CENTRAL WASHINGTON TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 26                     Seattle Pacific vs. Metro State, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 27                Seattle Pacific vs. Westminster College, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 

SEATTLE – There's a first time for everything … and a second time, too.
 
One women's basketball opponent that has never matched up against Seattle Pacific, and another that has been on the schedule just once – albeit 35 years ago – will be on the court with the Falcons this weekend at the Central Washington Tournament in Ellensburg.
 
On Friday, SPU will take on Metro State of Denver inside Nicholson Pavilion. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, it'll be Westminster College of Salt Lake City on the court with the Falcons also beginning at 2:00 p.m.
 
Both schools are from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, most of whose members hail from Colorado.
 
Seattle Pacific (2-3) is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. At the Cal State San Marcos Hoops Classic last weekend, the Falcons fell 71-50 to host CSSM, then went toe-to-toe against national No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific, taking the Cougars into overtime before coming up short, 67-61.
 
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 are 16-9 all-time against current RMAC members.
-- However, 11 of those 25 games are against Western New Mexico during the seven seasons (1994-95 through 2000-01) when both schools were part of the Pacific West Conference.
-- The last time SPU met an RMAC school was at home on Nov. 12, 2012 when it scored a 62-46 victory against Western State (now Western Colorado) in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.
-- Both games this weekend will count toward the West Region rankings when they start being compiled in February. Although the RMAC is not a West conference (it is part of the South Central Region), it is regarded as a "contiguous" conference, as it is right next door to the West Region. Contests between schools from contiguous regions count toward rankings.
-- Freshman guard Maya Hoff, who stands 6-foot-2, had a breakout performance against Azusa Pacific last Saturday, Hoff scored 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting (2 of 4 from behind the arc), grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists, and came up with one steal in 28 minutes of action off the bench.
-- In five games, the Falcons have kept their opponent below 40 percent shooting in four of them – and two of those were below 30 percent: 28.8 for Corban and 28.1 for Humboldt State on the opening weekend, then 37.7 percent for Cal State San Marcos and 38.5 percent for Azusa Pacific last weekend.
-- Overall, opponents shoot just 35.3 percent against SPU.
-- Likewise, Seattle Pacific has out-rebounded four of its five opponents, including 39-38 vs. Cal State San Marcos and 41-35 vs. Azusa a week ago. In the San Marcos game, all 12 Falcons who played had at least one rebound.
-- SPU is allowing just 59.4 points per game, one of four GNAC schools (out of 10) allowing less than 60 per game.
-- At 53.1 percent, sophomore Beth Pettingill ranks No. 9 in GNAC field goal shooting.
-- Fifth-year point guard Abril Rexach Roure is No. 5 on the conference steals list, averaging 2.2 per game.
-- Sophomore guard Anna Eddy has shown she can drill it from downtown, and is tied for No. 5 in the GNAC 3-point shooing at an even 50 percent (5 for 10).
 
SCOUTING THE METRO STATE ROADRUNNERS: 2-1, 0-0 RMAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 1-0. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 77, Metro 74 (1986). Roadrunners on the Web.
Roadrunners in a nutshell: Metro is coming off a 50-44 victory against Texas A&M Kingsville in its only game last week. Twice, the Roadrunners were within 10 seconds of being 3-0, but ultimately dropped a triple-overtime decision at Texas Woman's University, 86-83 on Nov. 13. Senior 6-foot forward Allie Navarette leads MSU in scoring at 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Junior 5-6 guard Alex Carlton averages 10.3 points per game, and is a sharpshooter from the field, hitting 52.9 percent (9 of 17). That includes 54.5 percent (6 of 11) from 3-point range. Rebounding is a strong suit for the Roadrunners, as grab an average of 44.3 per game and allow opponents just 30. Besides Navarette, freshman 5-8 guard Kendra Parra averages 7.3, and sophomore 5-10 forward Jaela Richardson pulls down 6.3 per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE WESTMINSTER COLLEGE GRIFFINS: 1-1, 0-0 RMAC
All-time series: First game. Griffins on the Web.
Griffins in a nutshell: Westminster, which moved up from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 2015, split its first two games of the season last weekend, both on the road against GNAC opponents. The Griffins opened with a 78-71 victory at Central Washington before dropping a 61-54 decision at Northwest Nazarene. Senior 5-foot-7 guard Ashley Greenwood played all 40 minutes in both games, tallying 22 at Central and 15 at NNU, shooting 62.5 percent from the field (15 of 24) combined for her average of 18.5 points per game. Also averaging in double digits are senior 6-foot forward Sarah McGinley (14.0), senior 6-foot guard Abby Mangum (13.5) and freshman 5-9 guard Rae Falatea (12.0). Greenwood also was busy on the boards in the first two games, pulling down 19.
 
