THE SCHEDULE:                 Thursday, Jan 9: Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7:00 p.m.
                                           West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
                                           Live Webcast        Live stats
 
                                      Saturday, Jan. 11: Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m.
                                           Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                           Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
        Weekly release, with complete updated stats (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – For the past few weeks, the Seattle Pacific women have found some much-welcome basketball success on their home court.
 
Now, they're looking to do the same on the road.
 
Having concluded a stretch of four games in Brougham Pavilion that resulted in three victories, SPU will try to snare their first out-of-town victory of the season when they head north to Burnaby and Bellingham for this week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference games.
 
First up is a trip to Canada for Simon Fraser on Thursday in West Gym. Then on Saturday, arch-rival Western Washington is on the docket in Carver Gymnasium. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
After concluding the 2019 portion of their schedule with wins against Cal State Los Angeles and Academy of Art, the Falcons started 2020 by splitting with the Alaska school last week, The bounced back from Thursday's  78-47 loss to Alaska Anchorage by beating Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, 83-70, wiping out an early-game 14-point deficit.
 
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.
 
SEEING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
The Falcons doubled up on double-doubles in last Saturday's 83-70 victory against Alaska Fairbanks.
 
 

Junior forward Ashlynn Burgess went for 27 points and 11 rebounds. That was the most points she has scored in an SPU uniform, topping the 23 she had on Nov. 9 against Fresno Pacific. It was her third game with 11 rebounds. Her career highs are 34 points and 27 boards during her freshman year at Wenatchee Valley College.
 
 

Freshman post player Kayla Brundidge put up 10 points and collected a career-high 12 rebounds – and she did that in 19 minutes off the bench. She also found time to get her hands on a career-high five blocked shots.
 
The last time SPU logged two double-doubles in one game was last Jan. 12 at Central Washington. Cici West had 14 points and 18 boards; Jaylee Albert recorded 12 points and 10 assists. The last pair of points-rebounds double-doubles was Feb. 28, 2011 in a GNAC Tournament game at home against Western Oregon. Nyesha Sims had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and current Falcons assistant coach Katie Benson added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
TICKET TALK
SPU fans who are planning to travel to either of the road games this week can purchase tickets either at the window of the respective venues, or online. Click on this link for Simon Fraser tickets. Click on this link for Western Washington tickets.



SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU is 0-6 in away games this season, with four true road games and two on neutral courts.
-- Simon Fraser swept last year's games, 69-60 in Seattle and 82-61 in Burnaby.
-- The Falcons have taken three of the last five games in B.C. The most recent one was 74-63 in 2018.
-- SPU won't have to deal with Sophie Swant, who went for 47 points in the two games combined last year, 34 of those in Burnaby. She has graduated.
-- But among the players still in a Clan uniform is Tayler Drynan. She had 38 points in the two games combined, and got 36 of those from downtown, hitting 12 of 30 behind the arc.
-- Simon and Western Washington are the only two GNAC teams that have winning records against Seattle Pacific. The Clan lead the all-time series, 23-13. The Vikings have a 59-32 advantage.
-- SPU and Western split last year, each winning at home. The Falcons came from 23-6 down in the first quarter to pull out a 61-59 victory in Seattle. WWU had the upper hand in Bellingham, 76-61.
-- Last Saturday against Fairbanks, SPU had two players top the 20-point mark: 27 for Ashlynn Burgess, 23 for Hailee Bennett. That had not happened in nearly four years. Jordan McPhee had 28 and Courtney Hollander 21 at home against Western Washington on Jan. 16, 2016.
-- As expected, Alaska Anchorage forced the Falcons into too many turnovers last Thursday – 25, leading to 27 Seawolves points. Different story on Saturday, when SPU had a season-low nine turnovers – and just two of those during the decisive second half. For the game, the Nanooks scored just seven points off turnovers.
-- The last time the Falcons had fewer than 10 turnovers in a game was on Feb. 24, 2018, at home against Concordia-Portland. The Falcons had just seven that day.
--Thanks in large part to her performance against Fairbanks, Ashlynn Burgess added 26 points to her season shooting percentage last week. Burgess is now at .569 for the year (62 of 109), which is now up to No. 2 in the GNAC. That included .769 (10 of 13) against Fairbanks. In 12 games, Burgess has shot .500 or better in nine of them.
-- At 6.8 rebounds per game, Burgess ranks No. 10 in the GNAC.
 
