THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 30               Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 5:15 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Dec. 2                  Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m.
                                                Brougham Pavilion (2,650) / Seattle, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – Upon landing in Colorado last Thursday and heading straight to practice, the Seattle Pacific Falcons got to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with their teammates and some of their families.
 
This week, they finally get to feast on some home cooking.
 
Having spent the first three weekends of the season on the road, SPU players get to compete on their own home court, as they tip off the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of the schedule against Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage.
 
The Nanooks are in town on Thursday at 5:15 p.m., followed by the Seawolves on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Both are doubleheader openers.
 
Seattle Pacific is looking to get back into the win column and halt a four-game slide after dropping both games in the Rocky Mountains last weekend, 68-41 at Colorado Christian on Friday and 64-62 at Metro State on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both games will have live Webcasts and live stats. Greg Sexton will call all the action. Appropriate links can be found at the top of this story.
 
FALCONS PICKED FOR 6TH
SPU has been tabbed for a sixth-place finish in the upcoming conference campaign in the preseason coaches poll.
 
The Falcons, who went 15-13 overall last year and 9-9 in GNAC play to take fifth place, received 51 points in the voting from the 10 conference coaches.
 
Montana State Billings was chosen as a very slight favorite, receiving five of the 10 first-place votes and 94 points. The Yellowjackets went 25-8 last season, 14-4 in the GNAC for second place. Right behind them in the poll is defending champion Western Washington. The Vikings collected four first-place votes and 91 points. They're coming off a 24-4 season, including 16-2 in the GNAC.
 
The other first-place vote went to Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves are picked third with 75 points.

 

BERRY MAKES PRESEASON ALL-GNAC
As the 2022-23 season progressed, Schuyler Berry's presence – and impact – on the basketball court for the Seattle Pacific Falcons became more noticeable.
 
Coaches around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference certainly noticed. They have voted the 6-foot-3 junior to this year's Preseason All-GNAC team. She was the only Falcon voted to the 15-player squad.
 
Berry played all 28 games last winter, one of four SPU players to do so, and got five starting calls. A center, she averaged 7.4 points per game on a team-high .472 shooting from the field (77 of 163) and pulled down 3.4 rebounds per game. She had 94 boards altogether with nearly half of those (43) at the offensive end. She also reached up and got her hands on 16 blocked shots, and tied her career high with three assists on three different occasions.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The game against Alaska Fairbanks will be the official home opener, but the Falcons did have an exhibition contest in Brougham Pavilion on Nov. 3, defeating Pacific of Oregon, 65-58.
-- Last season, SPU went 6-5 at home. That included a 69-47 victory against Fairbanks and a 64-54 loss to Anchorage.
-- The Falcons are 18-3 all-time in GNAC openers, including 9-0 at home.
-- Last year, they opened conference play on the road at Alaska Fairbanks and came away with a 65-60 victory.
-- The most recent conference home opener was Dec. 2, 2021, a 69-65 victory against Central Washington.
-- Through 21 seasons of GNAC play, Seattle Pacific has the second-best winning percentage of .688 (263-119). Right behind at .686 is Alaska Anchorage (253-116). Alaska Fairbanks is 10th at .201 (76-303). Leading the way is Western Washington at .754 (285-93).
-- Junior forward Olivia Mayer ranks No. 8 in GNAC rebounding at 8.2 per game. Of her 49 total rebounds, 18 are at the offensive end, an average of 3.0 per game that is tied for No. 2. Her 5.2 boards at the defensive end has her tied for No. 7.
 

-- Freshman guard Haylie-Anne Ohta is the conference's No. 7 shooter from 3-point range, hitting at a .417 clip (5 of 12).
-- Ohta got her first college start last Saturday at Metro State, finishing with a career-high eight points on 3 of 7 from the field (2 of 4 from downtown).
-- That was part of SPU's best overall shooting game of the season, both overall (.417 at 25 of 60) and behind the arc (.286 at 6 of 21).
-- Senior guard Hailey Marlow grabbed her 100^th career rebound in the Metro State game. She now has 103.
-- Coach Mike Simonson, in his sixth year at the helm, is 9-0 against Fairbanks and 1-9 vs. Anchorage. His first victory against the Seawolves came in the first round of last year's GNAC Tournament in Bellingham, as the Falcons prevailed, 69-65.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA FAIRBANKS NANOOKS: 2-8, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 68-16.  Current series streak: SPU won 11.  Last time: SPU 69, UAF 47 (Feb. 25, 2023, at Seattle).  Last UAF series win: UAF 63, SPU 61 (Feb, 16, 2017 at Fairbanks). Nanooks on the Web.
Nanooks in a nutshell: Fairbanks dropped its first eight games before picking up a pair of victories at home last weekend, first against Cal State San Bernardino, 70-62, then against Covenant, 59-55. Junior 5-foot-9 guard Destiny Reimers is averaging 10.7 per game and has the only 20-point performance for the Nanooks, getting exactly that many against Biola on Nov. 10. Right behind her is senior 5-6 guard Emma McKenny at 10.4 per game. She is the team's biggest threat from behind the 3-point arc with 16 of UAF's 44 makes on a .286 percentage. She also leads the team in assists with 29. Kayla Johnson, a sophomore 5-10 small forward, is just shy of a double-digit average at 9.7, but is the most accurate shooter for Fairbanks at 47.1 percent. Senior 6-foot forward Emma Wass averages 9.0 points and comes up very big on the boards with a GNAC-leading average of 10.5 per game. Also among the conference's top 10 rebounders is junior 6-1 forward Ellen Silva at 8.7 per game, ranking No. 7, along with her 7.8 points on .468 shooting.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 2-3, 0-0 GNAC
All-time series: SPU leads, 42-38.  Current series streak: SPU won 1.  Last time: SPU 69, UAA 65 (March 2, 2023, GNAC Tournament first round at Bellingham). Last UAA series win: UAA 64, SPU 54 (Feb. 23, 2023 at Seattle).  Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Alaska Anchorage won a pair of games on its trip to Hawaii, routing Hawaii Pacific by 18 points and Hawaii Pacific by 28. But the Seawolves are a mere three points away from being 5-0, having fallen by one at Pacific of Oregon (76-75), and twice at home last weekend against Adams State (83-82 and 66-65). Tori Hollingshead, a junior 6-foot-3 forward / center, leads UAA in scoring at 15.4 points per game on stratospheric .625 shooting from the floor (30 of 48), and also is tops on the boards at 8.0. She had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the second Adams State game. Junior 5 -6 guard Jazzpher Evans is right behind her at 14.4.points on .481 shooting. She has a 21-point outing and a 20-pointer in the first five games. Anchorage is known for its pressing, in-your-face defense that comes up with steals and forces turnover, and nothing has changed in that regard. The Seawolves are averaging a GNAC-leading 12.2 steals per game and forcing 21.6 turnovers (although they are averaging 21.8 themselves).
 
