Melissa Reich in action against UC San Diego.
Melissa Reich became one of SPU's top-10 all-time rebounders on Tuesday.

Falcon Women Roll Past Simon Fraser, 71-45

That Clinches a First-Round Home Game in GNAC Tournament Next Monday

2/22/2011 9:29:20 PM


        Box score, play-by-play
        PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – With the postseason rapidly approaching, the Seattle Pacific Falcons know that a moment is going to come when someone has to deliver big-time in a reserve role.

If Tuesday night was indication, that someone could be … well, just about anyone.

Jordan Harazin came off the bench to pump in 13 points, and Katie Benson added 11 – also off the bench -- as the Falcon women rolled to a 71-45 victory against Simon Fraser in Brougham Pavilion and clinched a home game for the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament.





The victory for Seattle Pacific (18-7, 12-5 GNAC) was its fifth straight. Combined with Montana State Billings' 63-57 homecourt loss to Western Washington on Tuesday, it secured third place in the standings for the Falcons. That means they will have the homecourt advantage for next Monday's first round of the inaugural GNAC tourney.

“A couple weeks ago, we were thinking we're tied for third and heading to Billings (for the first round),” head coach Julie Heisey said. “Our kids have come a long way in the last three weeks. It's really important that we can play at home. The way our playoffs are set up, the homecourt definitely has the advantage. We're glad to have that opportunity to play at home.”

An tournament opponent has yet to be determined. Tip-off time on Monday will be at 5:15 p.m., the first game of a doubleheader. The SPU men also clinched homecourt for the first round with Tuesday's 84-70 victory at Western Washington, and will play next Monday's tourney nightcap at 7:30.

Junior guard Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) tied her season scoring high and was in double figures for the third time in the last four games. She hit 6 of 7 from the floor. Redshirt freshman forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) also grabbed five rebounds.

Junior center Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash./Lynden Christian HS) put up career highs of eight points and five rebounds. Her previous bests were six points and four rebounds, both of which she established twice.





All 14 SPU players saw action, with the reserves outscoring their Simon Fraser counterparts, 42-15 – and in fact, outscored the Falcon starters, 42-29. They also combined for 20 rebounds, seven assists, and shot 56.2 percent from the field (18 of 32).

“The second half was probably by far the best half,” said Reimer, who played with confidence in traffic under the hoop and hit 4 of 5 from the field. “We really worked the ball inside and out. We just looked like the end-of-the-season team that we wanted to be.”

Still, it's far from the end for the Falcons, although the regular season does wind up Thursday night in Brougham against Western Washington on Senior Night at 7.

The Vikings did their part to help Seattle Pacific cinch third place on Tuesday by winning at Montana State Billings. Western, which has secured the GNAC crown at 17-0 (24-1 overall) will come to town riding a 19-game winning streak, which includes a 67-57 decision against the Falcons on Feb. 2 in Bellingham.

“We just need to put a full game together, play 40 minutes of solid defense and just be really confident,” Reimer said. “Last time we played them, we weren't really confident. We let their defensive pressure get to us a little bit.”

Added Heisey in looking ahead to what will be needed on Thursday against the Vikings, “It's the little things – it's defense, it's rebounding, it's hitting free throws, making lay-ups – all of those things.”

For the most part, the Falcons did those things on Tuesday against Simon Fraser (7-15, 4-13 GNAC). They hit 43.5 percent from the floor (30 of 69) and 70 percent from the line (7 of 10), while limiting the Clan to just 35.4 percent shooting from the field (17 of 48). SPU had a large margin on the boards, 45-28, and committed just 13 turnovers.

Senior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) joined the SPU all-time top 10 for rebounding, grabbing four to give her 621 for her career. She edged past Barb Engebretson, who had 620 boards from 1976-78.

Senior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. In so doing, Rohrbach passed the 800-point for her career (she now has 806) and is within one rebound of her 500th.

The Falcons used a 9-1 scoring run to push a 15-10 first-half lead into a double-digit advantage at 24-11 with 8:05 left in the half. Simon Fraser got within 10 just once more, at 27-18, before SPU tallied the last four points of the first half for a 31-18 margin at the break.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe led Simon Fraser (7-15, 4-13 GNAC) with 17 points. She made it a double-double with 10 rebounds. Raincock-Ekunwe leads the conference in both categories, coming into Tuesday's game with averages of 18.5 points and 12.1 boards.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 71, Simon Fraser 45

SIMON FRASER (7-15, 4-13 GNAC)
Raincock-Ekunwe 8-13 1-1 17, Carolsfeld 0-1 0-0 0, Petit 1-3 1-1 3, Collins 2-9 4-4 9, Wyman 0-7 1-4 1, Laare 4-11 09-0 9, Reist 0-0 2-4 2, Langmead 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 17-48 9-14 45.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (18-7, 12-5 GNAC)
Rohrbach 5-13 0-0 10, Reich 4-11 0-1 8, Gorman 0-4 2-2 2, Sims 3-6 3-4 9, Murray 0-3 0-0 0, Harazin 6-7 0-0 13, Teng 1-2 0-0 2, Thralls 0-0 0-0 0, Callen 3-5 0-0 8, Kingma 0-5 0-0 0, Reimer 4-5 0-0 8, Benson 4-6 2-2 11, Butler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-69 7-10 71.

Simon Fraser.............18      27 -- 45
Seattle Pacific............31      40 --71

3-point goals
– Simon Fraser 2-17 (Petit 0-2, Collins 1-5, Wyman 0-3, Laare 1-7). Seattle Pacific 4-14 (Rohrbach 0-2, Gorman 0-3, Murray 0-1, Harazin 1-2, Callen 2-3, Kingman 0-1, Benson 1-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Simon Fraser 28 (Raincock-Ekunwe 10), Seattle Pacific 45 (Rohrbach 7). Assists – Simon Fraser 8 (Petit 3, Collins 3), Seattle Pacific 19 (Gorman 5). Technical fouls – Simon Fraser: Coach Langford. Seattle Pacific – None. Attendance – 273.

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