Soo, I am gone for a couple weeks and the site turns into a spirited mud slinging session.  Congratulations UPS.  1 out of 4 ain't bad.  Unfortunately for my Bruins, you did win the tourney game to keep playing.  Of course, a loss a week prior and the Bruins probably would not have made the tourney.  In that case, UPS may have been playing Chapman or someone else from Cal and had a much easier time of it.
There is not much room for gloating in this, since the teams were evenly matched and played 4 relatively close games.  And we know who won the series and was the better team on 3/4 nights.
Good luck UPS.  Your success only improves the reputation of the NWC and makes it easier for all of us to get into the tourney in the future.  I will be following closely, although it will be on somebody else's internet feed.  Come on UPS, wake up to the new century and give us NWC addicts something to listen to from our NWC representative.

Parkland, I will omit the PP, welcome back in any capacity.  I have missed your insightful comments this season.  Hurry back to the NW.

I am surprised by the announcement.  Really, it is one year of missing the playoffs.  Not even a "bad" year.  The administration must feel some other priorities that we fans are missing.  The PLU coach certainly has seemed intense on the sidelines, but what good coach isn't.  He kept the girls up and guided them back to make a fairly close game at GFU, when it appeared in the first half that the game was really over.  I know you have been a great admirer of his over the years and I highly value that opinion. 

You missed a very good year, from a GFU standpoint.  Hopefully both of the NWC teams win this weekend and we can have a NWC rematch for the sweet 16.  Actually, maybe I don't really want to see UPS for a fourth game!!  It gets a little more difficult to keep beating a team you are fairly well matched with.

I just had a wonderful weekend in Newberg, and got to watch both  Bruin games.  Marek-Ferris is truly amazing, with some great moves.  Kuenzi used a jump crossover on a fast break that left the PLU defender scratching her head and wondering where her shorts went.  After watching the intensity of both games, my first of the season, I was quite impressed with the Bruins.  Of course, I am not the least bit biased.  I was truly impressed by the way Scott and his great assistant coaches have the team playing with intense defense and an apparent superb chemistry to combine with very good offensive skills deep into the bench.
It should be a great week of B-ball, and I am a little jealous of you who will get to see it.  Swiss, yell a little cheer for me.  I will be back in Wyoming trying to follow on the net.

hoopnut,  The game was way too close to require using any tobasco.  It seems that both teams played well and neither has anything to be embarressed about.  We just all like to win!!
You have your big challenge this PM, GFU has the eastside trip this weekend.  I doubt that it will remain a tie when the week is over, I just don't have a great feel for who will be in the lead.  Regardless, the twin wins over UPS gives GFU a tiebreaker against any other team we would be tied with for any position in the playoffs, as long as Linfield doesn't go on a terror and tie us.  That is at least comforting.  I feel much more comfortable with this years team based more on defense than in the past.
Soo, if UPS closes out the 3-point line against GFU next time, don't you think that would open up the middle for the GFU posts who have had some extrememly good games this year?

OK, a little stumble along the road.  Hopefully corrected before Saturday night.  I am sure Scott will get their attention.
Just in case, I am opening a bottle of the classic red tobasco, since the green doesn't quite have appropriate hotness to cover the repulsive taste of crow.
I agree with your assessment, except I would add Whitman to the list for GFU, since we always have some difficulty there.  Don't forget L&C, since I think you have to play them on the road this time, and that is 1 team that seemed to shoot their average against us and score in the 70's.
I hope the GFU defense disrupts with your enjoyment of the game on Sat along with the UPS offense.  That being said, I hope the weather is good for you.

I am jealous.  I will just have to check the score from a hotel in Cheyenne.  I have to do a national guard weekend, and the 6-7 hour drive in the winter sucks worse than even potentially loosing to UPS, so I hope you prognostication for the weekend is even less accurate than last weekend.  Think of me freezing while you get to cheer your favorite team!!!  Nice job of pretty much evading the original question regarding just a bad night on the home court!  One of us eats a little crow come Friday night.  I always like mine with a little tobasco.

Hoopnut, The first part of your predictions didn't quite come true, although the PLU, GFU game was certainly tight.  Nothing exceeding a 3 point lead for either team after an initial 10-5 PLU lead.  Once again, GFU held the opponent under 30% shooting for the game and was +3 on the boards.
I would love to see the game this weekend, as such defensive tenacity is not quite the usual GFU strength.  I don't get to see a game until the PLU-GFU replay in Newburg.  I think we will know a lot about your prognosticating ability after Friday night.  Will UPS find an answer to GFU's defense?  I would love to be there.  Even if GFU wins, we still have the dreaded trip to the dry side of the wet state the week after. 
I really do miss Parkland Pride's insightful input...Maybe we can sign him for a guest editorial.

