Seattle Pacific University Athletics

Strength in numbers.  After reclaiming the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship during a rebuilding year, the sky could be the limit for Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball in 2008. Next season the Falcons (20-9) bring back six of their top nine players, including their top two scorers, and they have added some excellent recruits.

Just the beginning. They may have taken their conference by surprise this time around, but Julie van Beek’s squad should be installed as the favorite, not only in the GNAC but perhaps for the West’s slot at the Elite Eight next spring. SPU advanced to the second round of this year’s NCAA tourney, where it fell to 10th-ranked Chico State, 75-60. Seattle Pacific had eliminated Sonoma State, 69-60, in the regional opener. Among the Falcons’ biggest victories was a midseason 70-60 triumph over eventual national semifinalist UC San Diego. The program has now won at least 20 games in each of the last nine years.

Senior citizens. Two starting spots and key reserve minutes will be up for grabs following the graduation for three seniors. Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) led the GNAC in field-goal accuracy and provided leadership at the high post. Strand quickly transitioned to rowing this spring, earning a place in the varsity eight by mid-April, and then helped the crew reach the NCAA Championships for the first time. Autumn Fielding (Sr., 5-9, Kennewick, Wa.) was an effective long-range threat on the wing, hitting a team high 39 percent outside the arc. Reserve guard Jessie Menkens (Sr., 5-10, Battle Ground, Wa.) averaged  6.7 points off the bench.

1-2 punch intact. The formidable inside/outside combo of center Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) and guard Jackie Hollands (Jr., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) will be back, along with starting point guard Beth Christensen (Jr., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.). Hill rapidly developed into an all-region selection, leading SPU in scoring (12.2) and rebounding (8.5) in her first year as a starter. Hollands came back strong from knee surgery late in the season, averaging 17.7 points in her final seven games to earn all-conference honors. Christen led the league in assists (4.9) for the second year in a row. Also expected back are 16-game starter Libby Magnuson (Jr., 5-10, White Bear Lake, Mn.) plus key non-starters Daesha Henderson (Fr., 5-9, Snohomish, Wa.) and Jessie Christensen ( Jr., 5-9, Enumclaw, Wa.). Megan Hoisington (Fr., 5-11, Bremerton, Wa./Central Kitsap) played in 24 games.

And now this. Through recruiting Seattle Pacific certainly strengthened itself, both in terms of top-level talent and depth. Transferring from Arizona is Kelsey Burns, formerly a three-sport standout at nearby Kennedy High School.  The 5-foot-11 Burns averaged 4.1 points as a freshman in Tucson, and was named the Wildcats’ freshman of the year. She was a three-time all-Seamount League selection, scoring 13.1 points per game as a senior. Madison Maloney, a 5-10 guard from Issaquah’s Skyline, had committed in the fall. Fortifying the inside positions will be the return of centers Lexi Schaar (So., 6-4, Crookston, Minn.) and Melissa Reich (Fr., 6-1, Bothell, Wa./Bellevue Christian) from injury. Reich missed the entire season with a knee injury and Schaar, after averaging 7.0 points in the first five games, missed the rest of the season due to knee surgery.

Hoop camp. In just over a month the Falcon Basketball Camp for Girls has its first session in Brougham Pavilion. The week of June 25-28 is filling rapidly but has space available, along with the second session of July 23-26. The cost is $200 and includes ball and T-shirt. Registration forms are available at the Falcons Online (www.spu.edu/falconsonline).
 
Regional wrap. Hill was the GNAC’s final player of the week after topping the team with 35 points and 20 rebounds in the West Regional. She had 19 points, including a key basket to turn back a Sonoma rally. Hot-shooting Chico State eliminated SPU for the second year in a row with a 17-2 run beginning midway through the second half. The Wildcats shot 63 percent from the floor after intermission.

For the record. A couple of school records were broken, both involving the three-pointer. The Falcons made 17 treys vs. Dixie State, shattering the old mark of 12. They also hoisted 30 attempts at Western Oregon (old standard was 29). SPU eclipsed 100 points for the first time in two seasons with 106 against Dixie. Strand’s field-goal percentage (.551) rates No. 8 all-time. The offense scored under 70 points per game for the first time since 1990-91 and the overall shooting percentage was the lowest in 13 years. Turnovers were cut by 3.11 from the previous season, however.

Put backs. The GNAC crown was the fourth in five seasons and helped the school win its second straight all-sports crown...Strand plans to return for another year of rowing in ‘08 while completing her coursework...Burns, who was the 2005 Seattle Times female prep athlete of the year, won the state long jump crown and took third in the high jump as a senior. She placed fourth in the state 50 freestyle her final two years...Maloney was the Kingco 3A player of the year and averaged 16.8 points before a season-ending ankle injury in mid-February...Seattle Pacific finished third in the NCAA for assists per game (18.83). It was No. 2 in the GNAC for scoring offense (69.7), field-goal percentage (.425) and turnover margin (+3.66). Individually, Strand and Christensen were category winners. Strand was fourth in blocks (1.10) and 10th in rebonds (6.4). Christensen was also ninth in steals (1.59). Hollands was No. 2 in steals (2.07), sixth in in three-point shooting (.372) and 10th in assists (2.6). Hill was No. 3 in rebounding (8.5) and field-goal accuracy (.522) and ninth in scoring and free throw shooting (.764). Fielding finished fifth in trey accuracy (.394)...This was the 11th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 12th overall. The Falcons’ run of regional championship game appearances was snapped at five...UC San Diego won the West and advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Southern Connecticut... Former coach Gordy Presnell guided Boise State into the D-I tourney in his second season and finished 24-9. Lynne Roberts was 8-22 in her first year at Pacific. Another alum, Kerie (Hughes) DePell, is the new head coach at Montana Tech after serving two years as an assistant...Amy Taylor, point guard for Elite Eights in ‘04 and ‘05, was an all-star selection for Dutch champion Landsmeer ProBuild Lions this season...Next season’s schedule begins with five straight home games (Regis, North Alabama, Puget Sound, Sonoma State and Chico State), followed by six in a row on the road. Prior to Christmas is a trip to Utah to face Cal State San Bernardino and Dixie State in the latter’s tournament. SPU returns to La Jolla Dec. 28-29 to play UCSD and Cal Poly Pomona and then opens GNAC play on the road. Montana State Billings joins the league next season but Seattle University is likely to leave before 2008-09...Hill is the first sophomore to pace SPU in scoring and rebounding since Tosca Lindberg in 1990-91. She finished with nine double-doubles, third-most in the GNAC...Although the nine losses were the most in eight years, seven were to NCAA tournament teams, including D-I Gonzaga and D-II quarterfinalist North Dakota...SPU was 18-1 when ahead or tied at halftime and 14-2 when out-rebounding opponents.