Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Even if they're not the favorite heading into the women's basketball postseason, Seattle Pacific just might be the team that no one else wants to come up against.
 
Especially if the Falcons play like they did on Saturday night.
 
Aubree Callen and Katie Benson scored 15 points apiece, and SPU kept Simon Fraser off the board for a stretch of 10 minutes during the second half in rolling to a 71-50 victory in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball regular-season finale.
 
The same two teams will meet again on Thursday night in the first round of the conference tournament at Saint Martin's in Lacey. Seattle Pacific (17-9, 11-7 GNAC) will be the No. 4 seed; Simon Fraser (16-10, 11-7 GNAC) will be the No. 5. The winner takes on top-seeded Alaska Anchorage in next Friday's semifinals.
 
“Anything can happen,” Falcons head coach Julie Heisey said after her team polished off Senior Night in Brougham Pavilion on a positive note. “The conference tournament helped us to get into regionals last year. This is where we have another opportunity. We want to build on what we're doing.”
 





Junior forward Rachel Murray (Eglington, New South Wales, Australia) added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting for Seattle Pacific, and also collected a team-high seven rebounds  during her 18 minutes of action. Junior guard Michelle Teng (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS), who has been seeing more playing time of late, logged career highs of seven points, three rebounds and two steals.
 
The Falcons, who had an early 15-7 lead, were down 31-24 with 4:26 left in the first half, then put together a 12-2 run and took a 36-33 lead into the intermission.
 
SPU then scored the first five points of the second half to make it 41-33, and gradually built it to 12 at 53-41.
 
It was 58-46 with 11:58 to play when SPU started a 13-0 run that put the game out of reach. Simon Fraser didn't score again until just 1:48 remained. The Clan missed 13 straight shots from the field during that dry spell, 10 of those from 3-point range. Simon Fraser had hit 6 of 15 from downtown during the first half, but drained just 1 of 16 from behind the arc during the final 20 minutes.
 
Kristina Collins led the Clan with 16 points.
 
The Falcons effectively slowed down SFU's Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who came in averaging a double-double of 18.7 points and 13.6 rebounds, with a GNAC-leading .563 shooting percentage. Raincock-Ekunwe managed just 12 points (hitting 5 of 10) and a season-low five rebounds, sitting out the last 12½ minutes of the first half after picking up two quick fouls.
 
It was the first time all season that she was not the Clan's leading rebounder. Erin Chambers led with seven on Saturday.
 
When the teams opened GNAC play on Dec. 1 in Burnaby, B.C., Raincock-Ekunwe went for 26 points and 15 rebounds in a 79-74 Clan victory.
 
“For us, both her and (Chelsea Reist) getting into foul trouble so quickly, that changed their game. It gave us an advantage,” Heisey said. “They had to play differently because Nayo has been doing so much for them.
 





The victory was especially satisfying for Heisey after Thursday's 72-62 homecourt loss to Western Washington.
 
“We've been doing some good things,” she said, “but sometimes, the reward doesn't come as fast as you want. Top to bottom, our seniors bounced back tonight.”:
 
The Falcons, who were shooting just 38 percent from the floor at the time of their 31-24 deficit, warmed up considerably and finished the game with a 46.2 percent mark (30 of 65), including a solid 40 percent (6 of 15) from long range. They limited Simon Fraser to just 27.9 percent for the game (17 of 61). 

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 71, Simon Fraser 50
 
SIMON FRASER (16-10, 11-7 GNAC)
Chambers 1-4 0-0 3, Reist 2-4 3-3 7, Raincock-Ekunwe 5-10 2-3 12, Collins 5-16 2-2 16, Wyman 0-4 2-2 2, Lowen 0-2 0-0 0, Van Laare 0-7 0-00 0, Petit 1-3 0-0 2, Langmead 0-1 0-0 0, Binns 3-89 0-0 8, Carolsfeld 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-61 9-10 50.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-9, 11-7 GNAC)
Callen 6-10 2-2 15, Benson 6-12 1-1 15, Reimer 0-2 1-2 1, Harazin 2-6 0-0 5, Gorman 1-4 0-0 2, Teng 3-3 1-3 7, Ohlsen 2-4 0-0 4, Thralls 0-1 0-0 0, Kingma 2-0 0-0 5, Murray 6-8 0-013, Stephens 0-2 0-0 0, Butler 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 30-65 5-9 71.
 
Simon Fraser       33           17           -- 50
Seattle Pacific      36           35           -- 71
 
3-point goals – SFU 7-31 (Chambers 1-3, Collins 4-12, Wyman 0-2, Lowen 0-1, Van Laare 0-4, Petit 0-2, Binns 2-7), SPU 6-15 (Callen 1-1, Benson 2-3, Harazin 1-2, Gorman 0-2, Ohlsen 0-1, Kingma 1-5, Murray 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SFU 38 (Chambers 7), SPU 44 (Callen 6). Assists – SFU 11 (Collins 3), SPU 16 (Benson 3, Reimer 3, Harazin 3, Gorman 3). Turnovers – SFU 19, SPU 13. Technical fouls – None. Total fouls – SFU 12, SPU 14. A – 276.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 17-9, 11-7 GNAC. Simon Fraser 16-10, 11-7 GNAC.
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific vs. Simon Fraser, GNAC Tournament, 1^st Round, Thursday at Saint Martin's, 7:30 p.m.