SCOUTING REPORT
SIMON FRASER CLAN: 8-6, 3-1 GNAC (3^rd)
All-time series: Simon leads, 23-13. Current series streak: Simon won 2. Last time: Simon 82, SPU 61 (Feb. 14, 2019 at Burnaby, B.C.). Clan on the Web.
Clan in a nutshell: After a slow start during which it lost four of its first six, Simon Fraser has won five of its last six, including a sweep last week in Oregon. Jessica Jones, a junior 5-foot-9 guard, is the second-leading scorer in the GNAC at 18.8 points per game. She poured in 30 points against current Pacific West Conference leader Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 12, and had 10 of her game-high 22 during the fourth quarter of the comeback at Western Oregon. The Clan also gets double-digit scoring out of senior 5-7 point guard Tayler Drynan (10.4 per game) and junior 5-11 forward Ozioma Nwabuko (10.2). Nwabuko does more than just score. She is Simon's leading rebounder at 6.7 per game (No. 9 in the GNAC), its leading shooter from the floor (.509, No. 9 in the GNAC), and its leader in steals with 24. She has a pair of double-digit rebounding games, and three more in which she had nine.
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS: 8-4, 2-2 GNAC (tie 4^th)
All-time series: WWU leads, 59-32, Current series streak: WWU won 1. Last time: WWU 60, SPU 43 (Feb. 16, 2019 at Bellingham). Vikings on the Web.
Vikings in a nutshell: Western Washington had won five of its previous six before last Thursday's 73-70 double-overtime loss at Western Oregon. However, the Vikings bounced back in a big way two nights later, routing Concordia-Portland by 47 points, 88-41. Western has a very balanced scoring attack. Leading the way is senior 6-foot-3 center Anna Schwecke at 12.9 points per game – and she gets those points with some very sharp shooting: .552 from the field (No. 5 in the GNAC) and .848 at the foul line (tied for No. 5). When Schwecke isn't scoring, she's rebounding, with a team-high average of 7.2 per game that is No. 7 in the conference. Emma Duff, a junior 6-foot guard, averages 10.1 points per game and shoots .500 from the floor. Junior 6-1 forward Kelsey Rogers averages 9.5 on .480 shooting from the field. Another one to keep an eye on is redshirt junior 5-8 guard Dani Iwami. She missed most of last season with a foot injury. But she went off for a career-high 21 points against the Falcons on Jan. 11, 2018 in Bellingham. WWU is tied with Central Washington for the conference lead in field goal shooting at .441.

 

SIMONSON SAYS …
(On the improved play)
"All season, we've been talking about consistency for 40 minutes. To see us do that on Saturday against Fairbanks just shows you we are making progress. We have to continue to do that for the rest of the year. It's definitely a pleasant thing to see when it has been a focal point for our team."
 
 

(On Simon Fraser)
"We have to guard the 3-point line. They're going to shoot the 3 regardless, so we have to make sure we make them miss."
 
(On Western Washington)
"Western is physical and they're a great rebounding team. It will be a fun match-up for us, because we take pride in being a great rebounding team."
 
(On the overall focus for the week)
"Just staying the course. It has been great to have a few games at home. On the road, it's a little bit different. There are more runs on the road within a game. We have to be able to withstand that and build on what we did against Fairbanks and respond to those runs well."
 
BANK ON BENNETT AT THE LINE
In any close game, there are certain players opposing coaches never want to send to the free throw line.
 
For SPU, Hailee Bennett is that player.
 
 

Bennett was a perfect 9-for-9 last Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks. That helped raise her season percentage to .886 (39 of 44), which ranks No. 1 in the GNAC coming into this week.
 
She has a realistic chance to set the career record for foul shooting percentage. That one requires a minimum of 100 attempts over at least two seasons. Bennett is in her third season (she redshirted as a freshman), and has shot 113 free throws, making 99 for a percentage of .876.
 
The record currently belongs to Suzanna Ohlsen, who finished at .872 (260 of 298) from 2012-15.
 
While Bennett ranks No. 1 in the GNAC, Ashlynn Burgess is No. 9 at .786 (22 of 28). The Falcons are No. 2 as a team at .744, trailing only Central Washington's .783.
 
