SEATTLE -- On a night when the offense was off a bit, the defense came up big for the Seattle Pacific women's basketball team.
And that's exactly what coach Julie van Beek wanted to see.
Megan Hoisington and Maddie Maloney led a balanced scoring attack with 11 points apiece, and the 16th-ranked Falcons won their fifth straight game, defeating Central Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at Brougham Pavilion on Saturday, 57-34.
The Falcons (11-2, 4-0 GNAC) retained their hold on first place in the conference as they prepare to head to Alaska for a two-game road trip next week. SPU plays at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, then visits No. 2-ranked Alaska Anchorage next Saturday night.
SPU, which has had a string of sharp-shooting games, cooled down a bit on Saturday, hitting 41.5 percent from the floor (22 of 53). But the Falcon defense limited Central Washington (3-11, 0-3) to even frostier shooting: 31.3 percent (15 of 48), including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
Seattle Pacific also forced the Wildcats into 30 turnovers.
“Our focus on Friday in practice was that our defense had to get better,” van Beek said. “I was pleased overall with our defense. We gave them a goal of forcing 25 turnover and holding them under 35 percent (shooting).”
Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS), who hit 5 of 10 from the floor, and Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) were the only Falcons in double figures. Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added nine points, hitting 3 of 6.
Central Washington was led by the 10 points of Sophie Russell. The Wildcats lost their fourth straight game.
Seattle Pacific was up 9-5 in the first half, then scored the next 18 points during the next 9 minutes, 19 seconds. The Falcons settled 29-14 halftime advantage.
Central scored the first four points after halftime to get within 11 at 29-18, but came no closer the rest of the night.
“We were trying to talk to them about how defense wins championships. You're going to have nights when you don't shoot well, so you have to focus on defense,” van Beek said. “Our defensive intensity was very, very good.”
Hoisington pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds for the Falcons and came up with four steals. Maloney handed out four assists.
Sara Bergner had seven boards for Central Washington.
SPU got 18 points off of its bench. Sophomore Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) set the pace with seven points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
The Falcons take off for Alaska on Wednesday, then play Fairbanks on Thursday at 6:15 p.m. and Anchorage next Saturday night at 8. And while their might be a natural inclination to focus on the No. 2-ranked Seawolves, Fairbanks is up first.
“Monday and Tuesday need to be strong days in practice,” van Beek said. “We want to go out prepared for both of these games. “It's our last big road trip before March. We just want to make the most of every day and have no regrets.”
