THE SCHEDULE:              Thursday, Jan. 30: Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 6:15 p.m. PST
                                           The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
                                           Live Webcast        Live stats
 
                                   Saturday, Feb. 1: Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 6:15 p.m. PST
                                           Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
                                           Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Here we go again.
 
With the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule in the books, the Seattle Pacific Falcons will now get their second look at the other 10 teams.
 
That begins this week in Alaska, as the Falcons visit Fairbanks on Thursday and Anchorage on Saturday. Both games tip off at 6:15 p.m. Pacific time as the openers of doubleheaders. The second half of those twin bills will feature the SPU men: at Fairbanks on Thursday and at Anchorage on Saturday, both at 8:30 p.m. PST.
 
Seattle Pacific (6-12, 4-6 GNAC) is coming off a split of its games last week. The Falcons bounced back from Tuesday's 63-62 loss at home to Saint Martin's and beat Montana State Billings on Thursday, 69-63. That was their first road victory of the season.
 
When the Alaska schools visited Brougham Pavilion right after the holiday break, SPU fell to Anchorage, 78-47, but then beat Fairbanks, 83-70.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this week's games, as well as all GNAC contests, will have free live Webcasts and free live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.

NOW THAT'S COLD
Even during their short walks from the airport into the vans and from the vans into the gym, the Falcons will know full well that they're in Alaska.

When they arrive in Fairbanks on Wednesday, temperatures will be around minus-15, and will dip to minus-19 overnight. The thermometer will be back up to minus-15 on Thursday, and plunge to minus-28 overnight.

Anchorage will be somewhat warmer – 16 above zero during the day, but then going down to 9 above for Saturday.
 
TOURNAMENT TALK
With 10 conference games down and 10 games to go, the Falcons are tied with Saint Martin's for seventh place at 4-6. That's one game below the cutoff line to qualify for the GNAC Tournament, which Seattle Pacific will host on March 5-7.
 
Currently sitting right on the cutoff line is Montana State Billings at 5-5. So far, the Falcons have beaten Billings, 69-63; Billings has beaten Saint Martin's, 72-64; and Saint Martin's has beaten SPU, 63-62.
 
The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the tournament. The first- and second-place finishers get a bye into the semifinals, while No. 3 plays No. 6, and No. 4 plays No. 5 for the other two semifinal berths.
 
Since going to a 20-game schedule in 2015-16, the last teams into the tournament have been Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington (both 10-10 in 2016), Central (9-11 in 2017), Simon Fraser (9-11 in 2018), and Western Washington (11-9 in 2019).
 
The opening day of the tourney on March 5 is two men's first-round games (noon and 2:15 p.m.), followed by two women's first-rounders (5:15 and 7:30 p.m.). The semis are on Friday the 6^th (two men's games, then two women's games at the same times as Thursday)), and finals are Saturday the 7^th (men's at 5:15, women's at 7:30).
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- With their first road win now tucked away, the Falcons are 1-8 in out-of-town games.
-- SPU has won its last two games at Alaska Fairbanks: 66-47 in 2018 and 62-55 in 2019.
-- When the teams met in Seattle on Jan. 4, the Nanooks were up by 14 points late in the first quarter, 26-12. The Falcons narrowed it to six by halftime, 45-39, were up by five after three quarters, 60-55, then built as much as a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter at 83-61 – effectively making a 36-point turnaround – before UAF scored the final nine points of the game.
-- Ashlynn Burgess poured in 27 points that day, and Hailee Bennett added 23. Prior to that, it had been nearly four years since the Falcons had two with 20 or more in the same game.
-- But Fairbanks went SPU one better in that department, with three in the 20-point range: 21 apiece for Jocelyn Gandara and Sam Tolliver, and 20 for Sabrina Ungaro.
-- SPU will be looking to put some more points on the board when it faces Anchorage. The Seawolves, with their relentless defensive pressure, won 78-47 in Seattle on Jan. 2. Last year in Alaska, they rolled to a 78-37 victory.
-- The Falcons continue to set the GNAC pace at the free throw line. They bumped it up a bit more last week, and are now at .764 for the season, hitting 178 of 233. That ranks No. 33 nationally, same as last week.
 