ALL-TOURNEY HONOR FOR HOFF
 

Senior forward Natalie Hoff brought an overall solid effort to last week's Cal State San Marcos Hoops Classic – and people noticed.
 
Hoff was the lone Falcon named to the all-tournament team at the end of the weekend. In two games, she pumped in 22 points on 45 percent shooting from the field (9 of 20), was a perfect 4 for 4- at the free throw line, grabbed seven rebounds, and came up with one steal.
 
Through the first two weekends of the season, Hoff ranks No. 10 in GNAC scoring at 12.4 points per game, and is 13^th on the rebounding list at 6.2 per game. She is hitting 52.2 percent from the field through five games, the 12^th-best mark in the conference, and is among the GNAC's best foul shooters at 87.5 percent (14 of 16), tying for No. 3.
 
MORE THAN JUST POINTS FOR ALTER
Senior guard / forward Ashley Alter reached a career milestone last Saturday against Azusa Pacific when she recorded the 500^th point of her career. Alter finished that game with a season-high 16 and comes into this week with 512 in the book.
 
 

But Alter is just as valuable defensively, and often draws the assignment of guarding the one of the opposition's biggest scoring threats.
 
For nationally ranked APU, one of those threats is guard Paige Uyehara, who came in averaging 12.9 points per game. Alter made it a tough afternoon for Uyehara, who did get 12 points, but shot just 33 percent (4 of 12), with just 1 of 4 from 3-point range.
 
"That was one of the players we keyed on, and Ashley did a great job on her for the entire duration of the game," Falcons head coach Mike Simonson said.
 
SIMO SAYS …

(On the overall performance last weekend)
"We're beginning to see that we do have the ability to be a strong team in the (West) region. However, we need to improve with the little things – taking care of the basketball, rebounding, taking shot that I know we can hit – and do it for 40 minutes. Once we do that, we'll be a tough team in the GNAC and a tough team in the region."
 
(On SPU's defensive play)
"We saw again that our defense is pretty elite. (Azusa) had 57 points at the end of four quarters. We were doing a really good job of making it tough, and we followed the scout really well. … One of our mottos is to make them miss. We need to do a good job of contesting shots to make them miss, and I felt that almost every shot they took was contested. That's our goal every time out."
 
AROUND THE WEST
The GNAC still has three teams with perfect records, led by Saint Martin's, which is 5-0. Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington are both 3-0, The Saints head to Texas for a pair of games this weekend, and Western Washington tangles with a pair of RMAC opponents – Regis and Colorado Christian – in Colorado.
 
No one is undefeated among California Collegiate Athletic Association teams. Cal State East Bay has the best overall record at 4-1, followed by Stanislaus State at 3-1. Most CCAA schools begin conference play on Saturday.
 
Concordia Irvine is off to the best start among Pacific West Conference schools with a 3-0 record, all against CCAA teams. The Eagles will get a look at some GNAC opposition this weekend, taking on Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene in the Sea Lions Thanksgiving Classic at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for the latest news, notes, results, and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons open their GNAC schedule next week at home with a pair of women's / men's doubleheaders on Brougham Pavilion. On Thursday, Dec. 2, Central Washington will be in town, with the men's game at 5:15 p.m. and the women at 7:30. On Saturday, Dec. 4, it'll be Northwest Nazarene for an afternoon twin bill. The women tip off at 2:00, followed by the men at 4:15.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                     GNAC                Overall
Saint Martin's            0-0          5-0
Alaska Anchorage          0-0          3-0
Western Washington        0-0          3-0
Central Washington        0-0          3-1
Western Oregon            0-0          3-1
Montana State Billings    0-0          3-2
Northwest Nazarene        0-0          2-2
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0          1-1
Seattle Pacific           0-0          2-3
Simon Fraser              0-0          2-4