WWU VETERANS DAY CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 10                     Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State Los Angeles, 4:30 p.m.
                                                Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, Nov. 11                Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4:30 p.m.
                                                Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
                                                Live Webcast       Live stats
 

SEATTLE – The opening weekend of the women's basketball season will be a lot of things for the Seattle Pacific Falcons: A time to try some different on-court combinations. A chance for the veterans to show how they've raised their game. An opportunity for the newcomers to get a competitive feel for things at this level.
 
The one thing this weekend most definitely won't be is easy.
 
SPU will head north to Bellingham for the Western Washington Veterans Day Classic in Carver Gymnasium, taking on Cal State Los Angeles on Friday and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday. Both games tip off at 4:30 p.m.
 
The Golden Eagles and the Toros both reached the NCAA West Regionals last year – and Dominguez Hills went on to win that tournament and advance to the Elite Eight. It comes into the opening weekend ranked No. 11 in the preseason poll compiled by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Cal State L.A. isn't ranked, but is the California Collegiate Athletic Association's preseason favorite, and is among the "others receiving votes" in the national poll.
 
Seattle Pacific is coming off a 15-13 season, including 9-9 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Falcons qualified for the GNAC Tournament and won their first-round game against Alaska Anchorage before falling to host Western Washington in the semifinals.
 
Head coach Mike Simonson begins his sixth season in charge. He will have six veterans, a redshirt freshman, and five newcomers available for action.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Both games will have free live Webcasts and free live stats. The appropriate links are at the top of this story. Once GNAC play begins, all conference games will have free live Webcasts on YouTube and free live stats.
 
LOGGING SOME BASKETBALL MILES
The Falcons will spend the first three weekends of the new season on the road.
 
After this week's tournament in Bellingham, SPU will head to Southern California for the Cougar Shootout at Azusa Pacific. They'll return home from that and then fly off to Colorado for the Metro State Tournament, which will be two games in two different venues: Colorado Christian in Lakewood, and Metro State in Denver.
 
Also on the travel docket are a pair of Northern California games in mid-December, visiting Turlock to take on Stanislaus State in Turlock and then Fresno for a contest against Fresno Pacific.
 




SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
--This will be the 49th season of SPU women's basketball.
-- SPU started its program in the 1974-75 season as a club team. It became an official varsity program the following season.
-- The program's all-time record is 843-492 (.631), with 27 postseason appearances.
-- Mike Simonson is beginning his sixth year as head coach. His overall record is 50-77. The milestone 50th win was 69-65 in Carver Gym in the first round of last year's GNAC Tournament.
-- Seattle Pacific has a 36-12 record in season-opening games.
--The Falcons were 6-4 in non-conference games last season: 2-2 on neutral courts (which both of this weekend's games will be), 1-1 at home and 3-1 in true road games.
-- Overall, SPU was 7-6 out of town last year.
-- Friday's contest against Cal State Los Angeles will be the 10th all-time between the schools. But Saturday's vs. Dominguez Hills will be first time the Falcons and Toros have met.
-- Seattle Pacific split its two games against top-25 opponents at last year's preseason tournament in Bellingham, falling 70-62 to No. 12 Cal State San Marcos, but coming back 24 hours later to defeat No. 21 Azusa Pacific, 70-64.
--Schuyler Berry, now a junior, had a breakout kind of weekend with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field (61.1 percent), 15 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots in the two games combined.
-- Coach Mike Simonson is 1-1 against Cal State Los Angeles.
 
SCOUTING THE CAL STATE LOS ANGELES GOLDEN EAGLES: 0-0, 0-0 CCAA
All-time series: SPU leads, 8-1.  Current series streak: SPU won 1.  Last time: SPU 80, CSULA 67 (Dec. 16, 2019 at Seattle).  Last CSULA series win: CSULA 68,SPU 54 (Dec. 17, 2018 at Los Angeles).  Golden Eagles on the Web.
Golden Eagles in a nutshell: Cal State Los Angeles is coming off a 20-10 season that went all the way to the first round of the NCAA West Regionals, where it dropped a 69-66 decision to Montana State Billings. The Eagles return their two biggest offensive threats in senior 5-foot-7 guard Nicole Flennaugh (15.4 points per game) and junior 5-9 guard Lily Buggs (15.3 points and a team-leading 8.4 rebounds). Together, they combined for 907 of the team's 2,161 points (459 for Buggs, 448 for Flennaugh). Of Flennaugh's 448 points, 297 of them came from 3-point range, as she drained 99 of 271. Not only were those two almost dead even on points, the same can be said of their playmaking: 69 assists for Flennaugh, 68 for Buggs.
 