Hoopnut, back to the UPS loss to GFU being a fluke.  Maybe. UPS started 1 for 18and was down 18-6 with 5:27 left in the first half.  The remaining 24:33 they were a whopping +4.  Not exactly an overriding indictment of just a bad start, given the normal letdown that occurs for all teams with a double digit lead.
They shot 31% for the game, 10% below their average, while GFU shot 41%, only .5% below their average.  However, GFU defensively only allows a 30.9% average for league games, so UPS was about par for that course.  Rebounds favored GFU 42-37.  For the league season, GFU averages +3, UPS +5.
So, GFU shot normally, rebounded normally, their defense was normal, as compared to league stats.  Did the GFU defense trump the UPS offense, or was it just a bad night for UPS on their home court?
Give me a reasonable reason you feel it was the latter.  I have not seen either team, since I follow this from Wyoming where it is currently 30 below zero.  Maybe my brain is frozen, or maybe I am just an incurable Wyoming Bruin fan. 

Where is everybody?  UPS sweeps the westside and hoopnut doesn't even have a post.  Anybody know how PLU managed to drop 2, or are the Whits really that good?  I am relatively surprised by Whitman, as they do not seem to have dropped off nearly as much as I thought they would after graduating most of last year's starters.  Whitworth is, of course, always a threat.  Especially in Spokane.
Biggest surprises of the year, GFU +, Whitman +, PLU -.
Any comments?  I know it is far from over, just results thus far.

Hoopnut, time will tell, although such blatant dissing of my bruins will be filed away and remebered,or forgotten as the case may be, when the time comes. 
What a logjam at the top.  This should be a very fun conference race to watch.  It would be adviseable to hold home court, something UPS and GFU have not done well so far. 
I was a little surprised to see GFU had a little bit of national love on the D-3 poll.

Hoopstermom, thanks for the feedback.  I recognized that were totally able to defend yourself, but I couldn't help correcting GAVA's assignment of Swiss's post to you creating the delusion that you were a fickle fan.  I am with you in loving good basketball, men or women.  When RMC knocked out my GFU Bruins last year, they were my sentimental favorite in the final 4, just as PLU may be your's this year.  I hope that is not just wishful thinking, as I remember how good your point guard was and apparently still is.  Oh, and you guys don't have bad heigth  either.  PLU will have to rely on speed and protecting the rock. Good luck until Saturday night, assuming PLU can keep it together on Friday.  Otherwise, I'll just have to root for RMC all weekend!!

GAVA, aren't you being a little hard on hoopstermom?  Especially since you combined the first email from Swiss with hoopstermom's 1 post to make her look like a NWC traitor.
I am looking forward to listening to PLU on the webcast.  Maybe with a little less enthusiasm than last year at this time. 
I saw a post that insinuated that Wis-Stout played a little undisciplined and were very beatable secondary to a lot of turnovers.  That was a ST.  Ben's post.  I really didn't see much about HSU.

OK, you know how bad my memory is.  The game at Wheeler was 2001, I believe the year GFU was temporarily ranked #1, and St. Thomas upset us at home in Lacey's last year.  Not only upset us, but spanked us a little.  That was a 2nd round game.   Swiss can check my accuracy in the archives.

Chemguy,  you are starting to sound a little bit like Swiss, rimshot and I did in the middle of the season.  IE. GFU will turn it around and get back to the level they were playing early in the season.  Maybe for you it will happen.  However, I think that PLU has shown that they really do play with a consistency that no other NWC has been able to match this year.  They have had poor offensive games, but the D has risen to pull them out.  UPS, although dangerous, has not had the overall consistency of PLU and will not pull off the "upset" on Saturday.  I am assuming both win on Friday, as it would take an extemely poor performance across both O and D for them to loose, even if the CAL schools both played over their heads.  And as rimshot would say, that is a little wood on the fire.

Rimshot, you certainly nailed thi$ call.  This is the regional that history would have predicted.  If we think it is unfair that UPS and PLU have to play each other so early, think about how the California teams must feel since they always have to make the trip to the northwest and have yet to manage a win up here.  Still, I wish Parkland had been correct with his logical prediction.