GNAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Carver Gymnasium  / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Thursday, March 2               No. 5 SPU vs. No. 4 Alaska Anchorage, 7:30 p.m.
                                       First round
                                       Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Friday, March 3                    SPU-UAA winner vs. No. 1 Western Washington, 7:30 p.m.
                                       Semifinals
                                       Live Webcast        Live stats
 
Saturday, March 4               Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.
                                       Championship
                                       Live Webcast        Live stats
 
 
SEATTLE – Back to zero-zero on the scoreboard.
 
Back to zero-and-zero in the standings.
 
It's that time on the basketball calendar. And the Seattle Pacific women will be around for it.
 
Coming off a 14-12 regular-season mark that gives them their first winning record since 2017-18, the Falcons will take that and some winning momentum to Bellingham this week for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament at Western Washington University.
 
SPU will have the No. 5 seed among the six teams, and that means a first-round game against No. 4 seed Alaska Anchorage on Thursday. Tip-off in Carver Gymnasium is at 7:30 p.m.
 
The winner between the Falcons and Seawolves gets top-seeded Western Washington in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the two semifinal winners meet for the championship and the conference's automatic entry into the NCAA West Regional Tournament. That game also begins at 7:30.
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All games throughout the week on both the women's and men's sides will have free live Webcasts on YouTube and free live stats.
 
EVERYTHING FOR FANS
Click on this link for a fan-oriented page that has the complete tournament schedule, plus driving directions to WWU and a link listing numerous hotels in the Bellingham area.
 
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
--This is the 12th edition of the GNAC Tournament. The first one was in 2011. It did not take place in 2021 because of the pandemic.
-- The Falcons will be playing in the tournament for the ninth time, and for the second year in a row.
-- Last year, SPU split a pair of games, both at home. As the No. 7 seed, the Falcons routed Alaska Fairbanks in the first round,  78-48, then fell to Alaska Anchorage in the quarterfinals, 57-50.
-- Seattle Pacific's all-time tournament record is 6-8.
-- Its most successful tourney was in 2018. Playing that year at Alaska Anchorage, the Falcons advanced all the way to the championship game. Montana State Billings won it, 71-61.


 

SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- SPU and Anchorage met just one week ago in Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons wiped out a 12-point deficit to take a 43-42 lead late in the third quarter before UAA put 11 straight points on the board and went on to win, 64-54.
-- The Seawolves have won eight straight games in the series.
-- SPU's last series victory was in the 2018 GNAC semifinals at Anchorage. The Falcons took that one, 74-65.
-- On Dec. 3 in Alaska, Seattle Pacific  had a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. But it then got outscored during the second quarter, 17-3, hitting just one of its nine field goal tries and turning the ball over 10 times. Anchorage eventually won it, 62-54.
-- In fact, the Falcons had 28 turnovers in that game, leading to 28 UAA points.
-- The cleaned up their ball handling considerably in the rematch at SPU last week, with just 11 turnovers, which the Seawolves converted into six points.
-- The Falcons have had 15 or fewer turnovers in 11 straight games, with fewer than 15 in nine of those and exactly 15 in the other two.
-- During those same 11 games, SPU has 37 more points off turnovers than opponents, 174-137 (seven games with more points, two games with fewer, and two games equal points). During the previous 15 games, the Falcons had just one more point off turnovers, 237-236 (seven games with more, seven with fewer, and one game equal).
-- One of the challenges for Seattle Pacific this week is keeping UAA's Vishe' Rabb in check. The junior poured in 28 points last Thursday on 7-of-14 shooting from the field (3 of 6 downtown), and 11 of 11 at the free throw line.
-- In the December game, Rabb didn't shoot as well (5 of 17), but still wound up with a team-leading 14 points.
-- Coach Mike Simonson is still seeking his first win against Anchorage and head coach Ryan McCarthy. UAA has won all nine meetings so far.
-- Seattle Pacific is 8-7 in games away from Brougham Pavilion this season. That includes a 1-2 mark on neutral courts (Thursday's game falls into that category) and 7-5 in true road games.
-- Fifth-year forward Natalie Hoff needs just four more rebounds to reach 600 for her career.
 
