THE SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 12                     Corban at Seattle Pacific, 3:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 13                Humboldt State at Seattle Pacific, 3:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Monday, Nov. 15                  Hawaii Pacific at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – Tip-off time is back on time – that is to say, it's in November.
 
After the most unusual season in the history of the Seattle Pacific women's basketball program, the Falcons will begin their 2021-22 season this weekend at home in Brougham Pavilion when they play host to Corban University and Humboldt State.
 
Corban, from Salem, Oregon, will face SPU on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Humboldt, a long-time part of Seattle Pacific's schedule from Arcata, California, will be the opponent on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
 
Both SPU games will be the second half of doubleheaders. Western Washington is coming down for the weekend, and will play the 1:00 p.m. game both days; meeting Humboldt on Friday and Corban on Saturday.
 
Seattle Pacific will be back in Brougham on Monday afternoon to face Pacific West Conference power Hawaii Pacific. That one tips off at 2:00 p.m.
 
A year ago at this time, the Falcons didn't know when their first game would actually place, as things were still largely shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. The season finally began on Jan. 11, and the team wound up playing 14 games, going 7-7.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All three SPU games and both Western Washington games will have free live Webcasts and live stats. The Friday afternoon and Monday afternoon games will not have audio play-by-play. Greg Sexton will call the action for both games of Saturday's doubleheader.
 
TICKET TALK
Fans are welcome to attend matches in person at Brougham Pavilion.
 
 

In compliance with King County guidelines, spectators 12 years of age and older attending SPU athletic events will need to provide proof of full vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 test. Before purchasing or picking up tickets at venue Will Call windows, attendees will be required to show evidence of vaccination. Acceptable forms of proof include a CDC-issued Vaccination Record Card, a photo of the card, the Washington state myIRmobile.com app or a document from a health care provider.
 
Those who cannot provide proof of vaccination may instead present documentation of a negative FDA-approved COVID-19 test administered by a professional and dated within 72 hours of the event.
 
For additional details, please click on the SPU ATHLETICS ENTRY POLICY webpage. Mask wearing is mandatory at all times and spectators are encouraged to social distance when possible. Save the wait in line and obtain your SPU soccer tickets in advance by purchasing them online the SPU TICKETS webpage.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- This will be the 47^th season of SPU women's basketball. The program started as a club team in 1974-75, and became a full-fledged varsity program in 1975-76.
-- Mike Simonson (23-46) starts his fourth year as head coach.
-- The Falcons have a 35-11 record in season-opening games.
-- Last season's opener was a 56-51 victory against Pacific Lutheran in Brougham.
-- This will be SPU's first-ever game against Corban, an NAIA school that plays in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
-- On the other hand, the Falcons have gone up against Humboldt State 34 times, most recently in 2020 when the Lumberjacks, playing on their homecourt in Arcata, scored a 70-54 victory.
-- Many of the SPU-HSU games came when both schools were members of the same conference: the Pacific West in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, and then for five seasons (2001-02 through 04-05) as charter members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
-- The Falcons and Hawaii Pacific have played just twice. The last time was in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA West Regionals, which took place in Brougham Pavilion. SPU, seeded No. 1 for the tournament, beat No. 8 seed HPU, 65-52.
-- Seattle Pacific went 6-5 at home last winter.
-- All three games are non-conference. However, the results against Humboldt State and Hawaii Pacific will count toward the West Region rankings when they come out later in the season.
 
SCOUTING THE CORBAN WARRIORS: 1-3, 0-0 Cascade Collegiate
All-time series: First meeting. Warriors on the Web.
Warriors in a nutshell: Corban already has four games in the book, and its one victory has come on the road, 59-54 at Montana State-Northern last Friday. Sophomore 6-foot guard-forward Halle Wright leads the Warriors on the board at 10.8 points per game. Right behind her is junior 6-4 center Shaelie Burgess, scoring at 10.0 clip. Burgess is a solid all-around performer, as she shoots 45 percent from the field, grabs 6.8 rebounds per game and already has 10 blocked shots in just four games. Junior 6-foot forward Holly Golenor sets the pace on the boards at 9.3 per game, and averages exactly that many points, as well. Setting things up offensively is freshman 5-9 guard Izzy Boring, who averages 5.5 assists per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE HUMBOLDT STATE LUMBERJACKS: No season in 2020-21
All-time series: SPU leads, 31-3. Current series streak: HSU won 2. Last time: HSU 70, SPU 54 (Nov. 8, 2019 at Arcata, Calif.). Last SPU series win: SPU 69, HSU 49 (Nov. 10, 2017 at Fresno, Calif.). Lumberjacks on the Web.
Lumberjacks in a nutshell: Humboldt has turned over its entire roster from its final game of the 2019-20 season, which was in the first round of the CCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks have nine players altogether, split between five juniors and four freshman. All five of the juniors are transfers. Humboldt has played one exhibition game, defeating Southern Oregon University, 75-67. All five starters scored in double figures, led by the 14 points of freshman 5-8 guard Jadence Clifton. Junior 5-9 guard Julia Iman and freshman 5-10 forward Madison Parry added 13 apiece.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWAII PACIFIC SHARKS: 13-1 in 2020-21 (no conference record)
All-time series: SPU leads, 2-0. Current series streak: SPU won 2. Last time: SPU 65, HPU 52 (March 12, 2010 at Seattle). Last HPU series win: None. Sharks on the Web.
Sharks in a nutshell: Hawaii Pacific put together a phenomenal 29-1 season in 2019-20, winning their last 25 games in a row on the way to the Pac West regular-season and tournament titles and the chance to host the NCAA West Regional tournament before covid hit. Last winter, playing a limited schedule among only other Hawaii schools, the Sharks went 13-0, then lost to Azusa Pacific in the first round of the NCAA West Regional. However, Hawaii Pacific has had considerable roster turnover. The only returners from the abbreviated 2021 campaign are senior 5-foot-7 guard Amy Baum, who averaged 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and a whopping 8.6 assists per game, and 5-6 junior guard Avery Cargill, who averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 boards.
 
