SEATTLE, WA. (Feb. 16) - Sprinting down the court,
Daesha Henderson soared to a thunderous one handed block of Marelle Moehrle's three point shot with under 35 seconds to play, as the No.2 Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team recorded a gritty 58-48 win over visiting Western Washington University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Saturday night at Brougham Pavilion.
The Falcons (22-0 overall, 13-0 GNAC) toughed out a very physical game against the Vikings (7-18 overall, 4-9 GNAC), in which players on each squad had to leave the competition to recover from hard, headfirst falls when scrambling for the ball.
Henderson's block, which stifled WWU's brief surge and large fan base, came with the Falcons already up by double-digits. SPU had been up by two at the half, seen their lead vanish, and then gained momentum off a barrage of turnovers and made buckets amidst a 10-1 run midway through the half.
Jackie Hollands, who left the game in the second half after sustaining a head-to-floor knocking while battling for a steal at half court, hit a three pointer with 9:08 remaining to put SPU on top by 11, and the game out of reach for the Vikings.
Hollands led the Falcons with 12 points and four steals, adding three assists and three rebounds to boot.
Megan Hoisington scored 11 points in 18 minutes, with
Jessie Christensen rounding out the double-digit SPU scorers with an even 10. Christensen added eight boards to her totals as well.
Beth Christensen, sister of Jessie, led all players with six assists, adding nine points, six rebounds, and three steals to her stat filling totals.
The Vikings, who were dismantled 86-44 the last time these teams faced each other (Jan. 17), were led by Amanda Dunbar's 18 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Claire Pallansch added 13 and seven boards, while Gabby Wade led all players with 12 rebounds.
SPU won the battle inside, outscoring WWU 40-18 in the paint, and finished with a 14-4 advantage in fast break points. The Vikings shot better from behind the arc (21.4 percent –13.3 percent), but SPU took advantage of inside shooting to finish with a 40.3 field goal percentage, compared to WWU's even 34 percent.
The Falcons, still perfect on the season, will hit the road one final time this season next week, squaring off against cross-town rival Seattle University Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a visit to Montana State University-Billings on Saturday at 6 p.m. local time.
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