SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons aren’t shy about taking on a tough women’s basketball challenge.
Matter of fact, the Falcons are taking on several of them this season, starting with Thursday night’s season-opening exhibition game against the University of Washington at Hec Edmundson Pavilion at 7 p.m. Admission to that game is free. (Live stats on
this link.)
SPU opens its home schedule next Friday, Nov. 13, in Brougham Pavilion with an exhibition against George Fox, the defending NCAA Division III champions. The Falcons and Bruins also played an exhibition last year in Brougham. Seattle Pacific won, 59-49, but that turned out to be the first and only loss of the year for George Fox, which won its next 32 games in a row and claimed the D-3 crown.
The official season opener for the Falcons will be Friday, Nov. 20 when they play Colorado Christian in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham. That 5 p.m. game will be the third of four on the opening day of the two-day tournament. SPU’s other Sodexo game will be Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. against Humboldt State.
Between preseason play and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule, which starts in January, Seattle Pacific will take on six of the seven teams that joined the Falcons in last year’s NCAA West Regional tournament.
“We have a good schedule,” coach Julie van Beek said. “Colorado Christian is a good, solid team with a coach (Tim Hays) that’s bringing them along. We played Humboldt in the semis of the regionals last year. Joddie (Gleason, the Lumberjacks coach) does a great job, and they have some good players returning.”
In addition to Humboldt State, other 2009 regional qualifiers who are on SPU’s preseason docket are Grand Canyon (Dec. 4 in Nampa, Idaho in the NNU Classic, and again Dec 29 in San Diego in the GNAC-CCAA Challenge), and UC San Diego on Dec. 28 in the GNAC-CCAA Challenge on the Tritons’ home court.
“We play everyone who was in the regional tournament (except Cal State Dominguez Hills), and that’s great,” van Beek said. “That’s a good schedule to prepare us for a very tough conference schedule.”
That GNAC schedule will include home-and-home games against three regional qualifiers from last year: Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 16 in Nampa, Feb. 6 in Seattle), Western Washington (Jan. 23 in Bellingham, Feb. 20 in Seattle) and Alaska Anchorage (Jan. 28 in Seattle, March 6 in the regular-season finale at Anchorage).
UAA, which shared the conference title with Seattle Pacific last winter, is the slight favorite for the GNAC crown. But the Falcons, Western and NNU all received first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll.
“I’m sure that’s the toughest since we’ve been here,” said van Beek, who is beginning her fifth season at the SPU helm. “That’s the way you want it to be. Our league is good, top to bottom. Two years ago, our conference was ranked No. 2 in the country in strength of schedule, and I think we’re going to see that again.”
The GNAC opener for the Falcons is Saturday, Jan. 9, at Western Oregon. Their conference home opener is set for the following Thursday, Jan. 14, against Saint Martin’s at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
Seattle Pacific will take on Alaska Fairbanks in the first game of a homecoming doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game against Fairbanks at 3:30. The Falcons will host their annual Pink Zone night in support of the fight against breast cancer when Western Washington visits on Saturday, Feb. 20. Senior Night is set for the following Saturday, Feb. 27, when Central Washington comes to Brougham at 7 p.m.
2009-10 Seattle Pacific Women’s Basketball Schedule
Nov. 5 at Washington (exhibition) 7 p.m.
Nov. 13 George Fox (exhibition) 7 p.m.
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Nov. 20 C. Washington vs. Humboldt St. 1 p.m.
Nov. 20 SPU vs. Colorado Christian 5 p.m.
Nov. 21 C. Washington vs. Colo. Christian 1 p.m.
Nov. 21 SPU vs. Humboldt State 5 p.m.
Nov. 24 Pacific Lutheran 7 p.m.
NNU Classic (Nampa, Idaho)
Dec. 4 Grand Canyon 5 p.m.
Dec. 5 Dixie State 5 p.m.
Dec. 12 Concordia-Portland 7 p.m.
GNAC-CCAA Challenge (Bellingham)
Dec. 20 Sonoma State 1 p.m.
Dec. 21 Chico State 1 p.m.
GNAC-CCAA Challenge (San Diego)
Dec. 28 at UC San Diego 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 Grand Canyon 5 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Azusa Pacific 2 p.m.
Jan. 9 *at Western Oregon 2 p.m.
Jan. 14 *Saint Martin’s 7 p.m.
Jan. 16 *at Northwest Nazarene Noon
Jan. 21 *Montana State Billings 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 *at Western Washington 7 p.m.
Jan. 28 *Alaska Anchorage 5:15 p.m.
Jan. 30 *Alaska Fairbanks (Homecoming) 1:30 p.m.
Feb. 4 *at Central Washington 5:15 p.m.
Feb. 6 *Northwest Nazarene 2 p.m.
Feb. 13 *Western Oregon 2 p.m.
Feb. 17 *at Montana State Billings 6 p.m.
Feb. 20 *Western Washington (Pink Zone) 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 *at Saint Martin’s 7 p.m.
Feb. 27 *C. Washington (Senior Night) 7 p.m.
Mar. 4 *at Alaska Fairbanks 6:15 p.m.
Mar. 6 *at Alaska Anchorage 6:15 p.m.
* Great Northwest Athletic Conference game
All times Pacific
Home games at Brougham Pavilion
3414 3rd Ave. W., Seattle