Box score, play-by-play
AZUSA, Calif. -- The Seattle Pacific Falcons finished what they started on Thursday afternoon.
Megan Hoisington scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her second straight double, Daesha Henderson poured in 16 points, and 20th-ranked SPU opened both halves with a big scoring spurt to put away Azusa Pacific in the final nonconference women's basketball game of the season, 71-62.
The Falcons (9-2) trailed just once, that when Azusa Pacific (9-3), ranked No. 12 nationally in NAIA Division I, hit the first basket of the game. Seattle Pacific was up 5-4 when it ran off 10 straight points to take charge.
The Cougars got as close as six at 29-23. SPU had a 35-24 lead at halftime, saw Azusa Pacific score the opening basket of the second half, then ran off the next nine points to make it an 18-point bulge at 44-26 with 16:57 to play. The lead remained in double digits until the Cougars hit a pair of free throws with just 17 seconds remaining.
“I really liked the way we came out in the second half. We came out strong,” Falcons head coach Julie van Beek said. “That's something we've wanted to do at the first three minutes to start the game and the first three minutes of the second half.”
Senior forward Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS), coming off 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in Tuesday's 58-53 victory against Grand Canyon in the Triton Holiday Classic at UC San Diego, posted her team-leading fourth double-double of the season.
Senior guard Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) hit 6 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Senior forward Sydney Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added 11 points for SPU.
“Megan has been super with her double-doubles, both rebounding and finishing in the paint,” van Beek said “And Sydney has given us some good points off the bench.”
The Falcons hit 48.1 percent for the game (25 of 52), and limited the Cougars to just 30.2 percent shooting (19 of 63). Seattle Pacific had a 44-36 advantage on the boards, with junior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) pulling down seven. Junior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) handed out a team-leading five assists. Seattle Pacific had assists on 19 of its 25 field goals.
“We had some real good passing,” van Beek said. “I was really impressed because I thought we were moving the ball better, so we were getting better shots.”
Azusa Pacific was led by the 19 points of Alex Moore-Porter. C.J. Hill added 14. No one else was in double-digits for the Cougars, who came into the game with four of their five starters averaging double-digit points.
The Falcons concluded their California road trip of three games in four days with a 2-1 record. After falling in two overtimes to No. 14 UC San Diego on Monday, SPU beat Grand Canyon on Tuesday, 58-53, thus getting even with the Antelopes, who scored a 69-55 win against Seattle Pacific on Dec. 4.
“This was a good experience,” van Beek said. “We had a chance to be in a double-overtime game, we played two teams that we're going to see in the regional tournament (UCSD and Grand Canyon), and even tonight, it was against a real good team. We saw things we can do against the best teams, and there are still things we can work on.”
Seattle Pacific opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 9, at Western Oregon at 2 p.m. The Falcons have a bye for the opening night of GNAC action on Jan. 7.
NCAA Women's Basketball
Thursday, December 31,2009
Felix Event Center/Azusa, Calif.
(No. 20) Seattle Pacific 71, Azusa Pacific 62
SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-2)
Henderson,Daesha 6-11 0-0 16; Hoisington,Megan 3-8 6-11 12; Benson,Sydney 4-7 3-4 11; Harazin,Jordan 3-5 0-0 9; Reich,Melissa 4-6 1-1 9; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 2-5 0-0 5; Sims,Nyesha 1-3 0-0 3; Murray,Rachel 1-3 0-0 2; Thralls,Katie 0-0 2-2 2; Maloney,Maddie 1-3 0-0 2; Smith,Chanel 0-1 0-0 0; Gorman,McKayla 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 25-52 12-19 71.
AZUSA PACIFIC (9-3)
Moore-Porter, Alex 5-12 8-10 19; Hill, C.J. 4-10 4-4 14; Hall, Briana 2-13 4-7 8; Raber, Jessica 2-2 2-2 7; Williams, Amber 3-9 0-1 6; Higgenbottom, Teri 1-4 0-0 3; Byrd, Michelle 1-3 0-0 3; Hala'Ufia, Kristie 1-9 0-0 2; Hughes, Cherie 0-0 0-0 0; Reed, Jasmyn 0-0 0-0 0; Eddington, Kristel 0-1 0-0 0; Olivas, Sarah 0-0 0-0 0; Ellis, Morgann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 18-24 62.
Seattle Pacific............... 35 36 - 71
Azusa Pacific................. 24 38 - 62
3-point goals--Seattle Pacific 9-23 (Henderson,Daesha 4-7; Harazin,Jordan
3-5; Sims,Nyesha 1-2; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 1-2; Murray,Rachel 0-2;
Maloney,Maddie 0-2; Smith,Chanel 0-1; Hoisington,Megan 0-2), Azusa Pacific
6-17 (Hill, C.J. 2-4; Higgenbottom, Teri 1-3; Raber, Jessica 1-1;
Moore-Porter, Alex 1-3; Byrd, Michelle 1-2; Hala'Ufia, Kristie 0-1; Hall,
Briana 0-3). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-Benson,Sydney, Azusa Pacific-None.
Rebounds--Seattle Pacific 44 (Hoisington,Megan 10), Azusa Pacific 36
(Moore-Porter, Alex 6). Assists--Seattle Pacific 19 (Rohrbach,Caitlyn 5),
Azusa Pacific 13 (Hughes, Cherie 3; Hill, C.J. 3). Total fouls--Seattle
Pacific 21, Azusa Pacific 16. Technical fouls--Seattle Pacific-None, Azusa
Pacific-None. A-133.
