THE SCHEDULE:                Thursday, Jan 2: Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
                                     Saturday, Jan. 4: Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)

SEATTLE – On the verge of turning the page to a new calendar year, the Seattle Pacific Falcons hope they're also on the verge of turning the page on their women's basketball season, as well.
 
Having concluded the non-conference schedule with two victories the week before Christmas, the Falcons dive headlong into their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this week by playing host to Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The No. 10-ranked Seawolves will bring the GNAC's best overall-record at 12-1 to town on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for the second half of a doubleheader. The Nanooks, at 6-5 overall, visit on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in a doubleheader opener.
 
Seattle Pacific (2-8, 0-2 GNAC) begin 2020 with some momentum. After dropping their first eight games, the Falcons put together a solid 40 minutes to beat a competitive Cal State Los Angeles team by an 80-67 margin on Dec. 16 in Brougham, pulling away during the fourth quarter. Then, they put the first 11 points and 22 of the first 24 onto the scoreboard against Academy of Art on Dec. 19, running away to a 76-50 victory
 
SPU's men tangle with their respective Alaska counterparts on those same days, facing Anchorage on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. and Fairbanks on Saturday at 4:15.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's games, as well as all GNAC contests, will have free live Webcasts and free live stats. Mark Aucutt will be on the mic for Thursday's doubleheader against Alaska Anchorage, then Greg Sexton calls the action for the twin bill against Fairbanks on Saturday.
 
TICKET TALK
Tickets for all Seattle Pacific home sports events are available either online or at the Brougham Pavilion ticket window. Prices for basketball are $10 for reserved seating, $7 for adult general admission, and $5 for student / youth / senior citizen general admission. SPU students and faculty / staff members with current valid school identification are admitted free. On doubleheader days, tickets are good for both games.
 
Fans who wish to purchase tickets online can do so by clicking on this link. Otherwise, ticket windows open 60 minutes prior to tip-off. Cash and credit cards are accepted at the windows.
 
BENNETT COLLECTS GNAC AWARD
Hailee Bennett, who delivered strong performances in the victories against Cal State L.A. and Academy of Art, was named the GNAC Player of the Week for Dec. 16-21.
 
 

The senior guard recorded not one, but two career highs to lead Seattle Pacific past CSULA, 80-67. She tallied 29 points – her first time in the 20s for the Falcons – and grabbed nine rebounds. She scored 14 of her points during the fourth quarter, as the Falcons put 31 on the board to expand their one-point lead all he way out to the final margin of 13.
 
Then, Bennett came up with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists to help power the Falcons past Academy of Art, 76-50.
 
For the week, that gave Bennett 44 points and 14 rebounds. She shot 57.1 percent from the field (12 of 21), including 60 percent (6 of 10) from 3-point territory. She hit 87.5 percent at the free throw line (14 of 16).

