Box score, play-by-play
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SEATTLE – Everyone will say that the five-month women's basketball season is a marathon. But Thursday night was an all-out sprint for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.

Nyesha Sims matched her season high with 22 points, and Katie Benson posted her second career double-double as SPU pulled away in the second half to beat Central Washington in a high-scoring Great Northwest Athletic Conference game, 97-79.
    
Senior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) also had 22 in last Thursday's 88-64 victory at Alaska Fairbanks.
    
Sophomore forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) pumped in 16 points and tied her career high with 11 rebounds. She moved past 500 points for her career, now totaling 511.
        
The Falcons (11-4, 5-2 GNAC) had three other players in double figures. Junior forward Rachel Murray (Eglington, New South Wales, Australia) scored 15, freshman guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash./Monroe HS) added 11, and senior guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) tallied 10. Harazin also handed out seven assists and did not commit a turnover.



    
“Hats off to Nyesha and Jordan and McKayla Gorman – at times, they totally changed the game for us, whether it was attacking the basket, rebounding or defensive pressure,” Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. “They just had some really big things that created some big runs for us.”

The teams were deadlocked 45-45 at the end of racehorse-pace first half that featured 10 lead changes and five ties.

Then, at 47-47 early in the second half, SPU ran off the next nine points and never trailed again. The Wildcats (4-9, 1-5 GNAC) got as close as 56-53. From there, Seattle Pacific went on an 18-6 surge, expanding the lead to 74-59 and keeping it in double digits the rest of the way.

“I was really proud of the way our starters came out in the second half and changed the game,” Heisey said. “Our attacking defense was better (Central missed its first five shots after shooting 60 percent during the first half), we went on a run, and then with our subs, we were able to tag-team and keep the pressure on.”

Sims agreed, saying, “Defensive pressure – that was the main thing for us. We definitely made some changes in the second half. We came out and executed and got some quick shots as far as attacking the basket and getting some nice assists and stuff.”

The Falcons shot 58 percent from the field (40 of 69), their third-highest mark of the season. That included a sizzling 62.9 percent (22 of 35) after halftime. For the game, they also hit 50 percent (8 of 16) from 3-point range. Led by Benson's 11, they also dominated the boards, 41-22.

Central, after its sharp-shooting first half (18 of 30), cooled down to just 36.7 percent after the intermission (11 of 30).

The Wildcats also had five players in double figures, led by the 19 points of Sophie Russell.

Seattle Pacific plays host to Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 97, Central Washington 79

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (4-9, 1-5 GNAC)
Russell 5-10 4-4 19, Johnson 4-5 0-0 10, Dunn 8-16 0-0 17, VanDyke 5-12 4-4 17. Valdez 0-1 0-0 0, Rethwill 0-0 0-0 0, Jacobson 1-3 0-2 3, Burke 0-0 0-0 0, Albrecht 5-9 0-0 11, Fettig 0-0 0-0 0, Moser 0-0 0-0 0, Martinez 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 29-60 9-12 79.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-4, 5-2 GNAC)
Sims 9-11 2-2 22, Murray 7-13 0-0 15, Benson 6-10 1-2 16, Harazin 5-6 0-0 10, Callen 2-4 0-0 4, Gorman 3-6 2-3 9, Teng 1-2 0-0 2, Ohlsen 4-7 2-2 11, Thralls 1-1 0-0 2, Kingma 1-4 0-0 2, Reimer 1-3 2-2 4, Stephens 0-2 0-0 0, Butler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-69 9-11 97.

Central Washington    45    34    -- 79
Seattle Pacific             45    52    -- 97

3-point goals – CWU 12-22 (Russell 5-9, Johnson 2-2, Dunn 1-2, VanDyke 3-6, Valdez 0-1, Johnson 1-2), SPU 8-16 (Sims 2-2, Murray 1-3, Benson 3-3, Harazin 0-1, Callen 0-1, Gorman 1-2, Ohlsen 1-3, Kingma 0-1). Fouled out – CWU: Johnson. Rebounds – CWU 22 (VanDyke 5), SPU 41 (Benson 11). Assists – CWU 14 (Dunn 3, Valdez 3), SPU 20 (Harazin 7). Turnovers – CWU 15, SPU 15. Total fouls – CWU 17, SPU 13. Technical fouls – None. A – 312.

Records – Seattle Pacific 11-4, 5-2 GNAC. Central Washington 4-9, 1-5 GNAC.

Next game – Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 2:00 p.m.