PORTLAND, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific women's basketball team has earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week Honors after handing Northwest Nazarene and nationally-ranked Central Washington their first conference losses of the season.  
 
The Falcons opened the final week of 2022 with a 58-45 win against  the Nighthawks on Thursday at home in Seattle. They then ended the calendar year on a high, taking a 70-63 decision against Central Washington on Saturday to hand the Wildcats just their second loss of the season.

 

"It's great to go 2-0," head coach Mike Simonson said. "But what I'm really excited about is our identity is starting to break through at the perfect time as we get into conference play."  

Fifth-year forwards Natalie Hoff and Ashley Alter led the charge for the SPU against Northwest Nazarene, with both players recording double-doubles. Hoff tallied a career-high 20 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds to go with two blocks, two steals and an assist. Alter backed her up with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, along with five steals, two assists and a block. 
 
Alter popped off for 31 points to go with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block against Central. She led three SPU players in double-digits and secured individual honors as the GNAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week. 
 
Hoff put together another strong performance on Saturday as well with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Redshirt sophomore guard Hunter Beirne chipped in for 10 points along with a career high-tying eight rebounds. In addition, Beirne logged four assists and a steal.  
 
The pair of victories lifted the Falcons to 3-1 in conference play and third in the GNAC standings. They are ranked No. 10 in this week's D2SIDA West Region poll, as compiled by a group of sports information directors from the three West conferences: GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association, and Pacific West.
 
Along with strong offensive performances from key players, SPU also benefitted from stout defense. For the week, the Falcons tied for first in scoring defense (54.0), and was second in scoring margin.
 
Simonson pointed to the defensive effort along with the wider scope of how the team played as proof that the team's identity is coming to the forefront.  

"What I'm really happy about is that both games this week were basically what SPU basketball is," Simonson said. "Regardless of wins or losses this weekend, we played tough, hard-nosed defense for two games. We passed the ball really well and we shared it. When it came down to winning time and crunch time, we had a game-winning plan. I believe that's who we are."

Seattle Pacific will start the new year on the road, visiting Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin's on Saturday.