Box Score

         Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – They had two more field goals … 16 more shots … five more rebounds … nine more steals … six fewer turnovers.
 
Should have added up to a Seattle Pacific victory against Simon Fraser … right?
 
Not quite.
 
Katie Benson pumped in 25 points for SPU – 21 of those during the second half – but the Clan wiped out a 12-point deficit and hung on to beat the No. 9-ranked Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game in Brougham Pavilion, 63-60.
 
Seattle Pacific (8-4, 1-3 GNAC) dropped its third straight.
 
"We did a lot of things well enough to win, but we didn't," coach Julie Heisey said. "Part of being tough is you have to keep doing things right, even when you don't get the reward. Tonight, we did a lot of things right, and we had a 12-point lead.
 
"But then we had things that lost our momentum – missed lay-ups (eight of them after building the 12-point advantage), fouls, offensive rebounds – you can't do that against good teams," Heisey added. "And you can't do that against anyone in our conference."
 
Among the things the Falcons did right was keeping the GNAC's top scorer in check. Simon Fraser guard / forward Erin Chambers, who came in averaging 21.5 points per game, managed just 15 on 4-of-11 shooting. That was still enough to lead the Clan (8-3, 2-1 GNAC). Katie Lowen chipped in 14 as Simon won in Brougham for the first time since joining the GNAC in 2010-11.
 
Down 28-23 late in the first half, junior guard Suzanna Ohlsen stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up, getting the Falcons within three by the intermission.
 
Simon Fraser scored the first basket of the second half to make it 30-25. SPU then ran off 17 points in a row to take a 42-30 lead with 14 minutes to play in the game. Benson accounted for nine of those points – including a stretch of seven straight.
 
But Simon Fraser began to chip away, finally tying it at 48-48 on a pair of free throws by Chambers at the 8:18 mark.
 
The Falcons went back on top, 52-48. The Clan climbed back into a tie three times before finally going in front when Kia Van Laare hit two free throws for a 58-56 lead at with 2:31 left.
 
The game was tied at 60-60 when Van Laare was fouled on a 3-point try with 38.9 seconds to go. She hit two of the three for a 62-60 lead.
 
Seattle Pacific never got a shot on its next time downcourt, losing the ball out of bounds with 20 seconds left. Chambers hit one of her two free throws with 14.7 seconds remaining. The Falcons called timeout to set up a play, but Benson's 3-pointer from the corner bounced away with two seconds to go.
 
"There's a lot of season left," Heisey said. "We responded well tonight after our loss on Thursday (84-77 to Western Washington). It's about fortitude – we have to show some grit, some courage, some staying power – and we have to get better."
 
Junior guard Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) added 14 points, five assists, and two steals for SPU. Junior guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS) had a solid overall line of eight points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one blocked shot.
 
For Simon Fraser, the ultimate difference in the game was the foul line. The Clan hit 17 of 23; SPU was 10 of 14. The Falcons, after committing 18 turnovers in Thursday's loss to Western, cut that down to 11 on Saturday.
 
The Falcons had a 39-34 advantage on the boards, with sophomore center Maddey Pflaumer (Issaquah, Wash. / Issaquah HS) grabbing seven.
 
Seattle Pacific is off until next Saturday when GNAC preseason favorite Montana State Billings comes to Brougham Pavilion for a 3:00 p.m. game that will be televised live on ROOT Sports. The Yellowjackets, after an 81-63 rout of Simon Fraser on Thursday in Billings, beat Western Washington on Saturday, 82-69.
  
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Brougham Pavilon / Seattle, Wash.
 
Simon Fraser 63, (No. 9) Seattle Pacific 60
 
SIMON FRASER (8-3, 2-1 GNAC)
Chelsea Reist 3-6 3-5 9, Meg Wilson 2-4 2-2 6, Katie Lowen 5-16 2-2 14, Erin Chambers 4-11 6-9 15, Marie-Line Petit 1-3 0-0 3, Kia Van Laare 2-4 4-5 8, Ellen Kett 0-1 0-0 0, Rebecca Langmead 4-6 0-0 8, Ariana Sider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 17-23 63.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-4, 1-3 GNAC)
Hannah Rodrigues 1-5 1-2 4, Katie Benson 9-17 6-6 25, Maddey Pflaumer 1-8 0-0 2, Suzanna OHlsen 6-15 2-2 14, Betsy Kingma 3-10 0-0 8, Stacey Lukasiewicz 0-1 0-0 0, Brianne Lasconia 1-7 0-2 2, Molly Grager 1-1 0-0 2, Mechela Barnes 1-2 0-0 2, Riley Butler 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 23-67 10-14 60.
 
Simon Fraser        28           35           -- 63
Seattle Pacific      25           35           -- 60
 
3-point goals – SF 4-17 (Lowen 2-9, Chambers 1-5, Petit 1-3), SPU 4-17 (Rodrigues 1-1, Benson 1-4, Ohlsen 0-2, Kingma 2-7, Lacsonia 0-2, Barnes 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SF 34 (Lowen 6), SPU 39 (Pflaumer 7). Assists – SF 11 (Lowen 4), SPU 14 (Ohlsen 5). Turnovers – SF 17, SPU 11. Total fouls – SF 14, SPU 17. Technical fouls – None. A – 287.
 
Next game – Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Jan. 11, Brougham Pavilion, 3:00 p.m.