Box score, play-by-play

BILLINGS, Mont. – Most nights, good defense will help put one in the win column.

However, the offense has to help, too.

Melissa Reich scored 11 points on Saturday, but Seattle Pacific went six minutes without a point late in the game and dropped a 54-51 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball decision to Montana State Billings in Alterowtiz Gymnasium.

The loss was the second straight for the Falcons (13-7, 7-5 GNAC). Billings (11-7, 7-5 GNAC) completed a season sweep of SPU, having won 59-50 on Jan. 8 in Brougham Pavilion.

It's now a three-way tie for third place in the standings between Seattle Pacific, Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's. The Saints lost at home to Western Washington on Saturday night, 63-47.

Senior center Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) was the only SPU player to score in double figures. She also led the Falcons with eight rebounds. Redshirt freshman forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added nine points, and junior guard Nyesha Sims (Portland, Ore.) had eight.

“You get a good defensive stop, then you have to make a shot,” said Falcons head coach Julie Heisey, whose team hit just 36.4 percent from the field (20 of 55) on Saturday. 'We hit just 6 of 12 at the line and missed seven or eight lay-ups.

“We have to understand: If we get stops, we have find a way to come back and get a good shot, or get a second shot,” Heisey added. “In that six minutes (without a point), we didn't get any second shots.”

After four straight road games, Seattle Pacific is back in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday night against Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m.

Saturday's game was tied 26-26 at halftime, but SPU opened the second half on an 11-5 run to take a six-point lead at 37-31 with 12:29 remaining. Just two minutes later, the Yellowjackets had climbed back into a 40-40 tie.

The Falcons went in front for the final time at 47-45 on a lay-up by senior guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) with 7:38 to play. A free throw by senior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) made it 48-45 at the 6:53 mark.

Montana State Billings scored the next six points, and SPU didn't back on the board until just 53 seconds remained on another Maloney free throw, getting the Falcons within 51-49. SPU subsequently had two possessions to hit the equalizer, but one ended on a missed shot with 31 seconds to go, and the other was stopped by an offensive foul at 15 seconds.

Forced to foul again, the Falcons watched Bobbi Knudsen sink both free throws with nine seconds left for a 53-49 lead. A Maloney lay-up cut it to 53-51 with three seconds to go, then Jenny Heringer hit the back end of a two-shot foul with one second showing for the final margin.

“We've done so many things right,” Heisey said. “Our defense was there tonight, we rebounded better (SPU had a 40-36 edge on the boards). … It was turnovers at bad times. In that six-minute stretch, we had some good shots and some bad breaks. We have to control the things we can control.”

Altogether, the game was tied nine times, and the lead changed hands six times.

While Seattle Pacific shot just 36 percent on Saturday, Billings was only slightly better at 38.9 percent (21 of 54). Knudsen finished with a team-high 11 points for the Yellowjackets. Breata Bak and Mandy Jacobs added 10 apiece. 


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Alterowitz Gym/Billings, Mont.

Montana State Billings 54, Seattle Pacific 51

SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-7, 7-5 GNAC)
Harazin 3-7 0-0 6, Sims 3-9 0-0 8, Maloney 2-3 2-4 7, Rohrbach 2-6 1-2 6, Reich 5-13 1-3 11, Gorrman 0-2 -0-0 0, Callen 1-4 0-0 2, Murray 1-3 0-0 3, Benson 3-8 2-3 9. Totals 20-55 6-12 51.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (11-9, 7-5 GNAC)
Marquis 1-3 1-1 3, Heringer 3-9 2-4 9, Jacobs 4-8 1-2 10, Knudsen 3-8 3-4 11, Ryan 1-8 1-1 3, McNamee 3-4 0-0 6, Laslovich 0-0 0-0 0, Stanhope 1-1 0-0 2, Bak 5-13 0-2 6. Totals 21-54 8-14 54.

Seattle Pacific                 26    25 -- 51
Montana State Billings  26    28 -- 54

3-point goals – SPU 5-15 (Harazin 0-2, Sims 2-3, Maloney 1-2, Rohrbach 1-2, Gorman 0-2, Callen 0-1, Murray 0-1, Benson 1-2), MSUB 4-15 (Heringer 1-4 Jacobs 1-3, Knudsen 2-4, Ryan 0-2, Bak 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 40 (Reich 8, Harazin 5, Sims 5), MSUB 35 (Marquis 6, Bak 6). Assists – SPU 13 (Harazin 4), MSUB 12 (Marquis 5). Technical fouls – None. A – 881


Records – Seattle Pacific 13-7, 7-5 GNAC. Montana State Billings 11-9, 7-5 GNAC.

Next game – Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Feb. 10, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.