 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The final 18 games of the season are all within the conference. Seattle Pacific will have 10 of those 18 at home.
-- GNAC play began a month ago. For the Falcons, that first weekend was on the road at Central Washington (the Wildcats won, 65-46) and at Northwest Nazarene (the Nighthawks prevailed, 77-47).
-- Through the years, Seattle Pacific has a 29-15 record in the first game immediately after Christmas break, whether that game has happened before, on, or after New Year's Day.
-- They have won the last five such games. That includes a 68-64 decision last Jan. 1 at Saint Martin's.
-- Last year's game against Anchorage in Brougham Pavilion was most definitely a tale of two halves. Through the first 20 minutes, the Falcons were limited to 16 points as the Seawolves cruised to a 42-16 lead. The second 20 minutes belonged to Seattle Pacific, as it outscored UAA, 37-26 and had a 16-15 rebounding edge. SPU got as close as 14 midway through the third quarter before Alaska Anchorage regained control on the way to winning, 68-53.
-- When they take on Anchorage, it will mark the third time this season that SPU has faced not only a nationally ranked team, but a national top-10 team. The first two came on back-to-back nights in mid-November:at then-No. 4 Azusa Pacific (the Cougars won, 76-58), followed by then-No. 6 UC San Diego (the Tritons came from behind to win, 79-67). Both are still ranked: Azusa is No. 17; UCSD is No. 22.
-- The Falcons swept last season's series from Alaska Fairbanks, 62-55 up north, and 67-60 in Seattle. That made it two straight season sweeps.
-- With the mid-December victories against Cal State Los Angeles and Academy of Art, SPU gave itself a bit of a boost in several statistical categories. Scoring rose from 57.1 to 61.3, points allowed dropped from 73.2 to 70.3, rebounding jumped from 37.4 to 40.9 (just .3 behind conference-leading Central Washington's 41.2), and field goal shooting went from .388 to .401.
-- Seattle Pacific also added 30 percentage points to its free throw shooting mark, going from .701 to .731. That was helped along by an .864 night (19 of 22) in the Cal State Los Angeles game.
-- Junior forward Ashlynn Burgess continues to rank among the GNAC's top shooters from the field at .543 (50 of 92). That is the conference's fifth-best mark.
-- Impressive as that it, Burgess actually will need to bump it up a few points through the upcoming 18 games to move into SPU's single-season top-10. The No. 10 spot currently is a tie at .551 between Rachel Strand (113 of 205 in 2006-07) and Ashley Miller (189 of 343 in 1999-2000).
-- In each of the past three seasons, SPU's leading shooter has topped the .500 mark: Julia Haining in 2016-17 (.573) and again in 2017-18 (.513), and Cici West in 2018-19 (.541).
-- Hailee Bennett is No. 5 in GNAC free throw shooting at .844 (27 of 32).
 
SCOUTING REPORT
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 12-1, 2-0 GNAC (2^nd)
All-time series: SPU leads, 41-31. Current series streak: UAA won 2. Last time: UAA 68, SPU 53 (Feb. 21, 2019 at Seattle). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: With the exception of a last-second 53-52 loss at Lynn University of Florida on Nov. 27, Alaska Anchorage has had things mostly its way through the first two months of the season. The closest of its 12 wins was an 11-pointer (56-45) against Northwest Missouri State on Dec. 19 at the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu. The Seawolves allow just 51.2 points – 10 fewer than the next stingiest GNAC team (Western Oregon allows 61.6), and is the toughest team to shoot against (opponents hit just .348 from the field). Part of the reason for that is opposing players can't shoot if they can't hang onto the ball. Anchorage forces an average of 23.3 turnovers per game, with 14.5 of those coming on steals. Of its 1,005 season points, 340 (33.8 percent) have come off turnovers. Senior 5-foot-6 guard Safiyyah Yasin is tied for No. 6 in GNAC scoring at 14.0 per game, and has topped 20 points four times. Junior 6-foot forward Tennae Voliva started the season with four straight double-digit rebounding games, and ranks No. 2 in the GNAC at 8.7 per game.
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 6-5, 1-1 GNAC (tie 4^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 61-16, Current series streak: SPU won 4. Last time: SPU 67, UAF 60 (Feb. 23, 2019 at Seattle). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Alaska Fairbanks had most of December off. Its last game prior to this week was a 70-67 loss at Concordia-Portland on Dec. 7. The Nanooks did wind up with a split of that road trip, thanks to an 81-76 overtime victory at Western Oregon two nights earlier. That was a big week for GNAC leading scorer Jocelyn Gandara. The junior 5-foot-9 guard went for 27 at WOU and then poured in 34 at Concordia, all part of her 19.2 per-game average. Gandara is often on target from 3-point range, as she hits 45.9 percent (17 of 37), the seventh-best mark among GNAC players. But she's not the only Nanook who can fill up the hoop. Sam Tolliver, a 5-8 freshman guard, averages 15.5 per game, topped by a 31-point performance in an 87-73 homecourt victory against Chadron State on Nov. 28. Tolliver is No. 4 in conference scoring. Kylie Wallace ranks No. 4 in GNAC rebounding at 8.0 per game and is the second-most accurate shooter at .565 (52 of 92). The senior 5-7 guard has had three double-digit nights on the boards, including 17 against Chadron State.
 
 

MIKE SIMONSON SAYS …
(On returning from the Christmas break)
"We had a good practice, all things considered. We definitely got up and down a lot, and tried to work off some of the Christmas ham and turkey."
 
