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SEATTLE – When their shots were finding the hole, the Seattle Pacific Falcons had Alaska Anchorage in a hole.
 
But those shots stopped finding the hole after halftime. And the No. 5-ranked Seawolves started banging down more of their own to climb out of it.
 
Autummn Williams poured in 29 points on Thursday night as Anchorage wiped out a nine-point halftime deficit to score a 71-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against SPU in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (13-4, 5-4 GNAC) dropped their third straight game while UAA (16-1, 9-0 GNAC) extended its winning streak to 12.
 
"The second half, their pressure got to us a little bit, and we turned the ball over," Seattle Pacific coach Julie Heisey said. "But give (the Seawolves) credit – they hit shots. We held them to 33 percent in the first half, then they hit 54 percent in the second half. And they got to the free throw line way too much.
 
"It was a tale of two halves."
 
Junior guard Lindsay Lee (Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark HS) tallied a career-high 12 points for SPU – all during the first half and all from behind the 3-point arc. She also came up with a career-best five steals. Senior guard Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Shorecrest HS) added 11 points.
 
SPU used a 13-0 second-quarter scoring run to turn a 21-16 deficit into a 29-21 lead. Lee had the first six points of that, then factored into the next two baskets by earning the assist. The Falcons took a 34-25 advantage into the locker room.

 

"The first half, our defense dictated a lot of what they did," Heisey said. "We did some different things on defense, and our kids were able to step up and do some of those things that were hard."
 
By the end of the night, SPU had kept the Seawolves 13 points below their 84.4 average, a total that ranks No. 5 in NCAA Division II.
 
Lee, who beat her previous career highs of 11 points (Dec. 31 against Northwest Nazarene) and two steals (three times) said the Falcons were ready to deliver that kind of effort.
 
"We kind of refocused on defense," she said. "Those two losses last week (at Simon Fraser and at Western Washington) pushed us to play a little harder. The first half, we saw a lot of energy, and the second half, we were excited to do it again – and we did well for a while. But they're a good team, and they're used to winning."
 
Anchorage went on a 16-4 run coming out of halftime, including stretch of nine points in a row, and went back in front, 41-38. Seattle Pacific responded and edged back ahead by the end of the third quarter, 47-45
 
The Falcons then managed just one point – a free throw by Hannah Rodrigues – in the first 5:53 of the fourth quarter. The Seawolves put up 11 during that same time span to take a 56-48 lead. SPU, which didn't get its first field goal of the quarter until 3:34 remained and never came closer than four the rest of the way.
 
Thanks to its 15-of-28 accuracy from the field through the final 20 minutes, UAA shot 43.1 percent for the night (25 of 58). Seattle Pacific checked in at 35.1 percent, with just a 26.9 percent success rate (7 of 26) during the second half.
 
The first half of conference play concludes on Saturday when SPU plays host to Alaska Fairbanks at 2:00 p.m. That will be the first game of a doubleheader, followed by the Falcon men against Montana State Billings at 4:30 p.m.
 
"I was proud of our kids because they played in the moment and stayed focused the whole time. It was a battle," Heisey said. "This hurts. But it also should make us aware of what we can do. It's a long season, and now we have a choice. We have to build on this."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 5) Alaska Anchorage 71, Seattle Pacific 62
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (16-1, 9-0 GNAC)
Alysha Devine 2-8 0-0 4, Sierra Afoa 2-3 0-0 4, Autummn Williams 11-22 3-7 29, Tara Thompson 1-7 0-0 2, Kiki Robertson 2-5 9-11 13, Kimijah King 1-4 1-2 3, Zhara Laster 0-1 0-0 0, Yazmeen Goo 0-0 1-2 1, Shelby Cloninger 4-5 0-0 8, Hannah Wandersee 2-3 2-2 7. Totals 25-58 16-24 71.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-4, 5-4 GNAC)
Erica Pagano 3-6 2-4 9, Rachel Shim 2-9 0-0 5, Jordan McPhee 2-9 4-4 8, Brianne Lasconia 3-8 3-4 11, Courtney Hollander 3-9 2-2 9, Stacey Luksiewicz 1-2 1-2 3, Jaylee Albert 0-1 0-0 0, Julia Haining 2-4 0-0 4, Lindsay Lee 4-8 0-0 12, Hannah Rodriguwes 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 20-57 13-18 62.
 
Alaska Anchorage             16             9           20           26           -- 71
Seattle Pacific                     11           23           13           15           -- 62
 
3-point goals -- UAA 5-20 (Devine 0-2, Williams 4-11, Thompson 0-4, King 0-1, Laster 0-1, Wandersee 1-1), SPU 9-26 (Pagano 1-1, Shim 1-6, McPhee 0-3, Lasconia 2-4, Hollander 1-3, Albert 0-1, Lee 4-8). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – UAA 37 (Devine 6, Robertson 6, Wandersee 6), SPU 34 (Pagano 6, McPhee 6, Haining 6). Assists – UAA 10 (Williams 2, Goo 2, Cloninger 2), SPU 17 (Shim 4, Lee 4). Turnovers – UAA 15, SPU 19. Total fouls – UAA 18, SPU 20. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 312.
 
 
Next game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion