Up Next for the Redhawks: The Seattle University women's basketball team returns home riding a two-game win streak to host the University of North Dakota (9-13). SU will host the Fighting Sioux at KeyArena at Seattle Center on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 4:10 p.m.
Let's Play Two: KeyArena will be a busy place Tuesday. After the Seattle University women's basketball team hosts North Dakota, the men's basketball squad takes Elgin Baylor Court to face UC Davis (10-14). The Redhawks defeated the Aggies earlier this season in Sacramento and will look for the season sweep Tuesday. The SeattleU men have won three straight and five of their last seven, and a victory will bring SeattleU back to the .500 mark for the first time since mid-December. This is also the final game of a stretch in which the team has not stepped onto a plane and needed to spend only one night in a hotel over the past 35 days.
Last Time Out: The Redhawk women (6-20) remained in the win column while on the road at Cal State Northridge, as they decisively defeated the Matadors 69-51. The game marked SeattleU's first road win of the season. Sophomore Elle Kerfoot scored a season-high 24 points, while classmate Samantha Messersmith brought down a team-leading nine boards.
Alex Jones led five players in double figures with a season-high 19 points as the Seattle University men (12-13) jumped on top early and cruised to a 98-67 victory over Sacramento State Saturday afternoon at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
On Deck: The Seattle University men will be looking to avenge a loss to Idaho when it travels to Moscow to face the Vandals this Thursday, Feb. 18, for a 7:05 p.m. contest.
The SeattleU women will remain at home to host Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Connolly Center. The Redhawks will seek to even the season series with the Roadrunners at 1-1 in the weekend contest. The game will also mark SU's annual Senior Day celebration, where the Redhawk women's hoops program will honor the career of the graduating seniors.
Follow the Games: Fans be sure to log onto www.GoSeattleU.com to follow all your Redhawk women's basketball action. Free live stats and an audio broadcast will be available for SeattleU's game versus North Dakota at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Seattle University men's basketball games will be broadcast all season long on 710 ESPN Seattle, the sports station that also carries Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks broadcasts as well as local shows featuring Brock Huard, Kevin Calabro, and John Clayton. Long-time Seattle sports talk radio personality Dave "The Groz" Grosby will handle the play-by-play duties with Gary Hill alongside. Gary Hill also posts on his blog, www.seattleufan.com, during the broadcasts as well as during the week.
The KeyArena at Seattle Center Game: This week's game versus North Dakota on Tuesday, Feb. 16, will mark the women's first game to be played at KeyArena at Seattle Center, the current home of the Redhawk men's team and the Seattle Storm. All fans who purchase a ticket to the women's game at 4:10 p.m. will be allowed to sit anywhere in the venue. Their tickets will also be valid for the men's game following at 7:10 p.m. versus UC Davis. For more information, contact the SU ticket office at (206) 296-2835 or harperw@seattleu.edu
Scouting the North Dakota women: Tuesday's game will feature a rematch between the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota (9-13 overall, 5-1 Great West) and the Redhawks. SU will look to avenge their 66-50 loss at Grand Forks, N.D. on Jan. 8, on their home turf. Since SU last faced UND, they have won five of their last six games, falling only to South Dakota on Jan. 23, 72-57. The Redhawks defeated South Dakota 52-42 in their last outing at home on Feb. 6. Most recently, the Fighting Sioux are coming off a 76-59 victory over Chicago State on Feb. 13. Kayla Bagaason led the team with 22 points, including four three-pointers. Also scoring in double-figures were Jossy Bergan and Mallory Youngblut, with 15 and 19 points, respectively. Whitney Ledger and Corey Lof each brought down nine boards and Lof had a team-leading four steals in the effort. On the season, three players are averaging in double-digits, led by Bagaason with 13.8 points per game. Youngblut follows with 11.3 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game. Rounding out the trio of top scorers is Ledger, with 10.4 points. The Redhawks are 1-4 all-time versus the Fighting Sioux.
Scouting the UC Davis men: The Aggies come into Tuesday's game with a 10-14 record, including a 6-6 record in the Big West Conference which puts them in a tie for fourth place. UC Davis has been in a pattern of a win followed by a loss for the past eight games. The Aggies are scoring 69.5 points per game and giving up 70.8 points per contest. As a team, UC Davis is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, including 35.2 percent from behind the three-point line, and 67.6 percent from the free throw line. Mark Payne leads the team in scoring average with 16.5 points per game, but he has missed the last two games due to illness and it is unknown whether or not he will be back for this game. Dominic Calegari is averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while Joe Harden is contributing 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. This will be the third meeting overall between UC Davis and Seattle University, and the first meeting in Seattle. During the 2003-04 season, UC Davis defeated SeattleU in Sacramento, 65-55. Earlier this season, Seattle University earned an 88-78 victory over the Aggies at the Pavilion.