Box score, play-by-play 

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Turnabout was fair play for the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday night.
 
And timely, too.
 
Katie Benson had 17 points, and Rachel Murray had 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double as the Falcons came back from a 15-point first-half deficit to beat Central Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game, 71-65.
 
Sophomore guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) added 15 points for Seattle Pacific.
 
The victory in Nicholson Pavilion kept the Falcons (16-9, 10-7 GNAC) in the hunt for third place in the standings. With Northwest Nazarene's 76-63 loss at home to Montana State Billings on Thursday, the Falcons, Yellowjackets Crusaders, and Alaska Anchorage (which was idle) are all even at 10-7 heading into Saturday's regular-season finales. That includes Seattle Pacific's visit to Northwest Nazarene at 4:15 p.m. PST.
 
“You win big games because of preparation. What we've gone through the last five or six weeks, I never have to worry about if our kids are ready to practice or if they're ready to play,” SPU coach Julie Heisey said. “We were able to play together and play with poise when we were down by 15 and they had hit eight 3's in the first half.”
 
Last year in Nicholson, the Falcons had a 13-point lead midway through the opening 20  minutes, but wound up falling to Central, 80-75.
 
This time, it was the Wildcats with a double-digit first half advantage, 34-19 with 4:31 left before Seattle Pacific went on a 13-4 tear to get within 38-32 by halftime.
 




“Going into the locker room at halftime, we definitely had the momentum,” said senior guard Michelle Teng, who came off the bench for 28 solid minutes and contributed four points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. “We just tightened up on defense, got some good boards, pitched in together as a team and fought for this one. That was good to see."
 
Central Washington (9-16, 4-13 GNAC) pushed its lead back to eight at 57-49 after SPU had tied it at 45 and 47.
 
Then, down 61-58 with 4:24 to go, the Falcons ran off nine straight points to go in front for good. Junior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) started it with a turnaround lay-in, then banked a in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 63-61 -- the first lead of the night for Seattle Pacific. A desperation save of a loose ball by junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) went right to freshman center Maddey Pflaumer, and Pflaumer (Issaquah, Wash. / Issaquah HS) laid it in and was fouled.
 
Pflaumer's free throw bounced off the rim, but senior guard Murray grabbed the offensive rebound and got it back to Pflaumer for the lay-in and a 67-61 lead at 2:03.
 
SPU got its final four points from the free throw line, all by Murray. Her 12 boards beat her previous career high of 10, set on Feb. 7 at Alaska Anchorage.
 
Pflaumer joined Teng as a key player off the bench for the Falcons, contributing seven points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
 
“Michelle and Maddey were amazing,” Heisey said. “Michelle's ability to take a charge and get a steal or two – she brought so much energy. Maddey got two monster boards and scored on an out-of bounds play. Both of those kids did great things, and Rachel Murray was amazing.”
 
Except for a 4-4 tie, Central Washington led the entire first half. It grew to 34-19 with 4:31 left on a 3-pointer by Hannah Shine – the eighth trey of the night by the Wildcats.
 
But Central, after its 8-of-16 long-range success during the first half, hit just 1 of 14 from downtown in the second half.
 
SPU wound up shooting 50 percent for the game (28 of 56) and limited Central to 35.4 percent (23 of 65). The Falcons also stepped up considerably on the boards during the second half, out-rebounding the Wildcats by a 22-14 margin and 40-36 for the game.
 
Jessica VanDyke, who had five of those treys, led the Wildcats with 27 points, tying her career high.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 71, Central Washington 66
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (16-9, 10-7 GNAC)
Callen 3-6 0-0 6, Murray 5-9 4-5 15, Benson 7-11 2-2 17, Ohlsen 5-11 3-3 15, Barnes 1-6 0-0 2, Teng 2-2 -01 4, Lasconia 1-2 0-0 2, Pflaumer 3-8 1-3 7, Stephens 0-0 1-2 1, Butler 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-56 11-16 71.
               
CENTRALWASHINGTON  (9-16, 4-13 GNAC)
VanDyke 10-20 2-4 27, Parker 1-4 2-3 4, Moser 3-9 0-0 6, Schmitt 0-6 2-2 2, Shione 3-6 1-1 9, Burke 1-5 0-0 3, Stillar 0-5 0-0 0, Johnson 4-7 1-2 10, Fettig 1-3 0-0 2, Matheson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 23-65 10-14 65.
 
Seattle Pacific                      32           39           -- 71
Central Washington            38           26           -- 65
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-17 (Callen 0-2, Murray 1-4, Benson 1-2, Ohlsen 2-7, Barnes 0-2), CWU 9-30 (VanDyke 5-12, Schmitt 0-2, Shine 2-5, Burke 1-4, Stillar 0-4, Johnson 1-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 40 (Murray 12), CWU 36 (Parker 7). Assists –SPU 18 (Callen 5), CWU 13 (Schmitt 7). Turnovers – SPU 17, CWU 15. Total fouls – SPU 21, CWU 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 213.
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, Saturday, 4:15 p.m. PST.