Box score, play-by-play
Video highlights, recap (courtesy of Simon Fraser)
BURNABY, B.C. – The starters helped set it up. And the depth helped wrap it up for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
Nyesha Sims had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, and SPU went 4 of 4 at the free throws line in the final 90 seconds – reserves Katie Benson and McKayla Gorman each hitting a pair – as the Falcon women hung on to win their Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener on Saturday night, beating Simon Fraser, 65-60.
The 23rd-ranked Falcons (5-2, 1-0 GNAC) had a 16-point lead at 42-26 early in the second half that melted all the way down to just one point at 61-60 with 1:44 left. But SPU kept the defending Canadian national champions off the board the rest of the way.
Junior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) posted her second double-double of the season for the Falcons. She is the only SPU player so far to log a double-double, her previous one coming on Dec. 3 against Grand Canyon.
The reserves, led by the nine points of freshman forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS), with junior guard Gorman (Parker, Colo.) adding five, along with a team-high six assists, contributed a combined 26 points, five rebounds and nine assists. Of Seattle Pacific's 14 players, 13 saw action, and 11 scored.
“I really liked that we were able to play a lot of people. With every sub we made, we got a good little punch,” Seattle Pacific coach Julie van Beek Heisey said. “We haven't had a game this season where we've been able to sub deep into the bench.
“As we look toward games after Christmas (four in six days) and look to the GNAC tournament and regionals, we have to have depth.”
Senior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) added 10 points and five rebounds for Seattle Pacific. Led by Gorman's six assists and five from senior guard Maddie Maloney, the Falcons had 21 assists on their 25 baskets.
The game was the first between the teams since January of 2000. Simon Fraser is in its first year of GNAC and NCAA Division II play after competing previously in the Canada West Conference and the NAIA.
After the Clan (3-4, 0-2 GNAC) got within 61-60, Benson (went to the line and hit both ends of a two-shot foul to make it 63-60 with 1:24 left. Simon Fraser then missed a shot, the teams traded turnovers, and the Clan then missed another shot, with Sims grabbing the rebound.
Simon Fraser fouled twice to get into the bonus, sending Gorman to the line with 13 seconds remaining. Gorman swished both, and one last 3-point try by the Clan's Carla Wyman missed with five seconds to go. Sims secured the rebound as the final buzzer sounded.
“We have to learn to play with the lead,” Heisey said. “But it was a good situation where we had a conference win, and we were able to make free throws (a season-best 90 percent, 9 out of 10) and do the things we had to do to win on the road.”
The Falcons were down 10-5 in the early going after starting out just 2 for 12 from the floor. But they ran off the next eight points, part of a 17-4 spree that gave them a 22-14 lead, and never trailed again. SPU took a 33-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Amonda Francis led Simon Fraser with 14 points, but the Falcons' defense limited GNAC leading scorer Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe to just 13 points, nearly 10 less than her 22.8 average. In allowing the Clan just 60 points, SPU kept them well below their conference-best 71.8 mark.
With senior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) adding eight rebound to Sims' 11, Seattle Pacific won the boards, 44-38. The Falcons shot 36.2 percent from the field (25 of 69). Simon Fraser hit 41 percent (25 of 61).
SPU is now off until after Christmas when it hosts the Falcons Invitational on Dec. 29 and 30 in Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons play Notre Dame de Namur of the Pacific West Conference at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29, following the tournament opener between Central Washington and St. Edward's of Austin, Texas. Seattle Pacific and Central keep their same game times, but switch opponents on Dec. 30.
“Our kids have worked hard and had finals, and we're all ready for a break,” Heisey said. “It's nice to go out and get three wins (in a row), and then get to come back and play some games again.”
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, December 18, 2010
West Gym/Burnaby, B.C.
(No. 23) Seattle Pacific 65, Simon Fraser 60
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-2 (1-0 GNAC)
Sims, Nyesha 6-11 2-2 16; Reich, Melissa 4-9 2-2 10; Benson, Katie 3-8 2-2 9;
Rohrbach, Caitlyn 4-8 0-0 8; Gorman, McKayla 1-5 2-2 5; Murray, Rachel 2-4 0-0
4; Callen, Aubree 1-2 0-0 3; Maloney, Maddie 1-12 1-2 3; Kingma, Betsy 1-1 0-0
3; Reimer, Joani 1-2 0-0 2; Harazin, Jordan 1-5 0-0 2; Butler, Riley 0-2 0-0 0;
Thralls, Katie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 9-10 65.
SIMON FRASER (3-4 (0-2 GNAC)
Francis, Amonda 6-7 2-3 14; Collins, Kristina 6-19 1-2 13;
Raincock-Ekunwe, Nayo 6-11 1-1 13; Wyman, Carla 3-10 2-2 9; Langmead, Rebecca
2-3 1-1 5; Laare, Kia Van 2-6 0-0 4; Reist, Chelsea 0-3 2-3 2; Carolsfeld, Anna
0-2 0-0 0; Petit, Marie-Line 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 9-12 60.
Seattle Pacific................ 33 32 - 65
Simon Fraser.................. 22 38 - 60
3-point goals--Seattle Pacific 6-28 (Sims, Nyesha 2-4; Benson, Katie 1-5;
Gorman, McKayla 1-5; Kingma, Betsy 1-1; Callen, Aubree 1-1; Harazin, Jordan
0-3; Maloney, Maddie 0-8; Rohrbach, Caitlyn 0-1), Simon Fraser 1-17
(Wyman, Carla 1-4; Collins, Kristina 0-9; Laare, Kia Van 0-3; Reist, Chelsea
0-1). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None, Simon Fraser-None. Rebounds--Seattle
Pacific 44 (Sims, Nyesha 11), Simon Fraser 38 (Raincock-Ekunwe, Nayo 13).
Assists--Seattle Pacific 21 (Gorman, McKayla 6), Simon Fraser 12
(Collins, Kristina 5). Total fouls--Seattle Pacific 14, Simon Fraser 10.
Technical fouls--Seattle Pacific-None, Simon Fraser-None. A-200.