SCOUTING THE ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES: 18-9, 10-8 GNAC (4th)
All-time series: SPU leads, 41-38.  Current series streak: UAA won 9.  Last time: UAA 64, SPU 54 (Feb 23 at Seattle).  Last SPU series win: SPU 74, UAA 65 (March 2, 2018; GNAC Tournament semifinals at Anchorage).  Seawolves on the Web.
Seawolves in a nutshell: Anchorage comes into the tournament as the hottest team in the conference, having closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak. That was its longest stretch of consecutive W's since five in a row to start off back in November. Junior 5-foot-9 guard Vishe' Rabb, just honored as the GNAC Newcomer of the Year, averages 16.8 points per game (No. 5 on the GNAC list), along with  team-leading 6.3 rebounds (No. 8) and 2.0 steals (tie for No. 4, with 49 total). One of the big things about Rabb is she finds a way to get to the free throw line. She went 118 times during the season, hitting 103 for an .873 percentage that was second-highest in the conference. In the two games combined against SPU, she was 13 for 13, with 11 for 11 last Thursday. Jahnna Hajdukovich, a senior 5-8 guard, averages 11.0 points and shoots .367 from 3-point range. Sophomore 5-6 guard Jazzpher Evans averages 9.5 points, but went for double digits both times against the Falcons, with 11 in December and 14 last week.
 
 

SIMONSON SAYS …
(On a fresh start)
"It's nice that our record is 0-and-0, and that's a good feeling. I think our team has been hungry and anxious for a fresh start for a while, so we could just focus on the good and flush the bad. So going into the tournament, what's done is done, and what's on the horizon is on the horizon."
 
(On Falcons playing to their strengths)
"Solid hard-nosed defense, sharing the ball, balanced scoring – all three of those attributes characterize what SPU basketball is. Then on top of that, just being able to win close games. That's something we showed, especially in the beginning of the year. That's a huge deal when you're talking about tournament-style games."
 
(The key against Anchorage)
"The biggest one is we need to be able to take care of the ball and we need to guard them. If we can limit their transition points and easy baskets, that puts us in a good position. At the end of the day we've got to make good shots. I thought we ran good offense against them last week. We have to execute the actual making of the basket."
 
(On the winning 14-and-12 record)
"We've had a good season. It's easy for the coach in me and the perfectionist in me to always want to focus on the coulda, woulda, shoulda. But at the end of the day, it has been the strongest year we've had (during the past five) and we've played some real sound basketball."
 

CLAMPING DOWN ON 'D'
If it's true that offense wins games but defense wins championships, then count the Falcons in contention.
 
Both times against Anchorage, SPU's defense kept the game within reach. In December, UAA came in averaging 81 points, but tallied just 62, eventually winning by eight. Last week, the Seawolves came in averaging 71.2 then finished with 64 in 10-point victory.
 
The Falcons finished the regular season as one of three GNAC teams to allow fewer than 60 points per game, with an average of 58.5. That included the Falcons keeping seven of their 28 opponents below 50 points and one at exactly 50 points.
 
In fact, only two opponents have scored beyond the 60s. Cal State San Marcos won the season opener, 70-62, and Central Washington scored an 81-72 decision on Jan. 26 in Ellensburg.

TWO OF THE BEST
SPU's Ashley Alter is now in her fifth year, and everyone around the GNAC is very familiar with what she can do.
 
Alaska Anchorage's Vishe' Rabb is in her first year after transferring from Augustana (S.D.), and GNAC fans have gotten familiar with her very quickly.
 
 

Heading into Thursday's game:
 
-- Rabb is No 5 in GNAC scoring at 16.8 points per game. Alter is No, 7 at 15.2.
-- They are effectively tied for No. 7 in rebounding at 6.3. Alter has 151 boards in 24 games; Rabb has 157 in 25.
-- Ditto in steals, tied for No. 4 at 2.0 per game. Alter has 48 in 24 games; Rabb has 49 in 25.