LET'S PLAY TWO
Of the nine GNAC home dates on Seattle Pacific's schedule, seven will be doubleheaders with the men.
 
In addition to twin bills against the Alaskas, other doubleheaders are Jan. 11 and 13, Feb. 1 and 3, then wrapping up on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Feb 1 and 3 opponents will be Central Washington for both teams on the 1st, and Northwest Nazarene for both teams on the 3rd. The other three doubleheader dates will features opponents from different schools for the women and men.
 
The two stand-alone games on the conference docket are Saturday, Jan. 20, against Montana State Billings at 2:00 p.m., and Thursday, Feb. 22 against Simon Fraser at 7:00 p.m.
 
NOW THAT'S TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
The Falcons had their cleanest game of the season last Saturday at Metro State, committing just 10 turnovers that netted seven points for the host Roadrunners.
 
After recording 24, 18, and 20 turnovers in its first three games for an average of 20.7, Seattle Pacific has cut that down to 12, 15, and 10 in the last three, an average of 12.3.
 
The season average is now 16.5, ranking No. 5 in the GNAC, and the total of 99 is the third-lowest among the 10 conference schools.
 
SIMO SAYS …
(On getting to play at home)
I'm excited just to get home get a little confidence back and get into a routine and a rhythm. I have to commend our team – they're in a good place mentally, believe it or not. I know we're not happy about our record, but I do think we're fighting hard together. That's a team that will continue to improve, and I want to commend their coachability and attitude."
 
 

(On last Saturday's close call at Metro State)
"I thought today was definitely an improvement and a step in the right direction. Our offense showed some improvement, we hit some shots. I was really pleased with our rebounding, and (having just) 10 turnovers this early in the year is pretty good, especially against them because I thought they were kind of handsy and they could force sone."
 
(On dealing with tight games)
"Everything is a learning curve. This is the first time we've had a close game down the stretch. I wish we could rewind the clock about 20 minutes, because if we do that the last three minutes of the game, we could have pulled it out."
 
(On looking ahead)
"There were a lot of real bright spots for us. If we just keep plugging along, and getting better, I'm excited to get back on the court this week for practice.
 
FALCONS REPLAY
-- Colorado Christian outscored SPU by a 25-2 margin during the second quarter and rang up 23 straight points spanning the second and third last Friday on the way to a 68-41 victory in the Metro State Thanksgiving Classic.
-- Hunter Beirne scored 14 points, Schuyler Berry added 12, and Olivia Mayer chipped in 12, but Metro State went on a 10-3 run inside the final three minutes, wiping out a 59-54 deficit to beat the Falcons in the Thanksgiving Classic, 64-62 last Saturday.
  
MARCH TO A MILESTONE
In the making
200th rebound      Schuyler Berry (has 194)
                               Hunter Beirne (has 183)
500th rebound      Olivia Mayer (has 487)
 
Made last week
100th field goal    Hunter Beirne (has 107)
100th rebound      Hailey Marlow (has 103)
 
AROUND THE WEST
Western Washington heads into GNAC play with the best overall record of 5-1 through three preseason tournaments. The Vikings have won three straight, including both at their own Lynda Goodrich Classic in Bellingham last Friday and Saturday, by 20 points over Moorehead State and by 36 over Hawaii Pacific. Montana State Billings is right behind at 6-2, and Central Washington is 6-3, the Wildcats also having won three in a row. MSUB is home against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday in a season-opening showdown.
 
Sonoma State, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State Los Angeles begin the California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule as the only one-loss teams in the conference. Sonoma is at 4-1; Pomona and L.A. are both 3-1. Sonoma is home against CSULA on Saturday.

Dominican tips off Pacific West Conference action with the best preseason record of 6-1, just ahead of preseason favorite Azusa Pacific's 6-3. The Penguins have won five in a row after a 1-1 start; APU is on a two-game winning streak. It's a light start, as only three conference games are on this week's docket.

AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for the latest news, notes, results, and stats from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
UP NEXT
After a busy November, the Falcons have a mostly quiet December. They have just one game on next week's schedule, a non-conference visit from George Fox on Saturday, Dec. 9. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                      GNAC           Overall
Western Washington        0-0       5-1
Montana State Billings    0-0       6-2
Central Washington        0-0       6-3
Simon Fraser              0-0       7-4
Northwest Nazarene        0-0       3-4
Western Oregon            0-0       3-4
Alaska Anchorage          0-0       2-3
Saint Martin's            0-0       2-4
Alaska Fairbanks          0-0       2-8
Seattle Pacific           0-0       1-5