THE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 17                Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, 3:15 p.m. PST
                                             Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
                                             Live Webcast        Live stats
 

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons now know they can win one on the road … even win two.
 
This week, they'll try to make it three.
 
Coming off much-needed victories at Saint Martin's and Western Oregon, SPU has just one game on the docket, visiting first-place and national No. 11-ranked Montana State Billings on Saturday. Tip-off in Alterowitz Gymnasium is at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Last week's results in Lacey and Monmouth, combined with other outcomes from around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference have lifted the Falcons (10-13, 7-6 GNAC) into sole possession of fourth place in the standings with five games left. In Billings, they'll take on the squad that sits in first place with a 12-1 record (21-4 overall).
 
FOLLOW IT LIVE
All GNAC games will have free live Webcasts and live stats. The appropriate links for this week's games can be found at the top of this story.
 
SO WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK?
-- The Falcons have won four straight games, their longest such streak of the season.
-- Their last four-gamer was Dec. 29, 2022 through Jan. 7, 2023.
-- A victory on Saturday would give them five straight for the first time since Feb. 27-March 2, 2018.
-- It also would give them their fourth series split of the season.
-- SPU's last win in Billings as 69-63 on Jan. 23, 2020. In fact, that was its most recent win in the all-time series.
-- In each of the four current victories, the Falcons have shot better than 40 percent from the field, ranging from .404 at Saint Martin's last Thursday to .453 at home against Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 3.
-- Seattle Pacific is now 7-2 in games when keeping opponents below 60 points. That includes 4-0 in games when the opponent doesn't reach 50.
-- When the teams met in Seattle on Jan. 20, the Falcons kept Billings below 60 points until inside the final minute of the game.
-- But on that same day, the Falcons managed just 38 points of their own, a season low, with 17 in the first half and 21 in the second half
-- In GNAC games, Billings and Seattle Pacific are 1-2 in fewest points allowed: 57.3 for the Yellowjackets, 60.5 for the Falcons.
-- MSUB also is the top-scoring team at 75.1 points per game; SPU is No. 8 at 59.6.
-- Last Saturday at Western Oregon, SPU had four players in double-digit scoring for the first time this season: 16 for Layne Kearns and for Olivia Mayer; 10 for Hunter Beirne and Schuyler Berry.
-- Falcons forward Olivia Mayer continues to rank among the GNAC top 10 in scoring (No. 8 at 15.5), rebounding (No. 6 at 7.7) and field goal shooting (No. 10 at .475).
-- Mayer's shooting from the floor has been one of the keys to Seattle Pacific's four-game winning streak. In those four games, she has shot a combined 36 of 60 for 56.7 percent. That has helped add 24 points to her season percentage, taking her from .451 to .475.
-- Coach Mike Simonson's teams are 2-7 all-time against MSUB and 20th-year head coach Kevin Woodin.
 
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS: 21-4, 12-1 GNAC (1st)
All-time series: SPU leads, 30-28.  Current series streak: MSUB won 6. Last time: MSUB 63, SPU 38 (Jan. 20 at Seattle).  Last SPU series win:  SPU 69, MSUB 63 (Jan. 23, 2020).  Yellowjackets on the Web.
Yellowjackets in a nutshell: Billings ended the first half of the GNAC schedule with a tough 76-68 loss at Western Washington, leaving the two teams tied for first place. But the Jackets have won four straight since then, including 67-60 at Western Oregon and 57-50 at Saint Martin's last week. Senior 6-foot-2 inch forward Kola Bad Bear is No. 6 in GNAC scoring at 16.8 points per game and No. 11 in rebounding at 6.2. She gets her points on .540 shooting accuracy, including .412 from 3-point range. Dyauni Boyce, a junior 5-11 forward, adds 14.6 points per game and also is a solid shooter at .454, with .386 marksmanship from downtown. She pulls down an average of 5.8 boards. Junior 5-8 guard Kortney Nelson chips in 9.1 points per game, and when she's not looking for her own shot, she's looking for a teammate with 72 assists.
 
RANK 'EM
Saturday's game at Montana State Billings will the sixth this winter for the Falcons against a nationally ranked opponent, The Yellowjackets are No. 11 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll; they were No. 12 when they visited Seattle last month.
 
SPU opened its season back in November against three top-25 teams in the first two weeks: No. 11 Cal State Dominguez Hills, No. 12 Azusa Pacific, and No. 22 Cal State San Marcos.
 
After the Billings game in Brougham Pavilion, Seattle Pacific visited then-No. 17 Western Washington on Jan. 25.
 
Azusa (No. 13) and Western (No. 16) are still in the poll.
 
LAYNE LIGHTS IT UP
Whether she was putting up shots or pulling down boards, Layne Kearns was getting the job done in a big way .. make that a doubly big way … last Saturday afternoon in Monmouth.
 
 

The freshman guard from Hamilton, Montana recorded her first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 59-47 victory against Western Oregon. Both of those totals were career highs. Her previous best for points had been 14 at Western Washington on Jan. 25; her previous best for boards was eight at Stanislaus State on Dec. 14.
 
Kearns plays much bigger than her 5-foot, 7-inch stature. Her 95 totals rebounds / 4.3 per game average is No. 3 on the team. She has been SPU's top rebounder in two games and was tied for the team high in one game. Only twice in her 22 games has Kearns not pulled down a rebound. Kearns also has five blocked shots, with one in each of last week's two games.
 
From the floor, Kearns has eight games of .500 or better shooting. That includes the last four in a row, all of which the Falcons have won.
 