COACH SIMONSON SAYS …
(On how preseason has gone)
"We really get out there and we play hard. One of our themes is we don't need things to be pretty, but they must always be gritty. We're always diving on the floor for lose balls, getting a lot of deflections, and playing good hard-nosed defense. In our exhibition against Multnomah, I really saw us read our defenders well and share the basketball."

 

(On returning 14 of last winter's 15 players)
"It's such a blessing. We're finally starting to get some continuity in what we do. We run an intricate system that we put in two seasons ago, and now, we're seeing our players coming together – Ashley Alter, Natalie Hoff, Abril Rexach Roure – they're all really starting to come into their own in how we play."
 
(On starting off with three games in five days)
"We have strong aspirations to go to the GNAC Tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament. You need to schedule a certain way. … What I'm most excited about is we're getting scenarios where we're playing tough teams back-to-back. That's what happens in the GNAC Tournament. That's what happens in the NCAA Tournament. You have to be prepared to not only play on the road in a tough environment, but you need to be able to play tough teams back-to-back and make adjustments. We'll find that out really quick."
 
SCOUTING THE 2021-22 FALCONS
It's not every year – in fact, it's hardly any year – when a team welcomes back almost every player from the previous season.
 
But Seattle Pacific and fourth-year head coach Mike Simonson are in just such a situation this season, as 14 of the 15 players on the 2021 roster are back for another go-round, joined by four talented freshmen.
 
 

Leading the way for the Falcons is senior 5-foot-11 guard / forward Ashley Alter. In 12 games last season, she averaged a team-high 13.3 points and dished 21 assists, usually while drawing the toughest defensive assignment of the night against the opponent's top player. Alter was a unanimous selection to the 2021-22 Preseason All-GNAC team.
 
 

Running the show at point guard is Abril Rexach Roure. The 5-5 native of Spain will be in her third year at Seattle Pacific, taking advantage of the NCAA allowance to return this season after the 2020-21 campaign was canceled. Rexach Roure dished out a team-high 76 assists last winter, an average of 5.4 per game and had a solid 1.65 assist / turnover ratio, also averaging 5.4 points.
 
 

Returning after starting all 14 games last season are senior guards Rachel Berg and Kaprice Boston. The 5-9 Berg averaged 11.1 points per game, shot 42.5 percent from the field and a team-high 42.6 percent (29 of 68) from 3-point range. Boston, who stands 5-10, got to show what show what she could do over the course of a full season after missing all but two games of the 2019-20 schedule with an injury. She averaged 5.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.

 

Senior Natalie Hoff and junior Kayla Brundidge split time in the post last season, each starting seven games. Hoff, 6-2, averaged 10.0 points on 45.0 percent shooting from the field, and 6.4 rebounds. Brundidge, a 6-footer, averaged 6.6 points on 46.3 percent shooting,6.5 rebounds, and blocked a team-leading nine shots.

Sophomore 5-10 guard Malia Mastora and sophomore 6-foot forward Beth Pettingill saw regular action in reserve roles, , each averaging 3.3 points Sophomore 5-7 guard Hunter Beirne showed promise early on with 23 points on 66.7 percent shooting in the first two games before her season with an injury. She is expected back this season.
 
A highly regarded recruiting class – all from the Portland / Vancouver metro area – will come aboard. And, they cover all areas of the court.
 
Schuyler Berry, a 6-3 center, was the Portland Interscholastic League Player of the Year and an Oregon All-State selection in 2020. Maya Hoff a 6-2 guard (and Natalie's younger sister) was a three-time Portland All-Metro pick. Lolo Weatherspoon, a 5-10 wing, and Jalena Carlisle, a 5-11 guard / forward, both earned All-Greater St. Helens recognition in 2019 for rival high schools Union and Camas, respectively.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons fly south next weekend for the Cal State San Marcos Hoops Classic. They'll play the host Cougars on Friday, Nov. 19, at 7:00 p.m.. The next day, SPU squares off against Azusa Pacific at 1:00 p.m.