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SEATTLE – Nyesha Sims scored 17 points to tie her career high and was named the tournament MVP on Saturday night as eighth-ranked Seattle Pacific downed No. 11 UC San Diego in the final game of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic women's basketball tournament in Brougham Pavilion, 75-66.

Junior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) tied matched her previous career best of 17, which she scored at Montana Billings last Feb. 17. She also pulled down seven rebounds on Saturday, giving her 24 points and 14 boards for the tournament.

The Falcons (2-0) also got 11 points and four rebounds from senior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), who joined Sims on the all-tournament team.





Freshman forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added 11 points for SPU. Junior guard McKayla Gorman (Parker, Colo.) handed out a career-high seven assists. Her previous career high was four, which she achieved twice.

The Falcons, who shot just 25 percent on Friday in struggling to a 46-42 victory against San Francisco State in their season and Sodexo opener, improved markedly on Saturday, hitting 54 percent (27 of 50). They also hit 16 of 21 from the foul line (76.2 percent), including 6 of 8 by freshman Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) during the final 41 seconds to keep the Tritons (0-5) at bay. 

“It came back at the right time,” coach Julie van Beek Heisey said of SPU's collective shooting eye. “We went 13 possessions in a row in the second half without a turnover, and we scored on 10 of the 13. That's part of learning to focus for 40 minutes.”

 

Heisey noted several individuals who came up with solid performances, but was particularly pleased to see Sims come up with a big night.

 

“Since she has been here as a freshman, there are just nights when she's a little bit magical,” Heisey said. “All of a sudden, she'll come up with 10 points. She does wonderful things for us defending, and she's a very good rebounder.”

 

Seattle Pacific was down 33-31 at halftime, but went on an 11-2 tear coming out of the break to take a 42-35 lead.

UC San Diego, traditionally a West Region power but which is still seeking its first victory of the season, rang up the next nine points to go in front 44-42.

But the Falcons scored the next seven straight on a 3-pointer by Benson, a lay-in by senior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) on a feed from Gorman, and a turnaround lay-in by Reich to go up 49-44. SPU built it all the way up to 14 at 62-48 with 6:35 remaining.

Seattle Pacific is now 20-0 all-time in the Sodexo (known as the Falcon Classic prior to 2005).

The Tritons got as close as four at 66-62 with 1:40 to go before Seattle Pacific gradually pulled away.

Chelsea Carlisle led UC San Diego with 21 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. For the tournament, Carlile had 36 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

Western Washington, which also went 2-0, placed Lauren Hefflin (26 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, 3 blocked shots) and Amanda Dunbar (22 points, six assists) on the all-tourney squad.

Seattle Pacific won't return to action until Dec. 3 when it faces Grand Canyon in the first game of the Pac West-GNAC Challenge at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.



NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

(No. 8) Seattle Pacific 75, (No. 11) UC San Diego 66

UC SAN DIEGO (0-5, 0-0 CCAA)
Carlisle, Chelsea 7-17 4-4 21; Osga, Emily 4-11 5-6 13; Feder, Daisy 3-5 2-2
11; Freidenberg, Lauren 5-11 0-2 10; Grady, Erin 3-5 1-2 7; White, Elaina
1-1 0-0 2; Yano, Stephanie 1-3 0-0 2; Dautremont, Erin 0-0 0-0 0; Usher,
Magdalena 0-3 0-0 0; Anderson-Jew, Nicole 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 12-16 66.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-0, 0-0 GNAC)
Sims,Nyesha 8-13 0-0 17; Reich,Melissa 4-9 3-4 11; Benson,Katie 4-5 1-2 11;
Harazin,Jordan 3-7 1-2 8; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 3-4 2-2 8; Maloney,Maddie 3-5 0-0
7; Callen,Aubree 0-3 6-8 6; Murray,Rachel 1-1 3-3 5; Gorman, McKayla 1-3 0-0
2. Totals 27-50 16-21 75.

UC San Diego.................... 33 33 - 66
Seattle Pacific.................. 31 44 - 75
3-point goals--UC San Diego 6-17 (Carlisle, Chelsea 3-9; Feder, Daisy 3-4;
Grady, Erin 0-1; Yano, Stephanie 0-1; Osga, Emily 0-2), Seattle Pacific 5-12
(Benson,Katie 2-3; Harazin,Jordan 1-2; Maloney,Maddie 1-1; Sims,Nyesha 1-3;
Gorman, McKayla 0-2; Callen,Aubree 0-1). Fouled out--UC San Diego-None,
Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds--UC San Diego 31 (Osga, Emily 8), Seattle
Pacific 29 (Sims,Nyesha 7). Assists--UC San Diego 16 (Osga, Emily 8),
Seattle Pacific 15 (Gorman, McKayla 7). Total fouls--UC San Diego 20,
Seattle Pacific 18. Technical fouls--UC San Diego-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-294


ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Nyesha Sims (SPU)
Melissa Reich (SPU)
Chelsea Carlisle (UCSD)
Lauren Hefflin (WWU)
Amanda Dunbar (WWU)