Box score, play-by-play

BURNABY, B.C. – Down by double digits with just six minutes left, the only thing that stopped the Seattle Pacific Falcons from attacking was the final buzzer.
 
The Falcons wiped out most of a 12-point second-half deficit on Thursday night, getting as close as three in the late going before falling to Simon Fraser in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball opener in the Clan's West Gym, 79-74.
 
Sophomore forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) pumped in 22 points for Seattle Pacific, just one shy of her career high. She also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.
 
It was the first time in 11 GNAC openers since the conference was formed in 2001 that SPU (4-2 overall) came up short.
 
 “We dug ourselves a hole on the road against a very, very good team,” Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. “I thought we were going to win. Even when it was 74-70 (for Simon Fraser), we made our lay-ups and we pressed, and then we got called for a foul.
 
“You just have to have everything go your way at the end. A lot of good things happened – we just didn't get the result that we wanted.”
 
Next up is Saturday's 7 p.m. contest at arch-rival Western Washington in Bellingham.
 
Senior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) added 13 points on Thursday. Sophomore guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) chipped in 10 in a reserve role, and senior center Joani Reimer  (Ferndale, Wash./Lynden Christian HS) grabbed a career-high six rebounds off the bench.
 
“I thought Betsy Kingma was amazing. Top to bottom, both halves, she was so consistent,” Heisey said. “When we were down, she went in and got rebounds and found ways to score. Katie was very aggressive in attacking, and that picked everyone up, and Joani came off the bench and had six points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. One of our goals was we really wanted to tag-team and make sure that when people came off the bench, they made us better.”
 
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, last year's conference scoring and rebounding champion, had a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Clan (4-1, 1-0 GNAC). Kristina Collins added 15 points.
 
The Falcons, after leading by as many as seven points during the first half, were up 32-29 with 2:33 left on a jumper by sophomore guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho), But Simon Fraser ran off the last 10 points of the half, taking a 39-32 lead into the locker room.
 
The Clan expanded the lead to double digits for the first time at 49-38 on a lay-in by Raincock-Ekunwe with 16:30 to play. It gradually grew to 12 on three occasions, the last time at 72-60 with 5:54 left.
 
Seattle Pacific put together a 10-2 run, which Kingma started with a 3-pointer, and cut the margin to 74-70 at the 1:59 mark. But the Falcons never got any closer than three, 77-74, when senior guard McKayla Gorman (Parker, Colo.) drained a 3-pointer with 19.1 seconds to go.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, December 1, 2011
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
Simon Fraser 79, Seattle Pacific 74
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-2, 0-1 GNAC)
Murray 1-3 3-4 5, Benson 7-16 7-9 22, Harazin 2-4 3-4 7, Gorman 1-4 0-0 2, Sims 5-11 3-6 13, Ohlsen 0-1 0-0 0,
Thralls 0-1 0-0 0, Callen 3-6 2-2 9, Kingma 3-5 2-2 10, Reimer 2-2 2-3 6. Totals 24-54 22-30 74.
 
SIMON FRASER (4-1, 1-0 GNAC)
Chamber 1-3 2-2 5, Reist 2-3 2-2 6, Raincock-Ekunwe 9-13 8-9 26, Collins 4-14 5-7 15, Wyman 3-10 2-6 9, Lowen 1-1 0-0 2, Van Laare 3-10 0-0 8, Petit 0-3 1-2 1, Binns 1-3 3-3 5, Carolsfeld 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 23-31 79.
 
Seattle Pacific      32           42           -- 74
Simon Fraser       39            40           -- 79
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-15 (Murray 0-2, Benson 1-3, Harazin 0-1, Gorman 0-2, Sims 0-2, Callen 1-2, Kingma 0-3), SFU 6-28 (Chamber 1-3, Collins 2-9, Wyman 1-7, Van Laare 2-7, Petit 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 37 (Benson 8, Reimer 6), SFU 33 (Raincock-Ekunwe 15). Assists – SPU 11 (Murray 2, Harazin 2, Gorman 2, Reimer 2), SFU 18 (Wyman 8). Turnovers – SPU 20, SFU 12. Technical fouls – None. Total fouls – SPU 23, SFU 20. A – NA.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-2, 0-1 GNAC. Simon Fraser 4-1, 1-0 GNAC.
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.