Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Katie Benson had no idea what her personal score was. But she was fully aware of the game score – and that's the only one that mattered to her.
 
Benson poured in a career-high 32 points and passed the 1,000-point mark for her career on Thursday night, leading Seattle Pacific to a 70-60 victory against No. 8-ranked Simon Fraser in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game.
 
Junior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) broke her previous career high of 24, which she had set twice, most recently on Dec. 8 at Chico State. She became the 20th player in SPU women's basketball history and the 52nd in the history of the GNAC to pass 1,000 points.
 
Benson also is the first Falcon player to hit score 30 or more in a game since Daesha Henderson pumped in 30 on Feb. 27, 2010 against Central Washington. Henderson also was the last Falcon to break 1,000 points, finishing her career in 2010 with 1,051.
 
“It's great, but I'm just so happy that we won,” said Benson, who made it a double-double – her fifth of the season and 10^th of her career – by grabbing 10 rebounds. “It wouldn't have been fun if I had those accomplishments and we lost. I'm a post player, so I owe everything to Aubree (Callen), the guards, Mechela (Barnes) – all of them. They did an amazing job of giving me the ball with great passing, and I was able to finish.”
 
Sophomore guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS), and Callen (Jerome, Idaho) added 11 points apiece for the Falcons (14-8, 8-6 GNAC). Callen also had eight rebounds and eight assists – including the pass that led to Benson's 1,000th point late in the first half. Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) chipped in 10 points, and banked in a 3-pointer from at least 25 feet away at the first-half buzzer to wipe out Simon Fraser's last lead and create a 34-34 halftime tie. 



“I feel like our kids have been growing and doing things right, but haven't gotten the reward of a win,” SPU coach Julie Heisey said. “We really talked this week about what this win would mean for us. We're in a different place – we're healthy and we've had a couple weeks of having everybody back with some continuity.”
 
The Falcons won't find things any easier on Saturday night when No. 9 Western Washington visits Brougham Pavilion at 5:15 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader. The SPU men meet Northwest Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. in the nightcap.
 
Callen put Seattle Pacific in front for good with a turnaround lay-in at the outset of Thursday's second half, breaking a 34-34 tie. Seattle Pacific stretched it out to seven at 43-36, and the closest Simon Fraser (17-4, 10-3 GNAC) came after that was 50-46 with 11 minutes to play.
 
“We just saw it as, 'We're tied, it's a new game, let's go out and take it,'” Benson said. “We just came out strong, and with that, we just didn't look back.”
 
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, the GNAC's leading scorer and rebounder, had a double-double of 21 points and 11 boards before fouling out with 31.7 seconds remaining. But the Falcons limited her to just four points during the second half on 2 of 7 shooting. Raincock-Ekunwe hit 10 of 18 for the game.



The victory was SPU's first against a nationally ranked team since beating then-No. 8 Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 2, 2012 in Brougham Pavilion, 67-62. The Clan, who rolled to an 83-63 win against the Falcons in Burnaby, B.C., on Jan. 19, were coming off of last Saturday's 74-59 win against current No. 9-ranked Western Washington.
 
Benson passed the 1,000-point mark with 7:01 left in the first half. She stole the ball in backcourt and handed it off to Callen. Benson broke into the clear, took a return pass from Callen, and laid it in for a 23-22 SPU lead. That capped a 9-0 scoring run and put the Falcons in front for the first time in the game.
 
The basket was part of a 13-2 SPU surge that took the Falcons from 22-14 down to 27-24 in front. Simon Fraser eventually moved back in front by three, the last time at 34-31. But Barnes launched a straight-on shot from way downtown that beat the buzzer and knotted it at 34-34.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 70, (No. 8) Simon Fraser 60
 
SIMON FRASER (17-4, 10-3 GNAC)
Chambers 3-10 2-2 10, Reist 4-7 2-2 10, Lowen 1-5 0-0 2, Raincock-Ekunwe 10-18 1-4 21, Collins 4-11 0-0 10, Van Laare 0-2 0-0 0, Petit 0-0 0-0 0, Wyman 3-5 1-4 7, Langmead 0-1 0-0 0, Spacek 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 6-12 60.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (14-8, 8-6 GNAC)
Bensonn 11-14 8-8 32, Ohlsen 4-11 1-1 11, Callen 3-9 5-6 11, Murray 0-6 0-0 0, Barnes 4-6 0-0 10, Teng 1-1 0-2 2, Lasconia 0-0 0-0 0, Pflaumer 0-1 0-0 0, Stephens 1-1 0-0 2, Butler 1-2 0-0 2.Totals 25-51 14-19 70
 
Simon Fraser       34           26           -- 60
Seattle Pacific      34           36           -- 70
 
3-point goals – SFU 4-23 (Chambers 2-8, Lowen 0-4, Collins 28, Van Laare 0-1, Wyman 0-1, Spacek 0-1), SPU 6-13 (Benson 2-2, Ohlsen 2-5, Callen 0-2, Murray 0-2, Barnes 2-2). Fouled out – SFU: Chambers, Raincock-Ekunwe. Rebounds – SFU 33 (Raincock-Ekunwe 11), SPU 34 (Benson 10). Assists – SFU 15 (Chamber 5), SPU 16 (Callen 8). Turnovers – SFU 14, SPU 15. Total fouls – SFU 17, SPU 11. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 213.
 
Next game – Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, Brougham Pavilion, Saturday, 5:15 p.m.