THE SCHEDULE: Thursday, Nov. 5: SPU at Washington (exhibition), 7 p.m.
Hec Edmundson Pavilion (10,000)/Seattle, Wash.
Live stats: www.spufalcons.com
Weekly release, with 2009-10 prospectus and 08-09 stats recap
Tough schedule looms for Falcons
GNAC 2009-10 preview
SEATTLE -- An first-team all-conference guard. The reigning conference Freshman of the Year. Experienced depth. Some talented newcomers. A challenging schedule.
And, as always, expectations of excellence.
The Seattle Pacific Falcons will bring all of those to the court on Thursday night when they open their women’s basketball season with an exhibition game against the University of Washington at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Admission to the 7 p.m. game is free.
Coach Julie van Beek’s squad is coming off a 23-5 season that included claiming a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship with Alaska Anchorage, earning the right to host the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament for the second straight year, and advancing to the regional title game -- D-2’s version of the Sweet 16 -- for the second year in a row.
When the final USA Today/ESPN coaches poll was in for 2008-09, SPU sat in a lofty spot at No. 7. That particular preseason poll will be released on Nov 4. The Falcons are a close No. 2 behind Anchorage in the GNAC preseason coaches poll, and are ranked No. 24 in the DII Bulletin preseason poll.
Senior guard Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) was a first-team All-GNAC selection last year, averaging 11.0 points, 4.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jordan Harazin, who effectively took over at the point guard spot when injuries hit the Falcons from late January through most of February, earned the nod as the conference’s top freshman.
Even in exhibition play, the Falcons don’t shy away from tough challenges. After Thursday’s game against the Pacific-10 Conference’s Huskies, Seattle Pacific will play host to defending NCAA Division III champion George Fox University of Newberg, Ore., on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS
Like top-caliber coaches everywhere, Julie van Beek is taking a cautiously optimistic approach to the season. She’s liking much of what she has seen so far during preseason practices, but is fully aware of the challenges that loom.
“We’re still pretty young, and we have a lot of unknowns,” van Beek said. “We’re fast, and I believe we’re going to be able to get a lot done with our defense. I think our defense will create some good offense for us.”
Van Beek sees a lot of players up and down the roster who can get those things done.
“We’ll have some good balance,” she said. “That’s where I hope we can use depth and really have kind of a tag-team approach and can be relentless in going hard on each possession of every half and just use that to kind of wear people down.”
As always, the mental approach will be just as significant as physical execution of the game plan. Van Beek already has confidence in that aspect of the Falcons.
“Our team has very high expectations of ourselves, and that’s a real strong characteristic of winners,” she said. "Our theme this year is the pursuit of excellence and making every day count. We know how many days of opportunity we have in front of us. Can we say that we’re better today than we were yesterday? Are we doing the best that we can at every drill and every practice. How can we be excellent? That’s really our goal.”
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
All-time series: UW leads, 6-3. Current series streak: SPU won 1. Last time: SPU 75, Washington 67 (Nov. 6, 2007 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion). Washington on the Web.
Huskies in a nutshell: Washington had a rough go in 2008-09, finishing just 8-22 overall, and 3-15 in the rugged Pac-10. But the Huskies do have four starters back with another valuable season of experience. That includes leading scorer Sami Whitcomb senior guard/forward swing player who averaged 12.8 points per game. Two other swing players -- senior forward/center Laura McClellan and sophomore guard/forward Kristi Kingman -- also are back. McClellan averaged 8.7 points and was the team’s leading rebounded at 4.1 per game. Kingma averaged 8.2 points. Coach Tia Jackson’s squad also has seven other letterwinners returning.
POLLING PLACE
Seattle Pacific has been picked for a second-place finish in what is shaping up as a tight four-team-race in the GNAC.
Four of the conference’s nine teams -- including SPU -- received at least two first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll. The numbers ultimately added up for Alaska Anchorage -- but not by a lot. The Seawolves, who shared the GNAC crown with SPU last winter at 14-2 and went 31-4 overall, picked up three of those first-place votes and a total of 72 points.
The Falcons (23-5 overall), coming off that co-championship and their second straight trip to the NCAA West Region title game, are right on Anchorage’s heels with two first-place votes and 69 points.
There’s not much breathing room behind SPU, either. Northwest Nazarene is third in the poll, also garnering a pair of first-place picks and a total of 65 points. Western Washington also picked up two firsts and came in with 64 points.
Those four schools all made it into the NCAA tourney last season. Seattle Pacific and Anchorage played for the conference crown. Western and NNU both went out in the first round.
This year’s poll is in stark contrast to last season’s when Anchorage received all but one first-place vote and totaled 86 points.
SPU also is ranked No. 24 in the d2basketball.com preseason poll. Michigan Tech is the top-ranked team, and defending champion Minnesota State-Mankato is No. 12.
