Box Score

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NAMPA, Idaho – For most of the afternoon, the Seattle Pacific Falcons kept one of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's highest-scoring women's basketball teams in check.
 
Until the fourth quarter got going.
 
Northwest Nazarene put 24 points on the board during the final 10 minutes, coming from behind and then hanging on to beat SPU in the Johnson Sports Center, 66-65.
 
Jordan McPhee had 17 points, and Courtney Hollander recorded her fourth double-double of the season. But the Falcons (6-5, 3-1 GNAC) were still hit with their first conference loss. They were aiming for their first 4-0 GNAC start since 2012-13.
                                                    
"We did a super job of defending them – they're averaging 75 points a game, and they scored 66," SPU head coach Julie Heisey said. (The Crusaders have three games in the 80s.) "They're a hard team to defend. But in the second half, we gave up nine offensive rebounds, and that's too many. NNU hit some big shots when they needed to. They had some kids step up who don't normally get their points, and they got them."
 
The Falcons are back on the road next week, visiting Saint Martin's in Lacey on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

 

Sophomore guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) had all 17 of her points through the first three quarters of Saturday's game. She also collected six rebounds.

Sophomore forward Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) had 11 points and 12 rebounds, the latter coming within one of her career high. It was Hollander's first double-double – and the team's first since Dec. 5, when she and McPhee both had one against Concordia.
 
Twice in the second quarter and once in the third, SPU had an eight-point lead, the last time at 44-36. But whenever the Falcons seemed like they were going to open up a wider gap, they were plagued by a turnover. They wound up with 21 for the day, leading to 29 Northwest Nazarene points.
 
"Every time we would get momentum, we killed our momentum," Heisey said. "We're working hard, we're following the scout, but we're just making mental errors at times."
 
Seattle Pacific was up 46-42 heading into the final quarter before the Crusaders (4-6, 2-2 GNAC) finally tied it at 50-50 on a free throw by McKenna Walker with 7:28 left. From there, the game was tied three more times, and the lead changed hands five times.
 
The last advantage for the Falcons was at 63-62 on a pair of free throws by junior forward Hannah Rodrigues (Eugene, Ore.) at the 1:39 mark. A jumper by CoCo Gall gave NNU a 64-63 lead with 44 seconds remaining.
 
With SPU forced to foul, Ellie Logan drained a pair of free throws at 8.7 seconds to give the Crusaders a 66-63 edge. Coming out of a timeout, Lindsey Lee tried a 3-pointer from the top of the key that bounced off the rim. Brianne Lasconia rebounded got the putback to make it 66-65.
 
But with less than one second left, the Falcons weren't able to foul on the ensuing inbounds pass before the final buzzer sounded.
 
"I know we're capable, and I know our effort is there," Heisey said. "We just have to continue to work on taking care of the little things, and that's rebounding and turnovers."
 
Seattle Pacific wound up with a 33-32 edge on the boards, but Northwest Nazarene got 14 of its rebounds at the offensive end, producing 12 points. The Falcons shot 46.9 percent from the floor (23 of 49) and had assists on 16 of their baskets, led by the four of Lasconia.
 
Junior guard Stacey Lukasiewicz (Centennial, Colo.) and senior center Molly Grager (Kirkland, Wash. / Juanita HS) each had all-around stat lines. Lukasiewicz logged seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Grager put up six points, four boards, and two blocked shots.                                                                                                      

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 2, 2016      
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 66, Seattle Pacific 65
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-5, 3-1 GNAC)
Jordan McPhee 4-9 8-9 17, Courtney Hollander 4-7 2-2 11, Stacey Lukasiewicz 3-8 1-1 7, Hannah Rodrigues 2-6 3-4 7, Lindsay Lee 2-4 0-0 6, Brianne Lasconia 3-6 0-0 6, Molly Grager 3-5 0-0 6, Jaylee Albert 1-1 0-0 3, Erica Pagano 1-3 0-0 2, Riley Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 14-16 65.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (4-6, 2-2 GNAC)
Ellie Logan 5-11 9-9 19, Taylor Simmons 6-8 0-0 12, Danielle Jardine 2-5 3-4 7, McKenna Walker 3-8 1-2 7, CoCo Gall 3-6 0-0 7, Kelli Christenson 2-5 0-0 6, Kate Cryderman 2-2 0-0 5, Carly Parker 1-2 0-0 2, Raquel Jardine 0-3 1-2 1, Katie Swanson 0-1 0-0 0, Elayna Rice 0-0 0-0 0, Cierra White 0-5 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Merritt 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 14-17 66.
 
Seattle Pacific                     15           20           11           19           -- 65
Northwest Nazarene         12           21             9            24           -- 66
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-11 (Lee 2-3, McPhee 1-3, Hollander 1-1, Albert 1-1, Lasconia 0-2, Lukasiewicz 0-1), NNU 4-11 (Christenson 2-4, Gall 1-1, Cryderman 1-1, Walker 0-2, Parker 0-1, White 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 33 (Hollander 12), NNU 32 (D. Jardine 6). Assists – SPU 16 (Lasconia 4), NNU 12 (R. Jardine 3). Turnovers – SPU 21, NNU 12. Total fouls – SPU 18, NNU 16. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 593.
 
 
Next game –        Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
                                Tuesday, Jan. 5     7:00 p.m.
                                Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.