-- Senior guard Bennett is still atop the conference at the foul line with her .909 percentage (50 of 55). That ranks No. 10 nationally in Division II. She has made 25 in a row.
-- Bennett's career mark is now .887 (110 of 124). If she continues at that pace, she would wind up as the career record holder, surpassing the .872 of Suzanna Ohlsen from 2012-15.
-- Seattle Pacific has climbed back up the conference list in field goal shooting, now at .415 overall and .311 from 3-point range. In the past two weeks, it has added 17 percentage points overall from the floor, and 39 percentage points from downtown.
-- In two of the past three games, the Falcons have drained 10 shots from behind the arc, going 10 of 22 against Western Oregon and 10 of 20 at Montana State Billings.
-- Junior forward Ashlynn Burgess has risen a notch to No. 2 among GNAC field goal shooters. She's at .582 for the season (92 of 158). Burgess shot 80 percent (12 of 15) from the floor in last Tuesday's 63-62 loss to Saint Martin's, then followed with a 5-of-8 effort at Billings. Burgess is No. 26 on the national list.
-- The SPU single-season record for field goal shooting is .578 (196 of 339) by Valerie Gustafson in 2003-04. Burgess already has surpassed the minimum 150 attempts needed to qualify for a chance at that record.
-- Coach Mike Simonson is 3-0 against Alaska Fairbanks and 0-3 against Alaska Anchorage.
 
SCOUTING REPORT
ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 6-13, 1-9 GNAC (11^th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 62-16. Current series streak: SPU won 5. Last time: SPU 83, UAF 70 (Jan. 4, 2020 at Seattle). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: It was a rough road trip for Fairbanks last week, as it lost by 32 at Simon Fraser and by 39 at Western Washington. The Nanooks are looking to snap a nine-game losing streak. As was the case when the teams met earlier this month in Seattle, junior 5-foot-9 guard Jocelyn Gandara is the GNAC's leading scorer, now at 18.1 points per game. She had 21 last time against the Falcons, and dumped in 26 of UAF's 47 points last Saturday in Bellingham. Sam Tolliver, a 5-8 freshman guard, adds 14.7 points per game, ranking No. 4 in the conference. Redshirt senior 5-2 guard Sabrina Ungaro chips in 9.1 points per game. Kylie Wallace, a senior 5-7 guard, is a solid shooter and rebounder, hitting .533 from the field and averaging 5.9 boards per game. Wallace is especially tough at the offensive end, where she has 48 of her 112 total rebounds.
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 19-2, 9-1 GNAC (1^st)
All-time series: SPU leads, 41-32. Current series streak: UAA won 3. Last time: UAA 78, SPU 47 (Jan. 2, 2020 at Seattle). Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Alaska Anchorage had to settle for a split of its road trip last week against two of the top teams in the GNAC. The Seawolves fell 72-64 at Western Washington last Thursday, but got back on track in a big way two nights later by routing Simon Fraser, 87-66. UAA allows just 53.4 points per game, best in the conference by a long way (Western Washington is second at 61.4) and 10^th-best in all of Division II, allowing opponents to shoot just .364 from the field. And of course, the Seawolves force turnovers (22.3 on average, including 13.5 steals per game). Saffiyah Yassin, a senior 5-foot-6 guard, ranks No. 7 in conference scoring at 13.9 per game. She went for 16 against the Falcons in Seattle. Junior 6-foot forward Tennae Voliva is the only other Seawolf who averages double-digit points, at 10.5. She also pulls down 8.2 rebounds per night (No. 3 in the GNAC), and went for a double-double of 19 points and 10 boards at Simon Fraser. Led by Yasin's 2.3 steals per game, Anchorage has four of the conference's top 10 in that department.

 

SIMONSON SAYS …
(On Alaska Fairbanks)
"They can really score – we saw that first-hand here in the first quarter when they came out and it was 26-14. We have to make sure we get to their shooters, and we have to make sure we're really there to take away easy looks from the 3-point line, We've got to guard the ball. They're a tough team that I really respect."
 
(On Alaska Anchorage)
"I think it's going to be a huge difference for a lot of our new or inexperienced players to go a second time through and play them again. I do believe that playing them in Alaska is a lot different than playing them on your home court. They're typically a little more physical, they trap a little bit harder, and they're a little bit more aggressive. We need to make advances on our end and elevate our play, too."
 
TIGHTENING THE CLAMPS
Coming back from the holiday break, Seattle Pacific was allowing 70.3 points, per game, ranking No. 10 in the 11-team GNAC. It subsequently bumped up to 71.1.
 
But ever since then, that number had been heading down. In the past four games, the Falcons have allowed a season-low 44 points, then 51 (third-lowest), 62, and 63 points.
 
Heading into this week, SPU is yielding 67.6 points per game, and has climbed to No. 7 on the conference list in that category.
 
"Even at the beginning of the year, I felt we would actually guard pretty well for one, two, or maybe three quarters. But the lapses are what killed us," coach Mike Simonson said. "Now, we can do it for 40 minutes, or close to it, and that's good. That keeps us in games. Our offense is starting to click a little better too, and that's going hand-in-hand and is starting to elevate us."
 