HERE'S ANOTHER NO. 1
When Seattle Pacific takes the court at Simon Fraser on Thursday, it will do so as the team that is tied for the best rebounding mark in the GNAC.
 
The Falcons start the week averaging 40.9 boards per game – dead even with Western Washington. They have raised their average steadily throughout the season: 33.5 after the first weekend, then to 36.3, 36.0, 37.4, 40.9 and 40.9 (again) on subsequent weekends.
 
Of SPU's 491 season rebounds, 364 (30.3 per game) have come at the defensive end; 127 (10.6 per game) at the offensive end. Ashlynn Burgess averages 6.6 boards per game, 10^th-best in the conference.
 
"I've been so pleased with our defensive rebounding – and offensively, we did a pretty good job, too," head coach Mike Simonson said last Saturday after the Falcons had a 47-35 advantage on Alaska Fairbanks (13-11 offensively). "Ashlynn had five (offensive) and Rachel Berg had three. They're two of our best offensive rebounders, and they did a great job of going in and getting them."
 
A CAREER DAY, AND THEN SOME
While Kayla Brundidge's double-double last Saturday against Fairbanks certainly noteworthy, she was doing more than scoring and rebounding.
 
The freshman out of Seattle's Garfield High School set career marks in four statistical categories. That started with 12 rebounds (all at the defensive end), beating her previous high of 10.
 
Brundidge had five blocked shots – the most by any SPU player since 2010. Her previous high was two, set just two nights earlier against Alaska Anchorage. She also handed out two assists and came up with two steals. Her previous high in both of those categories was one.
 
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
100^th assist:  Ashlynn Burgess (has 98)
100^th FT made: Hailee Bennett (has 99)
100^th point:  Grace Sterk (has 66)
100^th rebound:  Natalie Hoff (has 92)
200^th point:  Ashley Alter (has 164)
300^th rebound:  Abril Rexach Roure (has 279)
500^th field goal:  Ashlynn Burgess (has 496)
500^th point:  Hailee Bennett (has 424)
600^th rebound:  Ashlynn Burgess (has 533)
900^th point:  Abril Rexach Roure (has 873)
1,300^th point:  Ashlynn Burgess (has 1,290)
 
AROUND THE WEST
Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene remain deadlocked for first place in the GNAC with 4-0 records. The Seawolves remain the top overall team in the conference at 14-1, while NNU is 9-3. They square off on Saturday in Anchorage. On Thursday, Central Washington, which topped the preseason poll by the slimmest of margins is visits UAA. Simon Fraser, which awaits Seattle Pacific on Thursday in B.C., is alone in third at 3-1 (8-6 overall). Behind those three are a trio of 2-2's, and five teams (including the Falcons) at 1-3.
 
Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos remain atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, although they're far from the only contenders. East Bay is 7-2 (11-4 overall), San Marcos is 6-2 (11-2). Right on their heels are a bunch of 5-3's: Humboldt State, UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona, and Stanislaus State. San Marcos faces Humboldt and Stanislaus this week; Stanislaus also gets UC San Diego, and San Diego tangles with Humboldt.
 
Hawaii Pacific is all alone atop the Pacific West Conference. The Sharks are 7-0 (12-1 overall). Point Loma Nazarene (9-4, 5-2 Pac West), which had been unbeaten in conference play, has dropped the first two on a three-game Hawaiian road trip and is now fourth behind HPU, Concordia Irvine (6-4, 4-1) and Biola (10-4, 6-2).
 
UP NEXT
SPU is back in Brougham Pavilion next week as host to the Oregon schools. Concordia-Portland is here on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday the 18^th, Western Oregon is in town for the nightcap of a doubleheader, tipping off at 4:15 p.m. The first game will be the Falcon men against Montana State Billings at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                      GNAC              Overall
Alaska Anchorage          4-0        14-1
Northwest Nazarene        4-0         9-3
Simon Fraser              3-1         8-6
Western Washington        2-2         8-4
Central Washington        2-2         7-5
Montana State Billings    2-2         7-6
Saint Martin's            1-3         6-5
Alaska Fairbanks          1-3         6-7
Western Oregon            1-3         4-7
Seattle Pacific           1-3         3-9
Concordia-Portland        1-3         2-10