REGIS THANKSGIVING CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 25                    Seattle Pacific vs. Regis, Noon PST
                                             Regis Field House / Denver, Colo.
                                             Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 26               Seattle Pacific vs. Colorado School of Mines, Noon PST
                                             Regis Field House / Denver, Colo.
                                             Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – Just one week into the women's basketball season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons already have gotten a taste – make that a double taste – of playing against national-caliber opponents.
 
They'll get some more this week.
 
Coming off a split against nationally ranked Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific at the West Region Crossover Classic, SPU heads to the Rocky Mountains this week for the Regis Thanksgiving Classic in Denver.
 
Up first is host Regis on Friday at noon Pacific time. Then on Saturday at noon, SPU takes on No. 21-ranked Colorado School of Mines.
 
After dropping a 70-62 decision to San Marcos last Friday in Bellingham, the Falcons bounced back the following morning to take down Azusa, 70-64.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both games will have live Webcast and live stats. The appropriate links are at the top of this page.
 
SHINING AMONG THE STARS
 

Ashley Alter and Schuyler Berry of the Falcons both were named to the West Region Crossover Classic All-Tournament team.
 
Alter, a fifth-year guard / forward, poured in a team-high 17 points on Saturday to help SPU down Azusa Pacific, 70-64. She also had 10 in Friday's game against Cal State San Marcos. For the weekend, Alter totaled 27 points on 45.8 percent shooting from the field (11 of 24), plus 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
 
Sophomore center Berry established her presence inside throughout the weekend. She totaled 25 points (12 against San Marcos, 13 against Azusa) on 61.1 percent shooting (11 of 18, including 5 of 6 vs. APU). She pulled down 15 rebounds altogether, with nine of those coming against San Marcos. Berry also found her teammates with three assists in each game, and finished the weekend with three steals and two blocked shots.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU hosted both of this week's opponents in 2019 at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham Pavilion. The Colorado schools won both, with Mines prevailing, 66-55, and Regis, 62-53.
-- Over the years, the Falcons have played 29 games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools, with a record of 17-12. Of those 29 games, 11 were played against Western New Mexico from 1994-2001 when both schools were members of the Pacific West Conference.
-- Seattle Pacific split a pair against RMAC schools at last year's Central Washington Tournament in Ellensburg. The Falcons fell to Metro State of Denver, 60-55, but bounced back to beat Westminster, 70-60.
-- This weekend's games will count toward SPU's in-region record when West Region rankings start coming out later in the season The RMAC is regarded as a "contiguous conference", as it is considered to be right next door to West conferences.
-- The Falcons did a solid job of crashing the boards in Bellingham. They out-rebounded Cal State San Marcos, 40-33, and Azusa Pacific, 44-35, making them plus-16 for the weekend.
--They also passed the ball well against both teams, especially San Marcos, with 19 assists on 25 baskets. In the Azusa Pacific game, 12 of their 24 baskets were assisted.
-- No double-doubles yet, but a couple of SPU players came close. Schuyler Berry was one rebound shy against Cal State San Marcos (12 points-9 rebounds), and Natalie Hoff was two boards away against Azusa (13 points-8 rebounds). Hoff has six in her career; Berry is still seeking her first.
-- While Azusa Pacific effectively used a full-court pressing defense to climb back into Saturday's game, the Falcons came up with some tough defense of their own down the stretch. The kept the Cougars without a field goal in the final 5 minutes, 33 seconds, forcing them to miss their last nine shots.
-- Seattle Pacific will get a chance for an early-season look at GNAC rival Central Washington, as the Wildcats round out the four-team tournament. They meet Colorado Mines on Friday and Regis on Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE REGIS RANGERS: 3-1, 0-0 RMAC
All-time series: Regis leads, 2-1.  Current series streak: Regis won 1.  Last time: Regis 62, SPU 53 (Nov. 23, 2019 at Seattle). Last SPU series win: SPU 73, Regis 54 (Nov. 16, 2007 at Seattle).  Rangers on the Web.
Rangers in a nutshell: After dropping its season opener to St. Mary's of Texas, Regis has won its last three in a row, the most recent of which was a 76-58 rout of UC Colorado Springs last Friday. Setting the pace for the Rangers is senior 6-foot guard / forward  Sam Deem, who is averaging an impressive double-double of 14.3 points and 11.0 rebounds through the first four games. She had 16 boards against St. Mary's and another 14 against Colorado Springs. Along with that, she has 11 blocked shots. Junior 5-10 guard Erin Fry averages 13.0 points and 6.8 rebounds, and is constantly find a way to get to the foul line. She has taken 33 attempts, hitting 20. Fry also has dished a team-high 24 assists. Josey Ryan, a senior 5-9 guard, averages 11.0 points per game.
 
