SEATTLE -- Julie van Beek never misses an opportunity to remind her Seattle Pacific women's basketball team:
Defense and rebounding wins games.
On Thursday night, the Falcons delivered that message forcefully to No. 1 Alaska Anchorage.
SPU scored 19 points off of Seawolf turnovers, and got 13 points off of second chances under its own hoop in Brougham Pavilion to take down Division II's top-ranked team, 54-42.
“That wasn't a pretty game. But it's what we preach all the time about how it's defense and rebounding that wins,” van Beek said. “We forced 20 turnovers, and we had a stretch there where we had five offensive rebounds in a row. We only shot 34 percent … but the big deal is we got 19 points off of turnovers.”
Kelsey Hill posted her fourth double-double of the season, pouring in 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for the Falcons (17-4, 10-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference). The rebound total was a season-high for the 6-foot-2 senior Hill (Portland, Ore.) Her point total was just one shy of her season high.
“Kelsey was just amazing,” van Beek said. “She just took control. Even the first play of the game, it was broken play, but she scores on it.”
Junior forward Megan Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Falcons, and Kelsey Burns chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.
No one hit in double figures for Alaska Anchorage (24-2, 11-1 GNAC), which had a 22-game winning streak snapped and went down for the first time since dropping a 70-65 decision to Lake Superior State on Nov. 2. Rebecca Kielpinski led the Seawolves with nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
The outcome reversed SPU's earlier loss at Alaska Anchorage. On Jan. 24, the Seawolves rallied from 16 points down in the second half to beat the Falcons, 53-49.
It wasn't hard for van Beek to find one of the big differences between the games.
“We made the hustle plays (this time),” she said. “We were strong with the ball, and that's part of the mentality. We were the aggressors.”
OFF TO A FAST START
Seattle Pacific led from start to finish except for a 2-2 tie n the opening 90 seconds of the game. The Falcons put together a 12-0 scoring run to expand a 7-4 lead to 19-4.
“The most key part was our start -- that set the tone, and it carried over the rest of the game,” Hill said.
Alaska Anchorage had gotten within four points by halftime, 27-23, and also drew within four early in the second half at 31-27.
But SPU put together a 12-3 scoring streak to take a 43-30 lead and never let the Seawolves get closer than eight points the rest of the night. The last time was 47-39 at the 4:14 mark. Hill essentially sealed the deal when she hit a turnaround five-footer at the shot clock buzzer, then drained a pair of free throws to make it 51-39 with 2:50 left.
“After every dead ball, we said, 'OK, we have to buckle down for the next 10 minutes,' then 'We have to buckle down for the next five minutes,'” said Hill, who also double-doubled last time against Anchorage with 10 points and 10 boards. “It takes a lot of focus to play hard for the whole 40 minutes, but tonight, we got most of it.”
After getting out-rebounded by a 47-38 margin in Anchorage, the Falcons had the edge on Thursday 39-35, including a 17-9 advantage at the offensive end. SPU converted 20 Seawolf turnovers into 19 points. The Falcons had just 10 turnovers.
SPU, the second-best defensive team in the conference at just 59.7 points allowed per game, kept its opponent below 60 for the fifth straight time and for the eighth time in the last nine games. Anchorage came in averaging 69 points per night.
Seattle Pacific closes its home schedule on Saturday 5:15 p.m. against Alaska Fairbanks. That will be Senior Night and the annual Pink Zone game to highlight the battle against breast cancer.
NCAA Women's Basketball
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
(14) Seattle Pacific 54, (1) Alaska Anchorage 42
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (24-2, 11-1 GNAC)
Aden 0-1 0-0 0, Johansson 0-1 0-0 0, Kielpinski 4-6 1-2 9, Harris 2-3 0-0 5, Taylor 2-9 3-5 7, Miller 3-8 0-0 7, Colins 0-0 0-0 0, Thiel 0-1 2-2 2, Basova 0-3 0-0 0, Gruwell 3-5 0-0 8, Williams 2-8 0-0 4, Burnett 0-0 0-0 0, Dekel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-45 6-9 42.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-4, 10-2 GNAC)
Burns 4-12 3-4 11, Hoisington 6-14 1-2 13, Hill 8-17 5-6 21, Henderson 1-4 0-0 3, Maloney 1-3 0-0 3, Harazin 0-2 0-0 0, Gorman 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 0-1 0-0 0, Rohrbach 1-6 0-0 2, Reich 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 21-61 10-16 54.
Alaska Anchorage........23 19 -- 42
Seattle Pacific..............27 27 -- 54
3-point goals -- UAA 4-11 (Aden 0-1, Harris 1-1, Miller 1-2, Thiel 0-1, Basova 0-3, Gruwell 2-3), SPU 2-12 (Burns 0-2, Hoisington 0-2, Henderson 1-2, Maloney 1-3, Harazin 0-2, Rohrbach 0-1). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- UAA 35 (Kielpinski 11), SPU 39 (Hill 13, Hoisington 8, Burns 6). Assists -- UAA 10 (Kielpinski 5), SPU 16 (Henderson 5). Technical fouls -- None. Total fouls -- UAA 14, SPU 8. A -- 543.
