points, the number 500 has a nice ring to it, as well.
 
Senior forward Erica Pagano tallied her 500th point last Saturday at Northwest Nazarene. She started the game with 499, and moved past 500 on a jump shot just 4 ½ minutes into the game.

 

The next Falcon with a chance to reach that milestone is fifth-year senior guard Rachel Shim. She comes into the week with 473.
 
Along with the 1,000 for scoring, McPhee has a 500 in sight, as well. She is just 23 rebounds away from reach that total.
 
MARKING OTHER MILESTONES
In reach
100th free throw    Rachel Shim (has 96)
100th steal            Rachel Shim (has 96)
100th 3-pointer      Lindsay Lee (has 96)
                            Courtney Hollander (has 95)
200th free throw   Courtney Hollander (has 176)
200th field goal     Erica Pagano (has 193)
200th point           Carly Rataushk (has 194)
300th free throw   Jordan McPhee (has 288)
500th point           Rachel Shim (has 473)
700th rebound       Courtney Hollander (has 645)
 
Made last week
500th point           Erica Pagano (has 514)
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 301 programs in D2, SPU is …
-- 34th in assists per game (16.1)
-- 37th in assist / turnover ratio (1.10)
-- 40th in steals per game (10.3)
-- 44th in fewest turnovers (307)
-- 46th in total steals (215)
-- 50th in total assists (338)
 
Individually, Jordan McPhee ranks No. 48 nationally in total free throws made with 94. She is the only Falcon with a top-50 ranking in any statistical category.
 
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
SPU fell six places to No. 8 in this week's D2SIDA West Region poll, which was released on Monday. The Falcons received 20 points in the voting. Alaska Anchorage remained a unanimous No. 1 with all six first-place votes and 60 points.
 
Seattle Pacific did not receive votes in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association national top 25, which was released on Tuesday. Undefeated Ashland of Ohio (22-0) once again collected all 24 first-place votes for 600 points. Anchorage climbed two spots to No. 6, Azusa Pacific is No. 19, and Hawaii Pacific moved into the poll for the first time at No. 24.
 
The first NCAA regional rankings, which ultimately determine which eight schools from each region advance to the national tournament, are due out next Wednesday, Feb. 14.
 
AROUND THE WEST
With six games left, Alaska Anchorage remained atop the GNAC standings with a 13-1 record (20-2 overall), and now has won four straight since its 66-48 loss at Seattle Pacific. The Seawolves were the first team to clinch a spot in the conference tournament, which they are hosting. Northwest Nazarene, at 12-2 (16-3 overall) and winner of seven in a row, is now alone in second place, two games ahead of SPU and Central Washington (both 10-4). NNU and Central play on Tuesday in Ellensburg.
 
UC San Diego is moving closer to clinching the California Collegiate Athletic Association crown. The Tritons are 15-1 (19-3 overall), with a 3 ½-game lead on second-place Humboldt State (12-5, 13-9 overall) and a four-game advantage on Cal Poly Pomona (11-5, 14-7 overall) with six games to go. UCSD is home against Pomona on Thursday, and visits Humboldt on Feb. 17.
 
Hawaii Pacific kept its percentage-point lead on Azusa Pacific in the Pacific West Conference. The Sharks are 12-1, 18-2 overall, and have extended their winning streak to 14. The Cougars are 13-2, 22-3 overall. They play one more time, but not until Feb. 22 in Honolulu. Azusa has a big one this week, hosting third-place Dominican (9-5 in the conference, 15-7 overall) on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons play their final regular-season road games next week when they head to Alaska. First stop is Anchorage on Thursday, Feb. 15 for a rematch against the nationally ranked Seawolves, as SPU looks for more of the same effort that produced a 66-48 win in Seattle on Jan. 20. Then, it's off to Fairbanks next Saturday the 17th to face the Nanooks. Both games tip off at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                Conference          Overall
Alaska Anchorage         13-1        20-2
Northwest Nazarene       12-2        16-3
Seattle Pacific          10-4        16-5
Central Washington       10-4        14-8
Montana State Billings    9-5        16-8
Concordia-Portland        6-8        12-10
Western Washington        6-8        10-12
Simon Fraser              5-9        10-12
Western Oregon            4-10        8-12
Saint Martin's            2-12        6-16
Alaska Fairbanks          0-14        4-16