SCOUTING THE CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS TOROS: 0-0, 0-0 CCAA.
All-time series: First meeting.  Toros on the Web.
Toros in a nutshell: Dominguez Hills won its first 19 games last season on the way to a 31-3 record, including 21-1 atop the CCAA. The Toros rolled through the West Regional tournament, winning by 26, 11, and 22 points before falling to Catawba in the Elite Eight, 77-70. Leading scorer and rebounder Dawnyel Lair (14.0 points on .590 shooting, 8.9 rebounds, and team-leading totals of 120 assists and 102 steals) graduated. But two other double-digit scorers are back. Sophomore 5-foot-8 guard Nala Williams averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and dished 101 assists. Asia Jordan, a junior 6-foot forward, averaged 12.9 points on .543 shooting, and collected 7.0 rebounds per game. Dominguez Hills was the highest-scoring team in the CCAA at 77.09 points per game on .424 shooting, and was the second-toughest defensive team, allowing just 60.41 points while limiting its opponents to .373 shooting.
 
SCOUTING THE 2023-24 FALCONS
Having to replace four starters is always going to be a challenge. But Seattle Pacific has a good number of talented players to help fill those departed shoes.
 
 

The one returning full-time starter is 5-foot-7 point guard Hunter Beirne. She was one of just two Falcons to answer the opening whistle in all 28 games last season (now-graduated forward Natalie Hoff was the other) and averaged 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, all while dealing a team-high 95 assists. Her 910 minutes led the team.
 
Schuyler Berry, a 6-3 center, also played all 28 games, with five starts. The junior averaged 7.4 points on a team-leading .472 shooting from the field, plus 3.4 rebounds. Her performances were solid enough that the conference coaches voted Berry to the15-player Preseason All-GNAC team.
 
 

Hailey Marlow is back for her senior season at guard. She averaged just 2.1 points, but is one of SPU's best defensive players. Junior 5-10 wing Lolo Weatherspoon is another regular in the rotation. She saw action in 27 games with three starts, averaging 3.4 points.
 
Rounding out the returners are 6-3 post player Emilia Bishop, who saw limited action last year, and 5-10 guard / forward Jalena Carlisle, who missed almost the entire season with an injury, but is fully back into action.
 
Seattle Pacific has six newcomers. Among those in that group is 6-foot redshirt freshman forward Grace Leasure, and junior 6-0 forward Olivia Mayer.
 
 

Leasure brings a high level of athleticism, as she was a two-time state bronze medal triple jumper and two-time state silver medal relay runner at Oregon City High School. Mayer is a transfer from Whitworth, which plays in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Last season, she averaged a double-double of 17.3  points and 11.5 rebounds, posting double-doubles in 20 of the 25 games.
 
Coming aboard as true freshmen are 5-7 guard Layne Kearns, 6-foot forward / guard Julia Lavigne, 5-6 guard Haylie-Anne Ohta, and 5-9 guard Grace Turley. Kearns, from Hamilton, Mont, was a three-time MVP in her high school conference. Turley, from nearby Sammamish, was a conference Defensive MVP last season, and Ohta, a native of Honolulu, was All-League and All-State last season.
 
SPU SELECTED FOR 6TH IN GNAC
Seattle Pacific has been picked for a sixth-place finish in the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference campaign in the preseason coaches poll.
 
The Falcons received 51 points in the voting from the 10 conference coaches.
 
Montana State Billings was tabbed 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.
 
In 2019, head coach Mike Simonson's second year at the helm, the Falcons were picked for ninth, and ultimately finished seventh. In 2021 (there was no poll in 2020 because the conference season was canceled due to the pandemic shutdown), they were picked eighth, and again finished seventh. Last year, SPU was picked seventh and finished fifth.
 
