Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons finished the year just as convincingly as they started it.
 
Sophomore forward Katie Benson scored 15 points, and Seattle Pacific blew open the game with a 20-0 first-half scoring spree to rout Saint Martin's in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball play on New Year's Eve afternoon, 70-39.
 
Sophomore guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) added 13 off the bench for SPU (9-3, 3-1 GNAC), which won its third straight and now is in sole possession of second place in the standings behind Alaska Anchorage (3-0). The Falcons head north to visit Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and preseason GNAC favorite Anchorage on Saturday, both at 8 p.m. PST.
 
Junior forward Rachel Murray (Eglington, New South Wales, Australia) and freshman guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash./Monroe HS) tallied 12 for Seattle Pacific.
 
Chelsea Haskey led Saint Martin's (6-8, 1-3 GNAC) with 18 points. No one else was in double figures for the Saints.




 
The Falcons – who opened the calendar year last Jan. 1 with a 16-point victory against Alaska Fairbanks in Brougham Pavilion – had a 10-9 lead on Saint Martin's early in the first half when they started their 20-point run. A total of six different players made scoring contributions.
 
SPU kept Saint Martin's without a field goal for the final 13 minutes, 36 seconds of the half, forcing the Saints into 21 straight misses from the field. The only points for Saint Martin's during that stretch came on two free throws, and the Falcons took a 35-11 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
“We came out ready to play, and even though we didn't score a lot in the first four minutes, we got stops and forced some turnovers,” SPU head coach Julie Heisey said. “And when we made subs, they were able to build on the defense that the first group had started with.”
 
The blowout was the second in three days for the Falcons. On Thursday, they blitzed Western Oregon in Brougham, 74-51.
 
“We all worked really hard over the (Christmas) break, and it has shown,” Murray said. “Everyone came back ready to go. Both of these teams (WOU and Saint Martin's) have great athletes and the potential to do well, so we went into ach game just going out there as hard as we can.”
 
Senior guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) and Murray each tied their career rebounding high by grabbing seven apiece. Seattle Pacific's total of 53 boards, led by the nine of senior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) was its second-highest of the season, bettered only by the 57 recorded against Pacific Lutheran on Dec. 19.
 
Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) set a career high with three blocked shots, one more than her previous best, which she had achieved four times.
 
Once again, SPU's bench came up big, outscoring the Saint Martin's reserves, 30-8.
 
“Everybody is hungry and is trying to be coachable and do things right – playing defense, running the floor and working hard,” Heisey said. “Top to bottom, there are reasons why our team is getting better.” 
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 70, Saint Martin's 39
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (6-8, 1-3 GNAC)
Haskey 9-15 0-0 18, Baker 1-4 1-2 3, Skorpik 0-2 0-0 0, Richardson 1-6 0-0 3, Teade 2-7 1-2 7, Gelhar 0-4 2-2 2, Ferguson 0-2 0-0 0, Lashua 0-2 0-0 0, Wilson 0-4 0-2 0, Moehrle 0-4 2-3 2, Paulson 1-6 1-2 4, Tigue 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-56 7-13 39.
 
SEATTLE PACIFC (9-3, 3-1 GNAC)
Murray 5-9 0-0 12, Benson 5-11 5-8 15, Harazin 2-9 0-0 5, Callen 0-1 0-0 0, Sims 3-11 2-2 8, Gorman 0-2 0-0 0, Teng 0-1 0-0 0, Ohlsen 5-7 0-0 12, Thralls 0-0 0-0 0, Kiingma 4-10 2-2 13, Reimer 2-5 1-2 5, Butler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 10-14 70.
 
Saint Martin's       11           28           -- 39
Seattle Pacific      35           35           -- 70
 
3-point goals – StM 4-16 (Richardson 1-6, Teade 2-3, Gelhar 0-2, Moehrle 0-2, Paulson 1-3), SPU 8-21 (Murray 2-2, Harazin 1-3, Callen 0-1, Sims 0-2, Gorman 0-2, Teng 0-1, Ohlsen 2-4, Kingma 3-6). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – StM 37 (Lashua 10), SPU 53 (Sims 9, Harazin 7, Murray 7). Assists – StM 9 (Moehrle 2, Paulson 2), SPU 17 (Sims 4). Turnovers – StM 17, SPU 13. Total fouls – StM 12, SPU 13. Technical fouls –None. A – 223.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 9-3, 3-1 GNAC. Saint Martin's 6-8, 1-3 GNAC.
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, Thursday, Jan. 3, 8:00 p.m. PST.