NEWCOMERS REMATCH
When Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings met on Jan. 20 in Brougham Pavilion, Falcons junior Olivia Mayer and Yellowjackets senior Kola Bad Bear were considered the two primary contenders for the GNAC Newcomer of the Year award.
 
Heading into this week's rematch in Montana, that still seems to be the case.
 
 

Mayer ranks No. 8 in GNAC scoring at 15.5 points per game, No. 6 in rebounding at 7.7, No. 10 in field goal shooting at .475, No. 13 in free throw shooting at .740, co-No. 12 in steals at 1.5, and No. 8 in minutes played at 13.5. She has seven double-doubles and five games of 20-plus points (high of 31 vs. Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 3).
 
Bad Bear is tied for No. 5 in scoring at 16.8, is No. 11 in rebounding at 6.2, No. 6 in field goal shooting at .540, No. 5 in free throw shooting at .842, and co-No. 11 in blocked shots at 0.7. She has five double-doubles and 10 games of 20-plus points, with 26 at home against Central Washington on Feb. 3)
 
For the earlier game in Seattle, Mayer had 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting, plus six rebounds. Bad Bear had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, plus four rebounds.
 
SIMO SAYS …
(On winning both of last week's road games)
"We wanted to get this road sweep, and now, we're above .500 in conference, which is a big deal for us. We're in a good spot. We want to make the conference tournament, We still have some work to do, but when you get road wins like this, it makes it easier to make the conference tournament, making sure you take care of business like this."
 
(On the defensive effort at Western Oregon)
"Obviously, the best part about today was our defense was consistent for 40 minutes, The third quarter, (the Wolves) kind of got going, and the crowd got into it – it was a great road environment for us to play in. The defense is what ended up winning the game. We had good offense in the first half, then the defense held them to eight points in the fourth quarter, and that really sealed the deal."

(On Montana State Billings)
"I think the world of Billings. They're one of the best teams in the region, They're just so solid in what they do. They really do not have a weakness, and that's what makes them very tough to play against. But if you're playing your best basketball and playing good defense and hitting shots, there's no doubt you can be in the game or you can steal a victory from them. But they don't make it easy. You have to beat them."

MARCH TO A MILESTONE
Olivia Mayer is closing in on 1,000 points for her career. She had 40 in last week's two games combined, putting her at 885. Of those, 528 came during her two years at Whitworth in Spokane, and she has 357 in this, her first season at Seattle Pacific.
 
The regular season has five games left on the schedule, meaning she would have to average 23 points per game. If the Falcons qualify for the GNAC Tournament, thereby guaranteeing at least one postseason game, Mayer could get there with a 19.1 average.
  
In the making
100th assist          Olivia Mayer (has 95)
                            Hailey Marlow (has 91)
100th point           Grace Leasure (has 98)
                            Haylie Ohta (has 81)
100th rebound       Lolo Weatherspoon (has 82)
1,000th point         Olivia Mayer (has 885)
 
Made last week
200th point            Hailey Marlow (has 205)
400th point            Hunter Beirne (has 401)
600th rebound       Olivia Mayer (has 615)

AROUND THE WEST
With its victories at Western Oregon and Saint Martin's last week, Montana State Billings (21-4, 12-1) became to the first GNAC team to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. Winning it would give the Yellowjackets the conference's automatic bid to the NCAAs. But with their overall record (they are tied for the most wins and have the second-highest percentage in the entire West Region), the Jackets are on their way to the dance. Western Washington (19-4, 11-2) remains one game back of MSUB, but 2½ ahead of third-place Alaska Anchorage (14-7, 8-4) for one of the two first-round GNAC byes.
 
Cal State San Marcos is the first team to clinch a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. The Cougars (18-4, 15-2) are three games ahead of second-place Chico State (16-7, 12-5). The Wildcats (16-7, 12-5) and third-place Cal Poly Pomona (15-7, 11-6) are in good position to be part of the conversation when it comes time to decide NCAA qualifiers. On Thursday, San Marcos visits defending West Region champion Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-11, 9-8), which got off to a slow start, but has won seven of its last 10.

Azusa Pacific just keeps on rolling in the Pacific West Conference. The Cougars (21-3, 15-0) stretched their winning streak to 17 and are now 4 ½ games ahead of second-place Fresno Pacific (16-6, 10-4) and five ahead of third-place Dominican (17-6, 10-5). Azusa is virtually assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Fresno and Dominican remain very much in the hunt heading into their Thursday clash in Fresno.

AROUND THE GNAC
Western Oregon announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would not be playing either of this week's games at Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday. A two-sentence story on the WOU Website cited "unforeseen circumstances" as the reason for not making the scheduled trip to Bellingham and Burnaby, B.C.

Per GNAC policy, those games will go into the book as a forfeit. Western Washington and Simon Fraser will each add one win; Western Oregon will add two losses.

Click on this link for more news, notes, results, and stats from around the conference.
 
UP NEXT
SPU wraps up its home schedule next week by hosting Simon Fraser and Western Washington. The Red Leafs visit Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 7:00 p.m. WWU comes to town on Saturday the 24th at 4:15 p.m. as the second half of a Senior Day doubleheader. The Falcon men play at 2:00 p.m. against Montana State Billings.
 
 
GNAC STANDINGS
                                                         GNAC        Overall
Montana State Billings     12-1     21-4
Western Washington         11-2     19-4
Alaska Anchorage            8-4     14-7
Seattle Pacific             7-6     10-13
Central Washington          6-7     15-10
Simon Fraser                6-7     14-12
Northwest Nazarene          5-8      8-12
Western Oregon              3-9     10-13
Saint Martin's              3-9      5-14
Alaska Fairbanks            2-10     4-18
 
 
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