-- Alter is No. 18 in GNAC field goal shooting at .435 (146 of 336). Rabb is No 19 at .426 (141 of 331).
 
HOFF AMONG SMARTEST IN WEST
Natalie Hoff, who previously was named to the GNAC All-Academic team for the fourth time, earned a place on the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District team.
 
 

Hoff has a 3.91 grade-point average as a visual communication major. She also is minoring in business and digital media.
 
On the court, the 6-foot-3 forward averages 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds heading into this week's GNAC Tournament at Western Washington University in Bellingham.
 
Making the Academic All-District team requires a 3.50 or higher cumulative grade-point average. Recipients must be a starter or a significant reserve on their team.
 
A GRAND ACCOMPLISHMENT
This week, Ashley Alter returns to the gym where she scored her 1,000th career point.
 
On Feb. 18, the fifth-year guard / forward came into the game against Western Washington needing just two more points to become the 25^th Falcon in history with a grand. She got those two points on a reverse lay-in with 8:06 left in the first quarter, thanks to an assist from Natalie Hoff.
 
Alter starts this week with 1,036 points.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Some highlights for the Falcons in the NCAA Division II national rankings heading into this week (among the 294 total D2 women's basketball programs):
 
-- 25th in rebound margin, +6.2 (Grand Valley State +11.8)
-- 46th in scoring defense, 58.5 (Assumption College 50.1)
-- 46th in blocks per game, 3.6 (Kutztown State 6.2).
-- 81st in fewest fouls committed, 15.8 (Academy of Art 10.9)

Click on this link to see how the Falcons rank within NCAA Division II.

AROUND THE WEST
It's tournament time for all three of the West Region Conference.
 
In the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Cal State Dominguez Hills (27-1, 21-1 CCAA) will be the team to beat The only team that has managed to pull that off this season is Chico State (18-10, 14-8 CCAA) – and that came on a 3-point buzzer beater back on Jan. 28 for a 73-72 victory. Chico is the No. 5 seed for the tournament, which is being played at Stanislaus State. The other favorite to make the final is No. 2 seed Cal State San Marcos ((21-5, 18-4 CCAA). Other tournament teams are No. 3 Cal State Los Angeles (19-8, 16-6), No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona (17-9, 14-8) and No.. 6 Sonoma State (16-12, 13-9).
 
Azusa Pacific is the top tournament seed in the Pacific West Conference. The Cougars (23-4, 18-2 Pac West) will await the winner of a first-round game between No. 4 Biola (15-13, 13-7) and No. 5 Point Loma Nazarene (also 15-13, 13-7). Dominican (17-10, 15-5 Pac West) wound up as the No. 2 seed, thanks in part to winning its last three conference games. Concordia Irvine (17-9, 14-6 Pac West) which had been in second place almost all season, wound up No. 3, having dropped five of its last six. It will face Hawaii Pacific (14-13, 12-8 Pac West) in the first round. The tournament is at Chaminade University in Honolulu.
 
 
AROUND THE GNAC
Click on this link for this week's GNAC notebook. Click on this link to see how GNAC teams and players stack up within Division II.
 
UP NEXT
An SPU victory on Thursday would mean a semifinal contest against Western Washington on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings won both regular-season games, 58-53 in Seattle on Jan. 19, and 69-52 in Bellingham on Feb. 18.
 
 
GNAC FINAL STANDINGS
                                                        GNAC            Overall
Western Washington        16-2       22-3
Montana State Billings    14-4       23-6
Central Washington        12-6       20-7
Alaska Anchorage          10-8       18-9
Seattle Pacific            9-9       14-12
Simon Fraser               8-10      10-12
Western Oregon             7-11      13-13
Northwest Nazarene         7-11      11-15
Saint Martin's             6-12      10-16
Alaska Fairbanks           1-17       4-21