BIGGER ROLE FOR BRUNDIDGE
When Seattle Pacific hosted Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 4, freshman post player Kayla Brundidge was still coming off the bench.

 

The 6-foot Brundidge pulled down 12 rebounds, handed out two assists, and blocked five shots against the Nanooks – a triple career-high kind of afternoon. And just for good measure, the tossed in 10 points for her second college double-double.
 
Just five days later on a trip to Simon Fraser, Brundidge was in the starting lineup. And she has been there ever since.
 
In those six games, Brundidge is averaging nearly 18 minutes of playing time. Rebounding has continued to be her strong suit, as she is pulling down five boards per game, with six, seven, and six in her last three, to go along with an average of 3.8 points. She also has nine steals and six blocked shots.
 
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER HOMECOMING
While most of the Falcons are from Washington or Oregon, a few come from places much farther down the road.
 
Last week, senior guard Hailee Bennett got to play in her home state of Montana for the final time when SPU visited Montana State Billings. That's about 420 miles from where she grew up in Kalispell, but Bennett made the most of the opportunity, scoring a game-high 18 points, that last two of which were on a pair of clutch free throws with 10.5 seconds left in a 69-63 victory against the Yellowjackets.
 
This week, junior forward Ashlynn Burgess gets to play college ball in Alaska for the first time. She is a native of Eagle River, 344 miles south of Thursday's game in Fairbanks, but just 13 miles northeast of Saturday's game in Anchorage. Burgess played the past two years at Wenatchee Valley College, so did not have any opportunities to play near home.
 
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
IN THE MAKING
100^th point:  Grace Sterk (has 92)
300^th point:  Madi Hingston (has 290)
300^th rebound:  Abril Rexach Roure (has 289)
500^th point:  Hailee Bennett (has 487)
600^th rebound:  Ashlynn Burgess (has 572)
 
MADE LAST WEEK
200^th point:  Ashley Alter (has 203)
900^th point:  Abril Rexach Roure (has 903)
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Among the 304 NCAA Division II programs, Seattle Pacific ranks:
-- 25^th in defensive rebounds per game at 29.9 (Anderson (S.C.) 1^st at 33.6).
-- 33^rd in free throw shooting at .764 (Northwest Missouri State 1^st at .828).
 
Individually:
--Hailee Bennett 12th in free throw shooting at .909 / 50 of 55 (Morgan Brunner (West Liberty) 1^st at .971 / 67 of 69).
-- Ashlynn Burgess 26^th in field goal shooting at .582 / 92 of 158 (Riley Fitzwater (Concord-WV) 1^st at .672 (117 of 174).
 
AROUND THE WEST
The last team with an undefeated record in GNAC play went down last week, as Alaska Anchorage fell at Western Washington, 72-64. The Vikings (13-5, 7-3 GNAC) scored the first five points of the game, were never tied and never trailed. So, UAA (19-2, 9-1) GNAC now have a one-game lead on Northwest Nazarene (13-5, 8-2) heading into the second half of the conference schedule, with WWU and Simon Fraser (12-8, 7-3) both sitting two games back.
 
What had been a three-way tie atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings now finds UC San Diego alone in first place. The Tritons (15-4, 11-3) have won seven in a row, Cal State San Marcos (15-4, 10-4) is a game back. Cal State East Bay (13-7, 9-5), which had been part of the three-way knot with San Diego and San Marcos last week, has dropped three in a row and is now tied for third with Sonoma State (13-6, 9-5).
 
Hawaii Pacific now owns not only the best record in the Pacific West Conference, but also the best in the West Region. The Sharks (19-1, 14-0) have won 15 straight games. The latest of those was Monday's 89-80 victory against Concordia Irvine (11-6, 9-3), which is now tied for second with Azusa Pacific (15-3, 9-3).
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons will be back in town as part of next week's Homecoming and Family Weekend festivities. It'll be a pair of doubleheaders. On Thursday, Feb. 6, they will welcome Western Washington to Brougham Pavilion at 5:15 p.m. On Saturday the 8^th, Simon Fraser will be here for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
The men tangle with Western Oregon on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Concordia-Portland on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                      GNAC          Overall
Alaska Anchorage          9-1      19-2
Northwest Nazarene        8-2      13-5
Western Washington        7-3      13-5
Simon Fraser              7-3      12-8
Central Washington        6-4      11-7
Montana State Billings    5-5      10-9
Saint Martin's            4-6       9-8
Seattle Pacific           4-6       6-12
Western Oregon            2-8       5-12
Concordia-Portland        2-8       3-15
Alaska Fairbanks          1-9       6-13