The USA Today/ESPN presesaon poll is due for release on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
2008-09 REPLAY
With four new starters in the lineup, some thought that Seattle Pacific might take a while to find its groove. Instead, the Falcons won their first three games, starting off with a victory against eventual West Regional semifinalist UC San Diego, and just kept going.
Only once during the season did SPU even lose two games in a row. And the Falcons promptly followed that with an 11-game winning streak that carried them all the way to the regional title game. Included in that streak was a 66-55 victory against Northwest Nazarene on national television, and a wire-to-wire 54-42 homecourt triumph against Alaska Anchorage, which came into Brougham Pavilion as the No. 1-ranked team in the country for Division II.
Furthermore, that streak was put together while Seattle Pacific was dealing different lineups because of injuries and other assorted ailments.
ON THE HONOR ROLL
-- Senior guard Daesha Henderson is an honorable mention pick on the Women’s Division II Bulletin Preseason All-American list.
-- Henderson, who was among the GNAC’s top five in five statistical categories, and Kelsey Hill, the leading rebounder for the Falcons (7.1 per game), were All-GNAC first-team selections last season.
-- Hill also was a Daktronics West Region first-team choice.
-- Jordan Harazin, who played in all 28 games for SPU and started several of them during the Falcons’ 11-game winning streak, was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
-- Kelsey Burns, SPU’s top scorer at 12.3 points per game, was a second-team All-GNAC selection. Guard Maddie Maloney was an honorable mention pick.
-- Lexi Schaar, who graduated with a degree in European Studies/Linguistics, earned her third straight GNAC All-Academic honor. Joining her on the All-Academic list were Burns, Henderson and current junior Maloney.
UP NEXT
The most immediate challenge for SPU after Thursday’s game against the Huskies will be next Friday’s exhibition against George Fox. The Bruins came to SPU for an exhibition game last Nov. 14, lost to the Falcons by a 59-49 count -- then didn’t lose again for the rest of the season, going on a 32-0 run that culminated with the NCAA D-3 championship.
Seattle Pacific then will host the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 20-21 in Brougham. The Falcons will play Colorado Christian on the first day of the tournament at 5 p.m., then take on NCAA West Regional semifinalist Humboldt State on the second and final day at 5 p.m.
In fact, SPU will play six of the seven teams that joined the Falcons in last season’s regionals: Humboldt, defending Pacific West Conference champ Grand Canyon (Dec. 4 in Nampa, Idaho, and again Dec. 29 in San Diego), UC San Diego (Dec. 28 in San Diego) and conference rivals Alaska Anchorage (Jan. 28 in Brougham, March 6 in the regular-season finale at Anchorage), Western Washington (Jan. 23 in Bellingham, Feb. 20 in Seattle) and Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 16 in Nampa, Feb. 6 in Seattle).
COACH JULIE VAN BEEK
She’s not one to talk about her own accomplishments. But that’s OK. Julie van Beek’s accomplishments wherever she has been -- including Seattle Pacific -- speak loud and clear for themselves.
While on the Falcons’ bench, van Beek has built a 96-21 record -- a mere four wins away from 100 in just four years. Her overall mark, which includes nine years at Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville prior to arriving at SPU, is 258-140.
Van Beek guided her last six teams at Trevecca Nazarene to an average of 21 wins a year, reaching NAIA Division I postseason play in each of those years. That included a spot in the tournament quarterfinals in 2005.
She is no stranger to the Pacific Northwest or to many of the GNAC schools. A native of Nampa, Idaho, she starred at Northwest Nazarene from 1986-89, was the team’s leading rebounder three times and remains among that program’s top all-time scorers, rebounders and shot blockers.
Van Beek was an assistant for Oklahoma's Southern Nazarene from 1992-96 when that program won three NAIA titles.
After graduating from Nampa Christian High School in Idaho, van Beek earned her B.A. in education from Northwest Nazarene in 1989, and her master's in education from Southern Nazarene in 1994.
Van Beek’s four teams here have gone 24-6, 20-9,29-1 and 23-5. Her Falcons have reached the NCAA West Regional tournament all four years, and the past two squads have gone all the way to the West Regional championship game.
She is a member of the USA Basketball Selection Committee, and has served as the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Association president.
TICKET TALK
Tickets for SPU’s home games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 3rd Ave. W.) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start time for all home games.
Adult ticket prices are $8 for reserved seats at center court, $7 for reserved seats at the foul lines, and $6 for general admission. General admission for youths, students and senior citizens is $3.
SPU students, faculty and staff who present a valid current ID card are admitted free to all regular-season home events.
Organized groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates. Group ticket prices are $3 for adults and $1 for youths, and apply to all group members. Any individuals attending the event who are not members of the group, including parents and siblings, can purchase regular-priced tickets in advance, but do not qualify for the group rate.
Group tickets must be ordered and paid for at least 72 hours in advance of the event by calling the Athletics Office at (206) 281-2085.