Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
FRESNO, Calif. – Time after time, Seattle Pacific thought it was pulling away.
 
Time after time, Fresno Pacific kept coming back.
 
Until time finally ran out … in the Falcons' favor.

 

Cici West scored 12 points coming off the bench, and Courtney Hollander double-doubled for the second night in a row, this time with 10 points and 10 rebounds as SPU fended off the host Cougars in the Fresno Pacific West Region Crossover Classic basketball tournament on Saturday night, 78-70.
 
"Being on the road, you have adversity, and I'm thankful that we had a lot of adversity," head coach Julie Heisey said after her team improved to 2-0. "Down the stretch, it was one of those games where you think it's over, and they come back. I thought we were going to pull away. We never were able to do that, but we still won."
 
Senior guard West (Seattle / Holy Names HS), a transfer from Portland State, saw her first action as a Falcon, as she did not play in Friday's season-opening 69-49 victory against Humboldt State. In addition to her dozen points, she grabbed five rebounds on Saturday – all in just 10 minutes of action.
 
Senior guard / forward Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) was coming off an 11-point, 11-rebound performance in Friday's win against Humboldt.
 
Senior center Julia Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) added 11 points, and senor center Erica Pagano chipped in 10.
 
SPU had a 19-point lead midway through the second quarter at 43-24. But Fresno Pacific (0-2) got within 11 by halftime at 54-43, and eventually got as close as seven at 73-66 with 4:04 left. The teams then traded the final four baskets of the game.
 
The Falcons shot 46.7 percent for the game, hitting 28 of 60. However, unlike Friday when they hit a school-record 95.8 percent at the foul line (23 of 24), free throws were harder to come by on Saturday, as just 17 of their 30 (56.7 percent) went through the hoop.
 
Fresno Pacific hit just 36.2 percent from the field (21 of 58).
 
"We have two wins, and there are still a lot of things we can get better at," Heisey said. "There are things we can learn from a win. We had even production tonight with four double-digit scorers, and yesterday, we had four double-digit scorers. And the season is just beginning."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- This is the sixth consecutive year SPU has won its first two games – and the fifth in a row that those two wins have come against Fresno Pacific and Humboldt State.
-- Senior guard Lindsay Lee came off the bench for a solid line of eight points, two rebounds, two steals, and a team-high six assists.
-- Overall, the Falcon reserves contributed 34 points, 15 boards, and 12 assists.
-- For the second straight night, Seattle Pacific dominated the boards, this time by a 47-32 count. For the two games, it was a whopping 92-58 advantage, including 25-14 at the offensive end.
-- With three double-doubles this weekend (two for Courtney Hollander, one for Julia Haining), the Falcons are already halfway to last year's entire season total of six.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays another tournament in California next weekend at the Azusa Pacific West Region Crossover Classic. First up is the host Cougars on Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by UC San Diego on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Fresno Pacific West Region Crossover Classic
Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017
Special Event Center / Fresno, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 78, Fresno Pacific 70
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-0)
Cici West 4-6 4-7 12, Julia Haining 5-7 1-6 11, Erica Pagano 4-7 2-2 10, Courtney Hollander 3-7 3-5 10, Rachel Shim 3-6 1-2 8, Lindsay Lee 3-4 0-0 8, Carly Rataushk 3-6 2-2 8, Jordan McPhee 2-7 1-2 5, Riley Evans 0-1 3-4 3, Hailee Bennett 1-6 0-0 3, Madi Hingston 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylee Albert 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 17-30 78.
 
FRESNO PACIFIC (0-2)
Jessica Malazarte 5-11 5-5 17, Cassie Pisik 5-10 0-0 11, Landynn Munster 3-10 0-0 9, Rachel Berry 1-6 7-10 9, Megan Lee 3-9 0-0 8, Caylee Bock 2-2 2-2 6, Barbara Keomany 0-0 4-4 4, Ashley Cross 1-6 0-1 3, Viviana Vasquez 1-2 1-2 3, Ayla Faber 0-1 0-0 0, Julia LoCastro 0-1 0-0 0, Yesenia Cobian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 19-24 70.
 
Seattle Pacific                     28           26           13           11           -- 78
Fresno Pacific                     18           25           10           17           -- 70
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-15 (Lee 2-3, Shim 1-2, Hollander 1-2, Bennett 1-2, McPhee 0-1, Evans 0-1, Albert 0-3, Pagano 0-1), FPU 9-27 (Munster 3-8, Lee 2-6, Malazarte 2-7, Cross 1-1, Pisik 1-4, Berry 0-1). Fouled out – FPU: Cross, Lee. Rebounds – SPU 47 (Hollander 10), FPU 32 (Cross 5). Assists – SPU 19 (Lee 6), FPU 13 (Berry 3, Lee 3). Turnovers – SPU 19, FPU 18. Total fouls – SPU 29, FPU 28. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 143.
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Azusa Pacific
Friday, Nov.17     7:30 p.m.
Felix Event Center / Azusa, Calif.