Box score, play-by-play
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Julie van Beek sat at the interview table, not yet having had time to analyze the stat sheet. But one stat, such as it were, needed no analysis:
In a game of scoring runs, her Seattle Pacific Falcons made a big one. But Fort Lewis College ultimately made the final one, and that -- along with a 23-5 advantage at the free throw line -- made the difference.
The Skyhawks outscored SPU by a 17-7 margin during the last seven minutes to pull out a 68-59 victory in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight quarterfinals on Tueday afternoon at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
Melissa Reich led four Falcon players in double figures with a career-high 17 points. But 13th-ranked Seattle Pacific (27-4) was unable to overcome the lopsided free throw disparity against No. 6 Fort Lewis of Durango, Colo.
“With 2:15 to play, I still felt good and felt like we could win,” van Beek said. “We were down four. But this time of year, every team is good. Good teams make runs, and they made their run at the right time, and we didn't have a chance to answer back.”
The Falcons, making the school's fourth Elite Eight appearance, came into St. Joseph on a 14-game winning streak. Fort Lewis (34-3), which had won 17 in a row before losing its regular-season finale and is in its first Elite Eight, advances to the national semifinals on Wednesday.
“We set out talking at halftime, and we wanted to end the game with no regrets,” said junior center Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS). “They did go on more runs than us, which hurt us in the second half. And free throws hurt us.”
Indeed, it wasn't even close. While the Falcons had five more field goals than the Skyhawks (25-20), Fort Lewis was 23 of 30 at the line. SPU was just 5 of 8. The Falcons were whistled 23 times to 13 for the Skyhawks. Senior guard Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) picked up three first-half fouls. Henderson, Reich, senior forward Megan Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS), junior reserve forward Caitlyn Rohr Bach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) and sophomore reserve guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) all finished the game with four.
“We're not a team that usually fouls in abundance,” van Beek said, “but 30 free throws to eight is hard. I'm not trying to say that was the officials. But Fort Lewis attacked under the basket a lot, and we weren't able to get a basket the same way. A lot of it is they ran too many sets. It's hard to prepare for in some ways. We didn't have back-side help on defense and we were out of position and we fouled.”
CLIMBING BACK INTO IT
After starting the second half with a 31-27 lead, Fort Lewis gradually stretched it to 10 at 46-36 with 12:42 left in the game.
That's when Seattle Pacific went on a 16-5 comeback. Junior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) started it with a free throw, Reich hit a lay-in, Sims drained a 3-pointer from 22 feet away on the left side, then Maloney hit a lay-up, closing SPU to 49-48 with 8:39 still showing.
Alison Rosel got Fort Lewis back on the board with a pair of free throws to make it 51-48. But Reich hit a another lay-up, this one assisted by Rohrbach, then Maloney found Reich for yet another lay-up. And just like that, Seattle Pacific had a 52-51 lead with 7:05 left.
The Skyhawks responded by scoring the next five points to start their 17-7 game-closing run. Rosel ignited the surge with a lay-up at 6:11 and then stole the ball. Laure Haugen capped that possession with a 3-pointer at 5:22.
SPU twice got within three points after that, the last time at 60-57 with 2:42 to go, but then was kept off the board for the next 2:38 while Fort Lewis ran off eight straight points to clinch it.
“All season, we've been a second-half team,” said Henderson, who in her final SPU game had 11 points, four steals, and an assist. “We've always come out and played really strong (during the final 20 minutes). We did a good job of keeping our composure today, even when we were behind.
“We came out and gave it all we had in the second half,” Henderson added, “but they're a very good team. Down the stretch, they hit a couple more shots than we did, and got a couple more open looks.”
It was Reich, who was named Most Valuable Player of the West Region tournament, who sparked Seattle Pacific in the second half with 13 of her 17 points.
“Like Coach said, I was 2 for 2 in the first half, and I knew I was hitting tonight,” Reich said. “I thought it was my role that since I was capable of scoring tonight, it was my job to get the ball and do all that I can to hopefully prolong the seniors' last game this season. I was just more confident in my shot in the second half.”
Maloney finished with 12 points for the Falcons, and Sims wound up with 10.
Fort Lewis was led by the 19 points of Katie Mackey. Haugen finished with 16 points and Rosel chipped in 12.
BACK-AND-FORTH FIRST HALF
Fort Lewis raced to an 8-2 lead before the Falcons got untracked offensively. SPU put together 12-2 run that produced a 14-10 lead with 12:11 left in the half.
But SPU then went cold for more than six minutes while the Skyhawks ran off the next 11 points. Sims finally ended the drought with a lay-in off a feed from Reich with 5:55 left in the half, getting the Falcons within 21-16.
Seattle Pacific got as close as one at 24-23 when Henderson stole the ball, went coast-to-coast for the lay-in and hit the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play at the 2:58 mark. Fort Lewis was on the brink of taking a six-point lead into the locker room, but Rohrbach hit a running jumper from the foul line at the buzzer to bring the Falcons within 31-27 at the break.
“I felt like in the first half, we were not attacking, and free throws were a big issue,” van Beek said. “We tried to change a few things to allow us to attack the low post more, and our kids did a good job of that. We also knew we were not in very good help defense in the first half, and a lot of that is credit to Fort Lewis' sets. Our kids made those adjustments, and that allowed us to come back and take the lead.”
The game marked the end of Henderson's and Hoisington's SPU careers. And an emotional van Beek was quick to credit them with getting the Falcons to St. Joseph in their final try.
“Those are kids who think like coaches,” van Beek said. “They know what's going on, they understand, and they're great leaders. Our team would not be here right now had it not been for their leadership.”
NCAA Women's Basketball
Division II Elite Eight
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Civic Arena/St. Joseph, Mo.
(No. 6) Fort Lewis 68, (No. 13) Seattle Pacific 59
SEATTLE PACIFIC (27-4)
Harazin 1-5 0-0 2, Henderson 4-9 2-2 11, Hoisington 0-3 0-0 0, Malone7 5-7 1-2 12, Reich 8-11 1-2 17, Gorman 0-1 0-0 0l, Sims 4-7 0-0 10, Murray 0-0 0-0 0, Rohrbach 3-7 1-2 7. Totals 25-50 5-8 59.
FORT LEWIS (34-3)
Jackson 0-2 8-10 8, Haugen 6-11 0-1 16, George 1-5 2-4 4, Mackey 7-11 4-4 19, Rosel 3-7 6-7 12 Santistevan 2-2 0-0 4, McCulloch 0-2 0-0 0, Mihalco 1-2 1-2 3, Paiz 0-0 0-0 0, Schreibvogel 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-42 23-30 68.
Seattle Pacific.........27 32 -- 59
Fort Lewis...............31 37 -- 68
3-point goals -- SPU 4-10 (Harazin 0-2, Henderson 1-2, Maloney 1-2, Gorman 0-1, Sims 2-2, Rohrbach 0-1), FL 5-11 (Jackson 0-1, Haugen 4-7, Mackey 1-2, McCulloch 0-1). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- SPU 26 (Reich 7), FL 25 (Rosel 6). Assists -- SPU 13 (Harazin3, Maloney 3, Rohrbach 3), FL 15 (Jackson 7). Technical fouls -- None. Total fouls -- SPU 23, FL 13. Attendance -- NA.
