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SEATTLE -- Try as they might, the Concordia Cavaliers couldn't keep Courtney Hollander or Jordan McPhee off the scoreboard.

Couldn't keep them off the backboard, either.

The two sophomores both registered double-doubles, with Hollander scoring a career-high 20 poitns and McPhee pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds as Seattle Pacific beat Concordia in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Saturday, 55-46.

The Falcons (4-3, 2-0 GNAC) won their second straight in Brougham Pavilion to start December after finishing out November with three straight defeats on the road.

"We've talked about wanting to be undefeated at home," Hollander said. "After coming off of that California trip with those three losses, we just talked about how we wanted to come out and kind of carry a chip on our shoulder and just come out strong and be undefeated at home ... and come out strong in conference play."

The Falcons do not return to action until Dec. 18 when they host Eastern New Mexico at 7:00 p.m. in the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.





Sophomore forward / guard Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) beat her previous career high of 17 points, which she set on Nov. 24 at Point Loma Nazarene. She also had 10 boards for her third double-double of the season.

 

McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) topped her old rebounding high of eight, set last year against Dixie State. Along with her 11 points, she put her first college double-double into the books.

The Falcons led for good after a 14-2 first-quarter run, capped by a string of eight straight points, turned a 6-2 deficit into a 16-8 lead. But they had to battle through a scrappy second half before finally securing it.

"At the end of the third quarter, we found a way to get fundamental," head coach Julie Heisey said. "We got a good stop, we were able to get some scores, we got an assisted basket, and we were able to extend the lead.

 

"I thought we were gritty, and we found a way to calm down and execute," she added. "Hats off to Concordia -- their (defensive) press worked. They hit five or six possessions in a row to end the game, and that was a good run."

What had been a 14-point Falcons lead late in the first half dwindled to eight at 38-30 with 2:43 to go in the third quarter. Concordia's defense had much to do with that, as Seattle Pacific missed its first seven shots of the quarter and didn't score until a putback by sophomore Erica Pagano with 4:36 left.

But SPU also was keeping the Cavaliers off the board, forcing them to miss their first six shots after halftime. The Falcons ultimately took a 41-30 lead into the fourth, and extended it all the way to 18 at 52-34 with 3:06 left. That was more than enough to withstand a closing flurry by Concordia.

"The first half, I think we came out really strong, and that was hard to follow up in the second half," said Hollander, who hit 7 of 10 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc. "Dealing with their pressure, we struggled with that in the second half. But in the end, we just kind of found our rhythm, and that helped us get thorugh the whole half.

 

Senior center Molly Grager (Kirkland, Wash. / Juanita HS) had a season-high three blocked shots to go along with five points and two rebounds. McPhee, in addition to her double-double, had a team-leading five assists.

Seattle Pacific hit just 34.6 percent from the floor (18 of 52), but limited Concordia to 29 percent (18 of 62). It was the second time this season the Falcons kept an opponent below 50 points.

Sierra Dean led Concordia with 15 points.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 55, Concordia 46

CONCORDIA (2-6, 1-1 GNAC)
Nkiyah LeSure 6-8 0-2 12, Bailey Cartwright 1-5 2-2 4, Danielle Hartzog 0-5 0-0 0, Briannah Smith 1-5 0-0 2, Keesha Sarman 2-7 0-0 4, McKenna Daly 0-4 2-2 2, Erin Higbie 3-7 0-1 6, Sierra Dean 5-16 5-8 15, Lexi Campbell 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 18-62 9-15 465.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-3, 2-0 GNAC)
Molly Grager 1-4 3-4 5, Stacey Lukasiewicz 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan McPHee 3-10 5-7 11, Brianne Lasconia 1-7 0-4 2, Courtney Hollander 7-10 3-4 20, Jaylee Albert 1-4 0-2 3, Lindsay Lee 1-3 1-2 4, Julia Haining 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Rodrigues 2-5 1-6 5, Erica Pagano 2-7 1-2 5. Totals 18-52 14-31 55.

Concordia              13    11     6    16    -- 46
Seattle Pacific      20    16     5    14    -- 55

3-point goals -- CU 1-17 (Hartzog 0-2, Smith 0-2, Sarman 1-2, Dean 0-8, Campbell 0-3), SPU 5-13 (McPhee 0-2, Lasconia 0-2, Hollander 3-4, Albert 1-2, Lee 1-1, Rodrigues 0-2). Fouled out -- SPU: Lukasiewicz. Rebounds -- CU 42 (Sarman 8), SPU 44 (McPhee 12, Hollander 10). Assists -- CU 6 (Sarman 2), SPU 10 (McPhee 5). Turnovers -- CU 17, SPU 19. Total fouls -- CU 28, SPU 23. Technical fouls -- None. Attendance -- 180.

Next game --     Eastern New Mexico at Seattle Pacific
                             Friday, Dec. 18, 7:00 p.m.
                             Brougham Pavilion