Daesha Henderson action 11/24/2008
Daesha Henderson led the Falcons with 15 points on Thursday night.

Falcon Women Roll in GNAC Hoop Opener

SPU Jumps to Big Early Lead, Rolls Past W. Washington, 85-68

1/8/2009 10:17:53 PM

 

January 8, 2009

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Pacific Falcons made it very clear -- very early -- how Thursday night's Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball opener was going to be played.

It would be played SPU's way.

The 18th-ranked Falcons came out and dictated the flow of the game, both on defense and on the boards, and used a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take command on the way to an 85-68 victory against Western Washington in Brougham Pavilion.

Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash., Snohomish HS) scored 15 points, and Kelsey Burns (Seattle, Kennedy HS) added 13 as SPU had five players in double figures altogether.

“We did a good job of setting the tone by not letting them have a rebound early, and we were able to get out and run the break,” said Falcons coach Julie van Beek, whose team won its 20th straight game in GNAC play dating back to March 2007. “I thought we came out and did a good job of rebounding. And our defensive intensity picked up.”

SPU's 12-point run stretched a 15-11 lead to 27-11. The Falcons' defense accounted for the last 10 points of that surge, getting all of them off of steals: a 3-pointer by Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash., Colfax HS), a coast-to-coast lay-in by Harazin, a driving lay-in by Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash., Bellevue Christian HS) off an assist from Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash., Skyline HS), and a trey from the right of the key by Maloney, with Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash., Meadowdale HS) assisting.

Senior center Kelsey Hill (Portland, Ore.) chipped in 11 points, and came within one rebound of her third double-double of the season. Freshman guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash., Colfax HS) came off the bench for 11 points, and sophomore reserve forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash., Meadowdale HS) had 10.

Van Beek said the Falcons put themselves in position to get off to a solid start.

“We have a very, very good practice on Monday, and our practice on Wednesday was very good,” she said. “Plus, it was the start of conference play, and it was Western. I felt we were ready to play. We've seen them play a couple times, and our kids were really hungry.”

The Falcons (8-2, 1-0) have never lost a GNAC opener.

Western Washington (8-4, 0-1) was led by the double-double performance of Claire Pallansch, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Amanda Dunbar added 13 points, Marelle Moehrle tallied 12, and Liz McCarrell chipped in 10.

HOT HANDS IN FIRST HALF

SPU's 48 points during the first half was its highest-scoring half of the season, surpassing the 47 points it put up during the second half against Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 22. The Falcons also enjoyed their second-best shooting half of the year, hitting 57.6 percent (19 of 33). The only better performance was 67.9 percent (19 of 28) in the first half against Pomona.

Seattle Pacific is now on a 20-game GNAC winning streak. Its last loss in conference play was 65-63 at Northwest Nazarene in March 2007.

The Falcons shot 46.4 percent for the game (32 of 69). Western Washington hit 40.8 percent (29 of 71). SPU pulled down 50 rebounds, led by the nine apiece of Hill and sophomore Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash., Bellevue Christian HS). Claire Pallansch grabbed 13 rebounds for Western Washington.

Western Washington was hurt by the absence of 6-foot-1 senior forward Jessica Summers, who went out with a broken left thumb in a game against Dixie State in December. Summers was the leading scorer (13.1 points per game) and rebounded (9.7) at the time of her injury. Thursday's game was the third one she has missed.The Vikings are normally one of the best defensive teams in the GNAC, allowing just 57.8 points per game coming into Thursday's contest. Seattle Pacific put 33 points on the board in the first 11 minutes of the game in building an early 20-point lead, 33-13.

Seattle Pacific, which has spent much of the season on the road (just three home games in its first 10), heads back out to visit Montana State Billings on Saturday at 6 p.m. (Live Webcast, Live Stats). The Yellowjackets opened their GNAC schedule on Wednesday at home by downing Northwest Nazarene, 77-64.

Billings features the conference's leading scorer in 5-foot-8 senior guard Alira Carpenter, who averages 25 points per game. The Yellow jackets (9-3, 1-0) also have a solid all-around player in guard Shantell Marquis, with averages of nine points, five boards and seven assists.

“Carpenter can shoot lights out,” van Beek said. “As good as she is, probably their best player is Marquis. They are a very much improved team."

 

NCAA Women's Basketball
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.

(No. 18) Seattle Pacific 85, Western Washington 68

WESTERN WASHINGTON (8-4, 0-1)
McCarrell 4-11 2-5 10, Pallansch 7-18 1-3 15, Hefflin 2-4 0-0 4, Dunbar 5-15 2-3 13, Soo 3-3 0-0 6, Holgate 2-4 0-0 4, Moehrle 4-12 0-0 12, Wade 2-4 0-2 4. Totals 29-715-13 68.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-2, 1-0)
Burns 5-9 1-3 13, Hoisington 3-9 1-2 8, Hill 3-7 5-6 11, Henderson 7-12 1-2 15, Maloney 3-6 0-0 7, Harazin 3-3 3-4 11, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 3-5 2-2 8, Cannon 0-3 0-0 0, Rohrbach 5-9 0-0 10, Reich 0-5 2-2 2, Schaar 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 15-21 85.
Western Washington ......24   44 -- 68
Seattle Pacific.................48   37 -- 85
3-point goals -- WWU 5-18 (McCarrell 0-3, Dunbar 1-5, Moehrle 4-10), SPU 6-16(Burns 2-3, Hoisington 1-1, Henderson 0-3, Maloney 1-3, Harazin 2-2, Sims 0-1, Cannon 0-1, Rohrbach 0-2). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- WWU 36 (Pallansch 13, Wade 6), SPU 50 (Hill 9, Reich 9). Assists -- WWU 16 (Dunbar 5), SPU 27 (Maloney 6, Burns 4, Henderson 4). Total fouls -- WWU 15, SPU 15. Technical fouls -- None. A -- 332.

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