(On preparing for Anchorage and Fairbanks)
"Alaska Anchorage is the cream of the crop in the league. They such a good job of taking you out of what you want to do offensively and defensively. The name of the game is to handle their defense and take care of their press. Fairbanks has done a good job and has improved mightily. That's two tough games to open up with. We have to be able to execute our system against theirs and do that with some confidence.
 
(On resuming play after two wins)
"The last two games, things have pieced together well. But we can't dwell on the past. We have to keep improving."

EVERYONE IS TOUCHING THE BALL
It's not just a few of the Falcons who were getting the job done in the Cal State Los Angeles and Academy of Art games. Everyone who got onto the court had some statistical say in the outcomes.
 
 

Against the Golden Eagles, nine SPU players saw action, all for 15 minutes or more. All of them collected at least two rebounds (Ashlynn Burgess had 11), eight of the nine scored (three in double figures), and seven came up with at least one assist and / or a blocked shot and / or a steal.

 

It was more of the same against the Urban Knights. This time, 10 players earned some minutes, all of them scored (three in double figures) and all of them rebounded (led by freshman Kayla Brundidge's 10). For assists, blocks, and steals, eight Falcons were in at least one of those box score columns.
 
IF NOT FOR HOOPS…
While basketball is the primary sports focus for SPU players, most of them would have pursued other options had they not chosen this sport.
 
Volleyball is by far the most popular second choice among the 12 Falcons. Fully half of them – Hailee Bennett, Kaprice Boston, Bayley Brennan, Ashlynn Burgess, Madi Hingston, and Natalie Hoff – say that's what they would play. Rachel Berg says she would either do that or soccer.
 
Other favorite pursuits away from the hardwood:
Ashley Alter, Kayla Brundidge: Track.
Hunter Beirne: Soccer.
Abril Rexach Roure: Handball.
Grace Sterk: Softball

THEY'LL BE BACK
Both Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks will remain on the Seattle Pacific sports calendar for 2020-21.
 
The future of the athletics programs beyond the current 2019-20 year had been in limbo because of budget cuts in the University of Alaska system. But on Nov. 8, it was announced that all of the sports programs at both schools would continue through the 2020-21 year. It is expected that discussions will be ongoing as to what happens beyond that.
 
In addition to women's and men's basketball, the Falcons compete against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks in volleyball and cross country. SPU teams and Anchorage also face each other for indoor / outdoor track and field, and gymnastics.
 
AROUND THE WEST
At 12-1, Alaska Anchorage not only has the best overall record in the GNAC, it is the best mark among all West Region teams. The Seawolves are currently a notch out of first place in the standings, however, at 2-0, as Northwest Nazarene is 3-0 (8-3 overall). Instead of playing travel partner Central Washington on Dec. 31, the two teams played on Dec. 21, with NNU prevailing in Ellensburg, 85-76.
 
Cal State San Marcos and Cal State East Bay both have hit the 10-win mark. East Bay (10-3) is currently atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings at 6-1. San Marcos (10-1) is right behind at 5-1. Nationally ranked UC San Diego (No. 22) is fourth at 4-2 (8-3 overall), trailing the top two and third-place Stanislaus State (7-5, 5-2 CCAA).
 
The Pacific West Conference still has three unbeaten teams in league play, although no one has a perfect overall record. On top is Point Loma Nazarene at 5-0 (9-2 overall). Hawaii Pacific has the best overall record at 9-1 (4-0 Pac West), and Concordia Irvine is at 5-3, 3-0 Pac West. Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 17 nationally, is sixth in the standings at 3=3 (9-3 overall).
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to the road next week for the first time in more than a month. They'll visit Simon Fraser on Thursday, Jan. 9, in Burnaby, B.C., followed by a trip to Bellingham on Saturday the 11^th to take on Western Washington. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                    GNAC               Overall
Northwest Nazarene       3-0         8-3
Alaska Anchorage         2-0        12-1
Central Washington       2-1         7-4
Western Washington       1-1         7-3
Alaska Fairbanks         1-1         6-5
Montana State Billings   1-1         6-5
Simon Fraser             1-1         6-6
Concordia-Portland       1-1         2-8
Saint Martin's           0-2         5-4
Western Oregon           0-2         3-6
Seattle Pacific          0-2         2-8