Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – All week long, the Seattle Pacific Falcons knew they couldn't look too far ahead to their Saturday night women's basketball showdown with nationally ranked Alaska Anchorage.
 
That's because they still had one more game to go on Thursday night.
 
But now, they can look ahead.
 
Julia Haining scored 14 points, one of five players in double figures as SPU took care of that "one more game to go" by routing Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest Brougham Pavilion, 86-54.
 
So from Thursday's final buzzer until Saturday's 7:00 p.m. tip-off, the Falcons (13-3, 7-2 GNAC) can turn their full attention to the No. 4 Seawolves (16-1, 9-0 GNAC).
 
Seattle Pacific now has won four in a row. Anchorage has racked up six straight victories, the latest of which was 76-57 at Saint Martin's at the same time the Falcons were cruising past Fairbanks.
 




"We just have to play our game and not let them affect how we play," said senior guard Jordan McPhee, who logged 13 points, two assists, and two steals on Thursday. "I think if just take it to them and play confident and we come together, it should be a good game."

Added head coach Julie Heisey, "Anchorage knows how to win. They play with an incredible amount of intensity. So rebounding is important, and taking care of the ball is important. Their post players are both very good."
 
Joining Haining and McPhee in double figures were Jordan McPhee (13), Courtney Hollander (12), Hailee Bennett (a career-high 11), and Carly Rataushk (10).
 
SPU took command from the get-go, scoring the first 10 points of the game. After Alaska Fairbanks (4-11, 0-9 GNAC) got its first basket with 6:23 left in the opening quarter (the Nanooks didn't take their first shot until the 7:45 mark), the Falcons ran off 11 more in a row to take a 21-4 advantage.
 
The lead never dipped below 15 the rest of the night and grew to as many as 32 on multiple occasions, including the final margin.
 
That was particularly important to Heisey knowing what's to come on Saturday night.

 

"We play well at times, but how do we play well for 40 minutes?," Heisey said. "That was our challenge tonight: Can we keep that same pedal to the metal? I thought we did a pretty good job. We played really hard. I subbed a lot because we were playing hard. … I'm really happy with our effort."
 
The current seniors have never scored a win against Alaska Anchorage, as the Seawolves have taken the last 11 against Seattle Pacific, dating back to the 2012-13 season. The last Falcon victory was 67-62 on Feb. 2, 2012 in Seattle, a 67-62 decision on a night UAA arrived in town ranked No. 8 nationally.
 
"They have a lot of pressure, and they have really good players and they're well-coached," guard Lindsay Lee said. "But our senior group, especially, we really want to beat them. We're the most excited for this game."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Junior guard Riley Evans grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Falcons. Of those, five came at the offensive end. Her total was nearly triple her previous career high of three, set just two weeks ago on Jan. 6 against Central Washington.
-- The game marked the first time this season Seattle Pacific had five players score in double figures. The Falcons had four in double figure in four previous game, winning all of them.
-- Of the 10 players who saw action, all scored at least two points, all grabbed at least one rebound, and nine of them dished at least one assist.
-- SPU had just 11 turnovers, with none for starting guards Jordan McPhee or Rachel Shim.
-- Julia Haining's 14 points pushed her past 300 for her career. She now has 304. Lindsay Lee is almost at 400, sitting at 399 after scoring six.
-- The Falcons have kept nine of their 16 opponents below 60 points. 

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 86, Alaska Fairbanks 54
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (4-11, 0-9 GNAC)
Josie Sewell 1-2 3-4 5, Kylie Wallace 8-14 0-0 16, Sabrina Ungaro 1-2 0-0 2, Lexi Carpenter 3-10 0-06, Emliy Evans 6-9 2-3 16, Kaylyn Kelly 1-3 1-4 3, Angela Murnion 3-4 0-0 6, Sanni Salonen 0-0 0-0 0, Brittany Richards 0-2 0-0 0, Marian Wamsley 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 23-2 6-11 54.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-3, 7-2 GNAC)
Julia Haining 6-9 2-2 14, Rachel Shim 0-4 2-2 2, Jordan McPhee 6-10 1-2 13, CourtneyHollander 4-5 2-2 12, Lindsay Lee 2-5 0-0 6, Riley Evans 3-9 2-2 9, Jaylee Albert 1-3 2-2 5, Hailee Bennett 3-8 2-2 11, Erica Pagano 1-4 2-4 4, Carly Rataushk 4-6 0-0 10. Totals 30-63 17-20 86.
 
Alaska Fairbanks                 4           12           15           23           -- 54
Seattle Pacific                    21           19           19           27           -- 86
 
3-point goals – UAF 2-7 (Carpenter 0-2, Evans 2-4, Kelly 0-1), SPU 9-26 (Shim 0-4, McPhee 0-1, Hollander 2-3, Lee 2-5, Evans 1-4, Albert 1-3, Bennett 3-6). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – UAF 30 (Wallace 7), SPU 34 (Evans 8). Assists – UAF 12 (Ungaro 3, Evans 3), SPU 18 (Pagano 4). Turnovers – UAF 21, SPU 11. Total fouls – UAF 19, PU 13. Technical fouls – None. Attendance –  128.
 
 
Next game
No. 4 Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion