Box score, play-by-play
 
 BILLINGS, Mont. – It was eerily similar to what happened nine days earlier at Western Washington: a solid first half …
 
… but a frigid second half.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen's 19 points and Katie Benson's fourth double-double in five games wasn't enough on Saturday afternoon as Montana State Billings limited Seattle Pacific to 23 percent second-half shooting in rallying for a 66-56 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory.
 
Junior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) had 16 points and a career high-tying 17 rebounds for SPU (10-7, 4-5 GNAC), which dropped its fourth straight game. The double-double was her fifth of the season and ninth of her career.
 
The Falcons, after shooting 52 percent (13 of 25) during the first half on the way to three leads of 10 points, hit just 7 for 30 during the final 20 minutes in Alterowitz Gymnasium. They missed their first eight shots after the break as Billings climbed out of a 34-27 halftime hole to forge the first tie of the night at 37-37 with 14:41 to go.
 
“We put them at the free throw line – they tied it with two field goals and all free throws,” said SPU coach Julie Heisey, whose team also led by 10 early in the game at Western on Jan. 17, then went cold after the break and fell short, 61-44. “You don't want to do that, because we can control that. We got frustrated defensively, and that affected other things, and we weren't scoring.
 
“It's disappointing. I don't want to take anything away from Billings, but on many levels, we beat ourselves,” she added.
 
SPU begins the second half of the conference schedule at home in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday against Saint Martin's at 7 p.m.
 
Bobbi Knudsen finished with 19 points for the Yellowjackets (12-5, 6-3 GNAC), getting 11 of those during Saturday's second half. Monica Grimsrud added 15, including an NBA-length 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to trim what would have been a double-digit Seattle Pacific halftime lead to just seven at 34-27.
 
Freshman Maddey Pflaumer (Issaquah, Wash. / Issaquah HS) got SPU back on the board with a lay-in for a 39-37 lead at the 14:19 mark. But the Falcons then missed their next nine shots as the Yellowjackets ran off seven straight points and went in front for good.
 
Seattle Pacific got as close as one at 51-50 on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) with 6:38 left. But a 12-4 run gave Montana State Bilings a 63-54 lead inside the final minute.
 
“I felt like we could win the game, even though we had two kids not feeling up to par tonight,” Heisey said. “We had our chances. … We have to own the things that we can control.”
 
Seattle Pacific wound up shooting 36.4 percent for the game (20 of 55). Billings finished at 36.7 percent (22 of 60). With Benson's 16 leading the way, the Falcons had the rebounding advantage, 37-30.
 
Senior guard Rachel Murray, after missing five straight games with an injury, saw her first action since Jan. 3 at Western Oregon. She finished with two points and one rebound in 17 minutes.
 
SPU built a 10-0 lead as it forced Billings into 10 straight misses from the floor to start the game. The Jackets, who haven't lost at home this year, came as close as one at 15-14 before the Falcons gradually stretched it back to 10 at 34-24 late in the first half.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Montana State Billings 66, Seattle Pacific 56
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-7, 4-5 GNAC)
Benson 5-16 5-6 16, Butler 0-0 2-2 2, Teng 0-0 0-0 0, Ohlsen 7-12 0-0 19, Callen 2-13 2-2 7, Bowen 2-6 0-1 4, Lasconia 0-2 0-0 0, Pflaumer 2-3 0-0 4, Murray 1-1 0-1 2, Stephens 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-55 9-12 56.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (12-5, 6-3 GNAC)
Olson 1-7 5-8 7, Goggins 4-15 2-6 12, Tolman 0-5 0-0 0, Knudsen 6-12 5-7 19, De Puydt 2-4 1-2 5, Hanser 1-4 2-4 4, Peoples 1-2 1-2 4, Grimsrud 7-11 0-0 15. Totals 22-60 16-29 66.
 
Seattle Pacific                      34           22           -- 56
Montana State Billings       27           39           -- 66
 
3-point goals – SPU 7-16 (Benson 1-3, Ohlsen 5-6, Callen 1-5, Bowen 0-1, Lasconia 0-1), MSUB 6-17 (Goggins 2-4, Tolman 0-4, Knudsen 2-2, Hanser 0-3, Peoples 1-1, Grimsrud 1-3. Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 37 (Benson 17), MSUB 30 (Olson 8). . Assists – SPU 13 (Ohlsen 3, Bowen 3), MSUB 15 (Knudsen 7). Turnovers – SPU 21, MSUB 11. Total fouls – SPU 22, MSUB 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 475.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 10-7, 4-5 GNAC. Montana State Billings 12-5, 6-3 GNAC).
 
Next game – Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Brougham Pavilion, 7:00 p.m.