SCOUTING THE COLORADO MINES OREDIGGERS: 2-1, 0-0 RMAC
All-time series: Mines leads, 2-0.  Current series streak: Mines won 2.  Last time: Mines 66, SPU 55 (Nov. 22, 2019 at Seattle). Orediggers on the Web.
Orediggers in a nutshell: Colorado Mines rolled through its first two games at a preseason tournament in San Antonio, defeating St. Edward's by 29 points (74-45) and St. Mary's by 41 (86-45). Things got tougher last week as the Orediggers dropped a 59-47 decision to Nebraska Kearney. Ashley Steffeck, a senior 5-foot-9 guard, leads Mines in scoring at 12.0 points per game, and is a solid shooter from the field at 48.3 percent (14 of 29). Right behind her is junior 5-9 guard Josephine Howery at 11.0 points per game. Jessica Rios, a junior 5-7 guard, has a 9.3 scoring average, and also has some quick hands with a team-high 13 steals. Redshirt senior 5-7 point guard Sammy Van Sickle has the distinction of leading the team not only in rebounding, but in playmaking, too. She averages 8.5 boards per game, and has dished out 10 assists.

SIMO SAYS …
SPU head coach Mike Simonson looks ahead to this week's games in Colorado.
 
(On Regis and Colorado Mines)
"Both teams are very good. They both have winning records, they're both sound on offense, and especially on defense, so we have to be able to execute."

 

(On the first true road game, at Regis)
"We've been on the road, but not actually in somebody's home venue. That'll be fun playing Regis and being able to feel what it's like being on the road because we need to get ready for GNAC play, and these two teams are really going to prepare us well for that."
 
(On balancing practice and finals this week)
"Finals has taken priority the past couple of days. We've just been tinkering and fine-tuning, just because we have such a studious group and they do a great job in the classroom. But Wednesday and Thursday, we're going to get to work. We're excited to go compete and we're excited to play some fresh new opponents. And it's nice to play a neighboring region, and we get to count them as in-region games. To have a road game that counts as an in-region game, that's a big deal come NCAA Tournament time, and we have aspirations to make the NCAA Tournament.
 
(On balancing game prep and travel with Thanksgiving)
"We're going to get a turkey dinner to go and eat at the hotel and have a nice Thanksgiving dinner as a team and try to celebrate the best we can. Our team has been great with their mindset. Some of our players celebrated a week earlier with their families to make sure they could have dinner at home. But we'll do our best to make sure we have a good thankful day."
 
SUPER SOPHS
Anna Eddy and Schuyler Berry both came up with some noteworthy performances last week in Bellingham.

 

Eddy poured in a career-high 23 points in Friday's game against Cal State San Marcos. The first 18 of those came from behind the 3-point arc. That eclipsed her previous high of 21 points, set last January against Alaska Anchorage. Eddy hit 9 of 16 for the day, with 8 of 13 from downtown.
 
In that same San Marcos game, Berry collected a career high nine rebounds, topping her previous mark of seven, set last Jan. 29 against Alaska Anchorage. Her 12 points tied her career high. And, her first two points that day put her at 100 for her career.
 
But that scoring standard didn't last long. The next day against No. 21 Azusa Pacific, Berry put 13 points on the board. She also tied her career high with three assists, racking up that many in each of the two games.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th point              Hailey Marlow has 84
100th rebound         Schuyler Berry has 91
500th rebound        Natalie Hoff has 459
700th point             Ashley Alter has 699
                              Natalie Hoff has 682

AROUND THE WEST
A foursome of GNAC teams has gotten off to a solid start. Central Washington, Montana State Billings, and Western Oregon are all 4-0, while Alaska Anchorage has won its first three games. Simon Fraser has played just twice, but won both games. Of the 10 conference school, nine have at least one victory through the first two weekends of action.
 
The California Collegiate Athletic Association has just one undefeated team, as Cal State Dominguez Hills is 3-0. However, four others have won three of their first four games: Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State East Bay, Cal State Monterey Bay, and Cal State San Bernardino.
 
No one is undefeated in the Pacific West Conference. With preseason play still in progress, Fresno Pacific has the leading record at 4-1. Hawaii Hilo is 2-1. Of its 11 teams, five are still in search of their first victory.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for the latest news, notes, and stats from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference..
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific begins its GNAC schedule next week on the road in Alaska. The Falcons face Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Dec. 1, tipping off at 6:15 p.m. Pacific time. Then its down to Anchorage on Saturday the 3rd, also with a 6:15 start time. Both of those will be doubleheaders, with the SPU men facing their counterparts in the second half, with an 8:30 p.m. PST start time.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                      GNAC             Overall
Central Washington        0-0        4-0
Montana State Billings    0-0        4-0
Western Oregon            0-0        4-0
Alaska Anchorage          0-0        3-0
Simon Fraser              0-0        2-0
Northwest Nazarene        0-0        3-1
Saint Martin's            0-0        2-2
Seattle Pacific           0-0        1-1
Western Washington        0-0        1-1
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0        0-3