Box score, play-by-play
        PHOTO GALLERY

LACEY, Wash. – Aubree Callen knew one of them would go in eventually.
 
Eventually arrived just in time for Callen and the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen pumped in 19 points on Wednesday night, and Callen hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:07 left in the game as Seattle Pacific hung on to beat Montana State Billings in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament at Saint Martin's, 63-60.
 
The sixth-seeded Falcons (17-10) face second-seeded and national No. 10-ranked Simon Fraser in a semifinal on Friday at noon in SMU's Marcus Pavilion. Those teams last met on Feb. 14 at SPU, and the Falcons knocked off the then-No. 8 clan, 70-60.
 




Wednesday's game was tied 60-60 after an 8-0 run by No. 3 seed Billings (17-10) wiped out a 60-52 Seattle Pacific lead.
 
With the game clock ticking toward one minute, senior guard Michelle Teng (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue Christian HS) found Callen open in the right corner. Callen (Jerome, Idaho) swished it from 22 feet away for a 63-60 edge, the last of her 11 points.
 
“I had missed three (treys) before, so I was a little frustrated with that,” Callen saidk. “Someone set a screen, I cut out, and it was one of those things where you don't think about – just put it up there like you do in practice.
 
“When I heard my teammates, I knew it was good.”
 
The Yellowjackets still had plenty of time to go for a game-tying 3, but never got off a shot on their next possession as the Falcons forced them into a 30-second violation with 35.4 seconds remaining.
 
Billings got another chance when Kayleen Goggins rebounded a missed free throw by SPU's Katie Benson with 29.9 seconds to go. But a 3-point try by Brooke Tolman with nine seconds left fell off the rim, Benson grabbed the rebound, and Seattle Pacific ran out the clock.
 
“I think our conference is this good – among the top six teams, anyone can win on any given night,” Falcons head coach Julie Heisey said. “When we played Billings at our place two weeks ago, there were six or seven ties. I knew it would be competitive. We beat a very, very good team (tonight), and we're excited.”
 
Sophomore guard Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) hit 8 of 13 from the field and all three of her free throws.

Junior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) finished with just six points, but grabbed seven rebounds, handed out a career-high six assists, blocked one shot and had two steals.
 
“Our girls are very well conditioned, so we were able to push the ball and play fantastic defense throughout the entire 40 minutes,” Ohlsen said.
 
That defense limited Billings to just 34.4 percent shooting (21 of 61). That included a 3-of-14 stretch to close out the first half and a string of six straight misses late in the second half. SPU hit 48.1 percent (28 of 54).
 
“We switched to a zone and got several stops out of that,” Heisey said. “That's where we had to stop the momentum, because we weren't scoring, either.”
 
Bobbi Knudsen led Montana State Billings with 22 points.
 
The Falcons were slow out of the gate, falling into a 21-11 hole with 11:30 left in the first half as Montana State Billings hit eight of its first 16 shots, including five in a row.
 
But SPU then ran off 12 consecutive points. Junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) started that streak with a short turnaround shot from straight in front of the hoop, and finished it with a 3-pointer from the right of the lane that put the Falcons on top, 22-21.
 
The Yellowjackets had one more lead – their last of the night – at 23-22 when Knudsen drove for a lay-in. Seattle Pacific responded with nine straight for a 31-23 advantage. The Falcons went into the locker room with a 38-29 lead, thanks to a 23-foot bomb by Barnes with 10 seconds left in the half that just beat the shot clock buzzer.
 
Seattle Pacific out-rebounded MSUB, 40-33, led by the eight of senior guard Rachel Murray.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC Tournament / First round
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 63, Montana State Billings 60
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-10)
Benson 3-10 0-1 6, Ohlsen 8-13 3-3 19, Callen 5-9 0-0 11, Murray 2-5 2-2 7, Barnes 3-5 1-2 9, Teng 1-1 0-0 2, Lasconia 0-1 0-0 0, Pflaumer 1-3 1-2 3, Stephens 1-1 0-0 2, Butyler 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 26-54 7-10 63.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (17-10)
Olson 3-7 6-8 13, Grimsrud 0-3 0-0 0, Goggins 2-7 1-1 5, Tolman 4-10 0-012, Knudsen 9-22 3-4 22, Hanser 0-0 0-0 0, Peoples 1-9 0-0 2, DePUydt 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 21-61 10-13 60.
 
Seattle Pacific                     38           25           -- 63
Montana State Billings      29           31           -- 60
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-15 (Ohlsen 0-3, Callen 1-5, Murray 1-3, Barnes 2-3), MSUB 8-26 (Olson 1-2, Grumsrud 0-1, Tolman 4-10, Knudsen 1-4, Peoples 1-8, DePuydt 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 40 (Murray 8), MSUB 33 (Olson 9). Assists – SPU 16 (Benson 6), MSUB 9 (Knudsen 8). Turnovers – SPU 18, MSUB 13. Total fouls – SPU 11, MSUB 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 217
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific vs. Simon Fraser, Friday at Saint Martin's, 12 noon.