Box score, play-by-play

 HAYWARD, Calif. –A decidedly better effort led to a decidedly better women's basketball result for the Seattle Pacific  Falcons.
 
Rachel Murray pumped in a career-high 16 points, and Nyesha Sims ripped down 11 rebounds on Saturday, leading SPU to a 56-37 victory against San Francisco State on the final day of the CCAA-GNAC Challenge.
 
The victory in Pioneer Gymnasium on the Cal State East Bay campus gave the Falcons (1-1) a split of their first two games of the regular season.
 
Seattle Pacific bounced back from Friday's 68-47 loss to 13^th-ranked UC San Diego in the first game of the tournament between teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
 
“Whether you win or lose, you don't want to be disappointed with your effort,” Falcons head coach Julie Heisey said. “Today, we talked about choices and choosing who we want to be. We moved forward, and I'm very happy with the way we responded.”
 
Junior forward Murray (Eglington, Australia) hit 6 of 9 from the field, including 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc. Her previous career high was 13 points this past Jan. 11 against Alaska Fairbanks. Murray had 16 in last Friday against  George Fox, but that did not count as a career high since it was just an exhibition game.
 
Senior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.), in her first action of the regular season, came with two of her career-high rebounding total.
 
Sophomore forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added 13 points, burying 6 of 12 from the field.

Murray and Benson were named to the five-player all-tournament team.
 
Seattle Pacific led for all but the opening minutes of the game. San Francisco State (0-2), which dropped a 64-50 decision to Western Washington on Friday, got the first bucket while the Falcons missed their first four shots and went scoreless for nearly three minutes. But a 3-pointer by Murray with 17:19 left in the first half got them on the board, and they never trailed again.
 
SPU was up just 22-18 at halftime, but Murray accounted for eight of its first 10 second-half points – including a pair of treys – to push the margin to double-digits at 34-24. The Gators never got closer than seven after that, and Seattle Pacific's lead grew to as many as 20 at 50-30 with 4:31 to play.
 
After committing 26 turnovers in Friday's 68-47 loss to13th-ranked UC San Diego, the Falcons took much better care of the ball on Saturday, with just 17 turnovers. Led by Sims' 11, they also fared better on the boards with a 44-33 advantage.
 
“We played fairly good defense, and we rebounded well,” Heisey said. “That offset some of our poor shooting in the first half. Because our rebounding and defense were so good, we were able to cover up some of our mistakes.”
 
Seattle Pacific has never lost to San Francisco State, now having won all nine games against the Gators.
 
The Falcons return home for the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Brougham Pavilion this coming Friday and Saturday. SPU takes on Cal State East Bay on Friday at 5 p.m., and Harding of Arkansas on Saturday at 5. Central Washington and Harding open the tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. Men's games are set for 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. both days, with the Falcon men taking on Hawaii Pacific in Friday's last game and Brigham Young-Hawaii in Saturday's finale.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CCAA-GNAC Challenge
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Pioneer Gymnasium / Hayward, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 56, San Francisco State 37
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-1)
Harazin 0-4 0-0 0, Gorman 1-5 0-0 3, Callen 0-6 4-4 4, Murray 6-9 0-0 16, Benson 6-12 1-3 13, Teng 0-0 0-0 0, Ohlsen 1-2 0-0 2, Thralls 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 0-5 0-0 0, Kingma 3-5 0-0 8, Reimer 2-7 1-1 5, Stephens 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 21-59 7-11 56.
 
SAN FRANCISCO STATE (0-2)
Van Sickel 2-8 0-0 6, Bell 4-9 1-1 9, Booker 1-8 1-2 3, Shokoor 1-2 0-0 2, Varney 5-10 0-3 10, T. Hicks 0-0 0-0 0, N. Hicks 1-4 0-0 2, Matthews 0-2 0-0 0, Davis 1-1 0-0 3, Miller 0-5 0-0 0, Hoehn 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 16-50 2-6 37.
 
Seattle Pacific                       22           34           -- 56
San Francisco State            18           19           -- 37
 
3-point goals – SPU 7-21 (Harazin 0-3, Gorman 1-4, Callen 0-1, Murray 4-5, Benson 0-2, Teng 0-1, Kingman 2-3), SFS 3-10 (Van Sickel 2-6, Booker 0-3, Davis 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 44 (Sims 11), SFS 33 (Varney 9). Assists – SPU 11 (Harazin 2, Gorman 2, Callen 2), SFS 8 (Bell 2, Booker 2, Shokoor 2). Turnovers – SPU 17, SFS 21. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 301.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 1-1, San Francisco State 0-2.
 
Next game – Cal State East Bay at Seattle Pacific, Friday, Nov. 18, Brougham Pavilion, 5:00 p.m.