Box score, play-by-play
NAMPA, Idaho -- They couldn't find their offensive flow or the bottom of the basket. So for the first time this season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons weren't able to find the women's basketball win column.
Daesha Henderson had 17 points, and Megan Hoisington put up 12 points and nine rebounds on Friday, but 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific shot just 29 percent from the field and dropped a 69-55 decision to Grand Canyon in the first game of the GNAC-Pac West Classic at Northwest Nazarene University.
The Falcons (3-1) hit just 17 of 58 from the floor (29.3 percent), and were only 7 of 27 (26 percent) during the second half. Grand Canyon (4-1) hit 25 of 60 (41.7 percent).
“Hats off to Grand Canyon. They came to play and they were the aggressors,” SPU coach Julie van Beek said. “They did a good of taking us out of what we were doing.
“Part of it was we did shoot badly,” van Beek added. “But also, we weren't able to run our offense. We never had a flow. Even though we had some decent shots, they weren't the shots we wanted.”
Samantha Murphy, who came averaging 24.3 points, led all scorers with 26. She also collected six rebounds. Ashley Hardin added 15 points for the Antelopes, and Kia Gibson had 10.
In a glimpse of things to come, the Falcons missed their first six shots of the game, but still took an early 5-0 lead as Grand Canyon went 0 for 7 at the outset. SPU had a 16-10 advantage when the Antelopes went on an 11-1 run to forge in front, 21-17.
The teams traded the lead throughout the rest of the first half, and three-time defending Pacific West champion Grand Canyon took a 30-28 edge into intermission when Murphy scooped in a lay-in with seven seconds left.
The Antelopes then scored the first five points of the second half, making it 35-28, and the closest Seattle Pacific came the rest of the night was 48-44 on a 3-pointer by Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) with 10:26 left. Grand Canyon answered with the next eight points for a 56-44 lead.
“Once they got the lead, they weren't going to relinquish it,” van Beek said. “We couldn't find an answer. We had four turnovers on our first seven possessions of the second half. They get excited, we get tight, and we don't make shots.”
The Falcons will get another shot at Grand Canyon on Dec. 29 in San Diego. But they have plenty of basketball to play beforehand, starting with today's game against Dixie State at 1 p.m. PST to wind up the tournament. The Red Storm dropped an 85-70 decision to host Northwest Nazarene in Friday's other game.
“Dixie is very, very athletic and very feisty,” van Beek said. “They're going to be aggressive and go for the ball, and we have to be smart and take advantage of that.”
NCAA Women's Basketball
GNAC-Pac West Classic
Friday, December 4, 2009
Harmon & Elizabeth Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho
Grand Canyon 69, (No. 14) Seattle Pacific 55
GRAND CANYON (4-1)
Murphy, Samantha 8-16 6-6 26; Hardin, Ashley 6-9 0-0 15; Purnell, Shareka
4-13 1-2 9; Gibson, Kia 4-9 0-0 8; Haddow, Stacy 1-5 2-2 5; Graham, Katrina
1-4 1-2 3; Girdley, Kristi 1-1 1-2 3; Johnson, Katie 0-3 0-0 0; Iverson,
Dana 0-0 0-0 0; Sparks, Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; Fisher, Kayla 0-0 0-0 0; Liscum,
Steffani 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 11-14 69.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-1)
Henderson,Daesha 6-11 1-4 17; Hoisington,Megan 3-15 5-6 12; Sims,Nyesha 1-6
5-7 8; Reich,Melissa 3-4 0-0 6; Maloney,Maddie 2-7 1-2 6; Rohrbach,Caitlyn
1-9 1-2 4; Harazin,Jordan 1-3 0-0 2; Benson,Sydney 0-1 0-0 0; Murray,Rachel
0-1 0-0 0; Thralls,Katie 0-0 0-0 0; Gorman,McKayla 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-58
13-21 55.
Grand Canyon.................. 30 39 - 69
Seattle Pacific................. 28 27 - 55
3-point goals--Grand Canyon 8-17 (Murphy, Samantha 4-6; Hardin, Ashley 3-3;
Haddow, Stacy 1-4; Purnell, Shareka 0-4), Seattle Pacific 8-23
(Henderson,Daesha 4-7; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 1-2; Hoisington,Megan 1-3;
Maloney,Maddie 1-5; Sims,Nyesha 1-3; Gorman,McKayla 0-1; Harazin,Jordan
0-2). Fouled out--Grand Canyon-None, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds--Grand
Canyon 44 (Purnell, Shareka 7), Seattle Pacific 37 (Hoisington,Megan 9).
Assists--Grand Canyon 14 (Purnell, Shareka 6), Seattle Pacific 9
(Maloney,Maddie 3; Henderson,Daesha 3). Total fouls--Grand Canyon 17,
Seattle Pacific 14. Technical fouls--Grand Canyon-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-121.
