Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – Rachel Shim and Julia Haining did a little bit of everything on Saturday.
 
And the Seattle Pacific Falcons needed every bit of it.
 
Shim poured in 16 points, hitting all four of her 3-pointers, and Haining tied her career high with 14 on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field, as No. 21-ranked SPU gradually pulled away to beat Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game, 81-66.
 
Although the Falcons (7-1, 2-1 GNAC) led from the second quarter to the end of the game in Brougham Pavilion, the vastly improved Saints (5-5, 1-2 GNAC), who already have as many wins overall as they had all of last season, were always within striking distance.
 
But a 7-0 run from late in the third to early in the fourth – including a halfcourt 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Hailee Bennett to beat the third quarter buzzer – stretched a 59-53 lead to 66-53.
 
"I'm really proud of our kids. We've had a ton of travel, we were tired this week with (academic) finals, and we beat a good team in a conference game," Falcons head coach Julie Heisey said. "It was a good thing that we had offensive rebounds, because we got 22 second-chance points and we needed those. We got points off the bench (28), and that was really valuable."
 
Saint Martin's got it all the way back down to six at 72-66 with 3:28 left. But Seattle Pacific didn't allow another point the rest of the way, putting the final nine onto the board while forcing the Saints into missing their final seven shots.
 




Redshirt senior guard Shim (Sammamish, Wash. / Skyline HS) came within one point of her career high. Her four makes from downtown was a career high, having hit three on three previous occasions. She also had six rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
 
Senior center Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) grabbed nine rebounds, tied a career high with four assists, blocked one shot, and had one steal to go along with her 14 points.

 

"Julia did a good job of finding the basket," Heisey said, "and Rachel was incredibly balanced. She had big shots, and she starts the break when she gets rebounds. Both she and Julia were able to get some offensive rebounds. They were just good all-around."
 
Saint Martin's had a 21-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, it was still 23-21 for the Saints early in the second went on a 6-0 run to move in front: a free throw by Haining, and jumper and ensuing free throw by Bennett for 25-23, and then a jumper by Shim on an assist from Haining for 27-23.
 
The game was tied just once more, at 33-33 late in the second. A pair of free throws by senior forward Erica Pagano, and a jumper by senior guard Jordan McPhee put the Falcons ahead for good.
 
"I felt like we weren't dialed in completely on defense in the first half," Heisey said. "We talked about making adjustments and getting back to fundamentals. … We knew what we needed to do. We just had to get back to doing the things we take pride in doing."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Of the 10 Falcons who played on Saturday, nine of them grabbed two or more rebounds. In addition to Haining's nine and Shim's six, senior forward Courtney Hollander pulled down eight.
-- Led by Shim's three, Seattle Pacific came up with 11 steals. That's the fourth straight game in double digits, and the fifth time in eight games.
-- SPU committed just 10 turnovers, its second-lowest total of the season.
-- Freshman guard / forward Saniah Simpson-Patu had a monster double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds for Saint Martin's, and senior forward Elin Johansson went for 20 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons are on the road for next week's only game, visiting Concordia Irvine on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. CUI is a second-year Division II program. The teams met last year in Brougham Pavilion, with Seattle Pacific prevailing, 76-64.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 21) Seattle Pacific 81, Saint Martin's 66
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (5-5, 1-2 GNAC)
Saniah Simpson-Patu 8-19 0-1 21, Jayla Russ 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Reynolds 1-2 0-0 3, Rebekah Baugh 0-2 0-0 0, Elin Johansson 7-14 6-6 20, Emma Kennedy 0-2 0-0 0, Makenna Schultz 6-14 1-2 14, Mercedes Victor 1-4 2-2 4, Shyler Sullivan 1-6 0-0 2, Sara Bowen 0-0 2-2 2, Lauren Lindley 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 24-63 16-20 66.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (7-1, 2-1 GNAC)
Julia Haining 6-6 2-4 14, Rachel Shim 6-8 0-0 6, Jordan McPhee 4-10 0-0 8, Courtney Hollander 3-13 0-0 7, Lindsay Lee 3-13 0-0 8, Riley Evans 0-2 0-0 0, Jaylee Albert 3-9 0-0 8, Hailee Bennett 3-9 1-1 8, Erica Pagano 2-4 4-4 8, Carly Rataushk 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 32-78 7-9 81.
 
Saint Martin's      21           16           16           13            -- 66
Seattle Pacific     19           22           23           17           -- 81
 
3-point goals – STM 2-10 (Simpson-Patu 0-1, Reynolds 1-1, Baugh 0-2, Schultz 1-6) SPU 10-31 (Shim 4-4, McPhee 0-1, Hollander 1-4, Lee 2-11, Evans 0-2, Albert 2-6, Bennett 1-2, Pagano 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – STM 40 (Simpson-Patu 14), SPU 48 (Haining 9). Assists – STM 3 (3 players with 1), SPU 10 (Haining 4). Turnovers – STM 14, SPU 10. Total fouls – STM 10, SPU 19). Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 303.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Concordia Irvine
Wednesday, Dec. 13     6:00 p.m.
CU Arena / Irvine, Calif.