BERRY MAKES PRESEAON FAB 15
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, the only Falcons player chosen.
 
"I'm really excited that the conference has recognized Schuyler because I see it every day," head coach Mike Simonson said. "She's probably the most intelligent player I've coached in my time at SPU – and I've coached some pretty smart kids. Sky is very intelligent. She has a tremendous feel for the game."
 
Berry set single-game career highs in nearly every major statistical category last season: 15 points (at Central Washington), 10 rebounds (vs. Colorado Mines), three steals (at Holy Names) and six blocked shots (at Dominican). She scored in double-digits 12 times and shot 50 percent or better from the field 13 times.

BYERS MOVES UP, COWGILL COMES ABOARD
 

A year ago, what Karen Byers once thought of as a possibility became a reality when she got a chance to coach college women's basketball as the second assistant at Seattle Pacific. Now, that reality is on a higher level, as she moved up into the lead assistant's role this season for head coach Mike Simonson.
 
"I'm super-excited to have my hands in more things, more in the operations roles, behind the scenes – I'm excited for that," Byers said.
 
Byers takes over for Katie Simonson, who is now working across campus in University Advancement.

 

Robbie Cowgill, who played for Washington State from 2004-08, will serve as a volunteer assistant for the Falcons this season.
 
Cowgill, who stands 6 feet, 10 inches, is a campus minister in the Seattle area with Athletes in Action, for whom he also played basketball after finishing his career with the Cougars. Simonson was a student assistant coach at WSU when Cowgill played there.
 
EXHIBITION EXCERPTS
SPU split a pair of exhibition games, falling 86-26 to the Washington Huskies on Oct. 30, then beating Pacific of Oregon on Nov. 3 in Brougham Pavilion, 65-58.
 
Schuyler Berry led the way against UW with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down three rebounds. Grace Leasure added six points and collected a team-high five rebounds.
 
Junior 6-foot forward Olivia Mayer, who had 20 doubles in 25 games at Whitworth last season as a sophomore before transferring to Seattle Pacific, logged her first in a Falcons uniform (although it won't officially count) with 22 points plus 13 rebounds. She hit 10 of 14 from the floor. Berry added 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Junior point guard Hunter Beirne dished a team-high nine assists.
 
MILESTONES IN THE MAKING
100th field goal      Hunter Beirne (has 93)
100th point            Lolo Weatherspoon (has 94)
100th rebound        Hailey Marlow (has 80)
200th rebound       Schuyler Berry (has 170)
                             Hunter Beirne (has 163)
500th rebound       Olivia Mayer (has 438, all with Whitworth)
 
AROUND THE WEST
As close as it was in the GNAC preseason poll between Montana State Billings (94 points) and Western Washington (91), it's even closer in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Cal State Los Angeles is on top with 135 points, and Cal State San Marcos is right behind with 134. The Golden Eagles collected six of the 12 first-place votes; the Cougars picked up four firsts. Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked No. 11 in the national preseason poll, but is the No. 3 pick in the CCAA with 123 points. It's then a considerable drop to No. 4 Chico State with 93.

The Pacific West Conference isn't nearly that close. Azusa Pacific, which has won five conference crowns overall, including three of the last four, was a near-unanimous favorite with 10 of the 11 first-place votes and 120 points. Point Loma Nazarene is the No. 2 choice with 104 points, and Dominican is third with 97 (and picked up the other first-place vote). Azusa has four starters back among its 10 returners.

 UP NEXT
The Falcons will pack their bags for Southern California next week, heading to Azusa for the Cougar Shootout. Up first is host Azusa Pacific on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6:00 p.m. Not only is APU the preseason choice to win the Pacific West, it is ranked No. 12 in the WBCA preseason poll. On Saturday the 18th, SPU will face Cal State San Marcos, the No. 22 team in the preseason poll. That one tips off at 4:00 p.m. Both teams also were nationally ranked when they played in Bellingham last year: San Marcos at No. 12 (the Cougars won, 70-62), and Azusa at No. 21 (SPU won, 70-64).