THE SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 19                     Seattle Pacific at Cal State San Marcos, 3:00 p.m.
                                                The Sports Center / San Marcos, Calif.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 20                Seattle Pacific vs. Azusa Pacific, 1:00 p.m.
                                                The Sports Center / San Marcos, Calif.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

SEATTLE – The road is calling … and the Seattle Pacific Falcons will answer that call this weekend.
 
After three home games in four days to start the women's basketball season, SPU will pack its bags for a trip to California and a pair of gams in the Cal State San Marcos Hoops Classic.
 
Up first is the host CSSM Cougars on Friday in The Sport Center, tipping off at 3:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Falcons (2-1) will tangle with national No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific, getting started at 1:00 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific took two of its three games during the early homestand. Last Friday, the Falcons downed Corban University, 63-38, then came from behind late in the fourth quarter on Saturday to get past Humboldt State, 54-52.
 
On Monday, Pacific West contender Hawaii Pacific was deadly from downtown, making 11 shots from behind the arc to score a 69-60 victory in Brougham Pavilion.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both of this weekend's games will have live Webcasts and live stats. The appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--The Falcons will be taking their first trip outside of Washington since Feb. 27, 2020, when they played at Northwest Nazarene. They were not allowed to travel outside the state during last winter's abbreviated season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
-- SPU did play three road games during the 2021 schedule, splitting a pair at Saint Martin's in Lacey and falling to Western Washington in Bellingham.
-- This will be the team's first trip to California since the West Region Crossover Classic at Azusa Pacific on Nov. 15-16, 2019.
-- Through the first weekend of play, SPU ranks No. 3 defensively among Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools, allowing just 53 points per game. The only two ahead of them are Alaska Anchorage (43.0 in just one game) and Saint Martin's (47.0 in two).
-- In that same defensive mindset, SPU is No. 3 in steals (9.7 per game) and tied for No. 3 in blocked shots (3.0).
-- Senior forward Natalie Hoff is No. 8 on the conference scoring list at 13.3 points per game. She also is tied for No. 5 in rebounding at 8.0 per contest.
-- Sophomore Beth Pettingill is among the early leaders in field goal shooting, sitting in the No. 7 spot at 65.2 percent (15 of 23). Pettingill shot 5 of 8 against Corban, 6 of 7 against Humboldt State, and 4 of 8 against Hawaii Pacific.
-- Senior guard / forward Ashley Alter is 12 points from the 500^th of her career, coming into this week with 488.
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SCOUTNG THE CAL STATE SAN MARCOS COUGARS: 1-0
All-time series: First meeting. San Marcos on the Web.
CSSM in a nutshell: After putting together a 25-5 record, San Marcos was bound for the NCAA West Regionals in March 20, looking ahead to a first-round clash against Azusa Pacific when the everything shut down because of the pandemic. The team did not play any games last winter. Among the returners for the Cougars is 5-foot-8 senior guard Akayla Hasckson, who averaged a team-high 13.3 points in 2019-20. Also returning is Dynnah Buckner a 5-8 junior guard, who scored at a 10.0 clip during that season. San Marcos opened its season on Tuesday, winning at Point Loma Nazarene, 75-62. Buckner poured in 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, and Hackson had 11. Jordan Vasquez, a 6-foot sophomore forward, drained 7 of 8 from the field on the way to 19 points. She made it a double-double with 10 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE AZUSA PACIFIC COUGARS: 3-0
All-time series: SPU leads, 8-3. Current series streak: APU won 2. Last time: APU 76, SPU 58 (Nov. 15, 2019 at Azusa, Calif.). Last SPU series win: SPU 80, APU 69 (Nov. 17, 2017 at Azusa, Calif.) Azusa on the Web.
APU in a nutshell: Challenging circumstances notwithstanding, the Cougars put together a remarkable campaign last winter. They won the Pacific West Conference's Southern California Pod with a 10-4 record and went 12-5 overall, earning a berth in the slimmed-down NCAA West Regionals. Azusa won the championship and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, falling to Lander in the first round 88-76. Leading scorer Kayla Shaw (16.9 points) graduated, the other four double-digit scorers for the Cougars are back: 6-2 sophomore forward Molly Whitmore (14.3 points), 5-7 sophomore guard Paige Uyehara (12.9), 6-foot redshirt freshman forward Kelly Heimburger (11.8) and 6-2 senor forward Laura Pranger (11.7).
 

MAKE IT 1,000 FOR ABRIL
With her jump shot early in the game against Hawaii Pacific on Monday, senior point guard Abril Rexach Roure logged the 1,000^th point of her career.
 
Rexach-Roure came into the season with 998 points, and went scoreless against both Corban and Humboldt State. She finished with 11 points against the Sharks, putting her at 1,009.
 
Of those points, 793 came during her two years (2017-19) at Eastern Wyoming College. She joined the Falcons for the 2019-20 season and now has 216 points during her time here.
 
UP NEXT
SPU will play closer to home on Thanksgiving weekend, visiting Ellensburg for the Central Washington Tournament. Up first is Metro State of Denver next Friday, Nov. 26, followed by Westminster College of Utah on Saturday the 27^th. Both games against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference members in CWU's Nicholson Pavilion tip off at 2:00 p.m.