Box Score

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BURNABY, B.C. – Wrong time to hit a dry spell.
 
Jordan McPhee poured in 20 points, and Julia Haining grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds on Thursday night, but 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific was kept off the scoreboard for 4½ minutes of the fourth quarter as Simon Fraser went on an 11-0 run to beat the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest, 71-61.
 
SPU (13-2, 5-2 GNAC), having wiped out a 13-point first-half deficit to make a game of it in West Gym, was down just 59-58 after senior guard Rachel Shim drained a 3-pointer right at the five-minute mark off an assist from junior forward Courtney Hollander.
 
The Falcons then turned it over on six straight possessions, three of which Simon Fraser (15-2, 6-1 GNAC) converted into baskets. The last of those resulted in a traditional three-point play by Ellen Kett – capping her game-high 23-point performance – and left the Clan up by 10 at 68-58 with just 1:13 on the clock.
 
"That's uncharacteristic. We just told the players there are things we can fix," coach Julie Heisey said. "The positive thing is we had a 17-point swing (from 13 down early in the second quarter to four up late in the third), and we were playing really, really well. But then we let one bad possession become three or four, and we can't do that."
 
SPU will try to get some of those things fixed in time for Saturday night's game against Western Washington at the Whatcom Community College Pavilion. (Click on this link for driving directions as if leaving from Seattle Pacific.) The 7:00 p.m.tip-off will mark the second of three straight games against the GNAC's top contenders. The Vikings feature Taylor Peacocke, the leading scorer in NCAA Division II at 23.2 points per game.
 
"Western is Western – they always compete, and they know how to win," Heisey said. "This is the beauty of the GNAC is that we get to play three really good teams in a row (Simon, WWU, and then Alaska Anchorage next Thursday). That's also the difficulty of the GNAC is we play three really good teams in a row.
 
"We'll find out what we're made of, and hopefully will be able to bounce back."
 
Junior guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) hit 7 of 10 from the floor and all five of her free throws.

 

Sophomore center Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) beat her previous rebounding high of 10, which she set on Dec. 29 at home against Central Washington. She also dished a career-high four assists and added six points.
 
Senior guard Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Roosevelt HS) came off the bench for 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
Seattle Pacific came out cold, hitting just 3 of 17 in the first quarter and falling into a 20-7 deficit. The margin was still 13 at 26-13 early in the second quarter when Falcons found some spark, getting as close as five at 28-23 before heading into halftime trailing by nine, 37-28.
 
A 17-4 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter put SPU on top, 45-41. Lasconia started and ended that stretch with 3-pointers. The Falcons still had a four-point edge late in the quarter before Simon Fraser scored the last four points to tie it at 51-51 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The Clan wound up with six more field goals than did the Falcons, hitting 49.2 percent (29 of 59) to SPU's 41.1 (23 of 56).
 
Seattle Pacific dominated the boards, 37-26, including 14-8 at the offensive end. But the Falcons, averaging just 14 turnovers per game, had 18 on Thursday, which Simon Fraser converted into 26 points. The Clan turned it over just 10 times, leading to 12 SPU points.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
Simon Fraser 71, (No. 14) Seattle Pacific 61
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-2, 5-2 GNAC)
Jordan McPhee 7-10 5-5 20, Brianne Lasconia 4-8 2-2 12, Rachel Shim 3-12 2-2 10, Julia Haining 3-7 0-0 6, Erica Pagano 3-5 0-0 6, Courtney Hollander 2-10 0-0 4, Lindsay Lee 1-4 0-0 3, Hannah Rodrigues 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylee Albert 0-0 0-0 0, Stacey Lukasiewicz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 9-9 61.
 
SIMON FRASER (15-2, 6-1 GNAC)
Ellen Kett 8-13 3-3 23, Meg Wilson 7-13 0-0 14, Elisa Homer 3-6 3-4 11, Ozi Nwabuko 4-6 0-0 8, Rachel Fradgley 3-10 0-0 6, Tayla Jackson 2-2 0-0 4, Sophie Swant 1-6 1-1 3, Samantha Beauchamp 1-2 0-0 2, Tayler Drynan 0-0 0-0 0, Tia Tsang 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 7-8 71.
 
Seattle Pacific       7           21           23           10           -- 61
Simon Fraser      20           17           14           20           -- 71
 
3-point goals – SPU 6-20 (Shim 2-7, Lasconia 2-3, Lee 1-4, McPhee 1-2, Hollander 0-4), SFU 6-17 (Kett 4-6, Homer 2-4, Swant 0-4, Tsang 0-1, Wilson 0-2). Fouled out – SPU: Lasconia. Rebounds – SPU 37 (Haining 12), SFU 26 (Fradgley 7). Assists – SPU 18 (Shim 4, Haining 4, Hollander 4), SFU 21 (Kett 6, Wilson 6). Turnovers – SPU 18, SFU 10. Total fouls – SPU 15, SFU 12. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 225.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Whatcom CC Pavilion / Bellingham, Wash.