Box score, play-by-play

LACEY, Wash. – Rachel Murray knew it was coming.
 
After keeping Simon Fraser's offense in check during the first 20 minutes, Murray and her Seattle Pacific teammates fully expected the Clan to come out firing even more during the second 20.
 
They fired away – and they hit, too.
                                    
Simon Fraser went on an 18-2 scoring run Friday afternoon, shooting 61 percent after the intermission to erase a four-point SPU lead and beat the Falcons in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament, 66-55.
                                                                                                                                           
The loss in Marcus Pavilion at Saint Martin's University ended the season for SPU (17-11).
 
“Going into halftime, we expected them to come out really strong in the second half,” said senior guard / forward Murray (Eglington, Australia), whose Seattle Pacific career came to an end on Friday with six points and five rebounds. “It's just tough – you go out there giving everything you can, and they just played really hard in the second half.
 
“The last couple games, we've been able to pull the game back,” Murray said. “I don't think any of us doubted our ability to bring it back and make it close. Unfortunately, it didn't happen in the end.”
 
Junior forward Katie Benson led the Falcons with 14 points, and junior guard Aubree Callen added 13.
 
Seattle Pacific put the defensive clamps on the 10^th-ranked Clan (23-4) through the first half, forcing them into 7-of-30 shooting (23.3 percent) from the floor. The Falcons took a 25-21 lead into the locker room despite playing the last 17 minutes, 43 seconds without leading scorer Katie Benson, who was whistled for two quick fouls.
 
“The first half, we couldn't have played any better than we did,” SPU coach Julie Heisey said. “For us to be ahead by four with Katie on the bench for 18 minutes … our defense was so good, we did a good job on the boards, and different kids rose to the occasion on offense.”

The Falcons were still up by four at 31-27 with 17:56 left on a lay-in by Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS), followed by a steal and coast-to-coaster by junior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS).
 
Simon Fraser climbed into a 31-31 tie, and the lead changed hands four more times before the Clan began their decisive run.
 
Down 37-36, Simon Fraser put eight straight points on the board to make it 44-37. The last six of those came from GNAC Player of the Year and national Player of the Year candidate Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who had managed just two first-half points.
 
Freshman center Maddey Pflaumer put in a pair of free throws, pulling SPU within 44-39 at 10:27 to go. But the Clan ran off 10 more, with a three-pointer at both ends of that streak, to make it 54-39.
                        
They kept the double-digit advantage the rest of the day.
 
“We talked about they were going to make a run, and Nayo was going to come back in,” Heisey said. (Raincock-Ekunwe sat out the final eight minutes of the first half with two fouls, leaving both teams without their starting post players.) “She came in and hit three shots, and that kind of released the rest of her teammates – and then the 3-pointers came.”
 
Erin Chambers led Simon Fraser with 20 points, getting 15 of those in the second half, nine on makes from behind the 3-point line. Raincock-Ekunwe, finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards. That was her 19th double-double of the season.
 
Seattle Pacific shot 42.9 percent for the game (21 of 49). Simon Fraser, after its tale-of-two-halves performance, wound up at 41.4 percent (24 of 58). Of the Clan's 17 second-half field goals, six came from downtown. They finished with eight treys on 28 attempts; SPU was just 2 of 15.
 
 “Simon Fraser is a great team. They have five seniors who have played together since their sophomore year, and you can tell that they've won a lot of games and know how to win,” Heisey said. “They rose to the occasion."
 
“I don't think we have any regrets,” she added. “I'm really proud of how every single person responded. We have great character, we continued to persevere (through injuries), and we were very determined to make a run for a championship.”
 
Said Murray, “I give it to our girls. We fought through a lot of issues that we haven't had to in the past, and every single person stepped up when they needed to.”
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC Tournament semifinals
Friday, March 8, 2013
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
(No. 10) Simon Fraser 66, Seattle Pacific 55
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-11)
Benson 5-7 4-4 14, OHlsen 2-10 1-2 5, Calen 5-14 2-2 13, Murray 3-8 0-0 6, Barnes 3-6 0-0 7, Teng 1-2 0-0 2, Lasconia 1-1 0-0 2, Pflaumer 0-0 2-2 2, Grager 0-0 1-2 1, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Butler 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 21-49 11-14 55.
 
SIMON FRASER (23-4)
Raincock-Ekunwe 5-8 3-3 13, Reist 1-2 0-0 2, Lowen 6-14 0-0 15, Chambers 5-9 7-8 20, Collins 2-8 0-0 4, Van Laare 3-4 0-0 8, Petit 0-4 0-0 0, Wyman 1-7 0-0 2, Langmead 1-1 0-0 2, Wilson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 10-11 66.
 
Seattle Pacific      25           30           -- 55
Simon Fraser       21           45           -- 66
 
3-point goals – SPU 2-15 (Ohlsen 0-4, Callen 1-6, Murray 0-3, Barnes 1-2), SFU 8-28 (Lowen 3-9, Chambers 3-6, Collins 0-4, Van Laare 2-3, Petit 0-1, Wyman 0-5). Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – SPU 34 (Murray 5, Pflaumer 5), SFU 30 (Raincock-Ekunwe 11). Assists – SPU 10 (Callen 5), SFU 17 (Lowen 4). Turnovers – SPU 22, SFU 15. Total fouls – SPU 11, SFU 13. Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 237.
 
Next game – Season complete.