Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – No more hump.
 
Yup … the Seattle Pacific Falcons finally got over it.
 
Riley Evans went for a second straight career scoring high – this one a 29-point performance – and Cici West recorded her second double-double to help SPU post its first women's basketball victory of the season on Tuesday night, 84-73 against Holy Names in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 

Of Evans' 29 points, 18 came from 3-point range – with 15 of those during the third quarter. That helped the Falcons (1-4) rally from an 11-ponit halftime and win the non-conference contest against the Hawks, up from their Northern California home of Oakland.
 
Along with being the first win of the season for SPU, it was first one for head coach Mike Simonson since taking charge of the program this past June.
 
"It's hard to put into words – you dream about it, you're thinking about it. Then when it finally comes, it's not how you expected it," Simonson said. "To play poorly in the first half like we did, then have us play so great in the second half makes it that much sweeter.
 
"It's a night I'll never forget. I wouldn't have wanted to have it with any other group of people."
 
Along with beating her previous career high of 27 from last Saturday's 83-72 loss to UC San Diego, Australian native Evans also had seven rebounds, came up with four steals, blocked a shot, and dished two assists.
 
 

She had plenty of help, a big chunk of which came from West. The redshirt senior forward / guard scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both season-highs. The Falcons also got a pair of career highs off the bench, as junior guard Madi Hingston and sophomore guard Kaprice Boston went for 13 points apiece.
 
Yet, for everything that ultimately went SPU's way – a season high-tying 42 rebounds (17 at the offensive end), and a season-low 11 turnovers, the game itself was not going the Falcons' way during the first half.
 
Up 21-20 in the second quarter, Seattle Pacific saw Holy Names run off seven straight points to start at 17-6 surge that left the Hawks on top at intermission, 37-26.
 
"We were in a fog in the first half," Simonson said. "At halftime we really challenged the team to get back to our identity: run the floor and play tough, hard-nose defense.
 
"It wasn't any X's and O's," he added. "It was all about having intentional effort to be who we are as a team."
 




After trading the first two baskets of the third quarter, Holy Names still had an 11-point lead at 39-28.
 
SPU ran off eight in a row: a lay-in by West, a 3-pointer from the left side by senior guard Jaylee Albert, and then a trey by Evans to get within 39-36. Ojnalise Carley-Hilliard got a bucket back for the Hawks, but the Falcons answered with a top-of-the-key jumper by Carly Rataushk and another 3-pointer from Evans.
 
Just like that, it was tied at 41-41 with 4:58 left in the third.
 
Carley-Hilliard converted a lay-in for a 43-41 lead, but that was the last time Holy Names would be in front. Evans, who had just hit the tying trey, followed with three more. When the last one went through at the 1:57 mark, it put Seattle Pacific on top, 50-46.
 
"Leave her wide open, and there's more than a better chance that it's going through the net," Simonson said. "She got going, and we were lucky to hop on her back and ride that wave."
 
The score was tied twice more, the last time at 54-54 with 8:15 left in the game. SPU then rang up 10 straight: a 3-pointer and a foul-line jumper by Boston, two free throws by Evans, a free throw by Natalie Hoff, and a driving lay-in through traffic by Evans.
 
"I think we're a hungry team. They just needed some success," Simonson said. "Now that they've tasted it, I hope they can become addicted to it. That's our hope moving into next week."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Evans shot 9 of 19 for the night, 6 of 10 from behind the arc.
-- As a team, the Falcons buried 50 percent from long range (12 of 24).
-- SPU has struggled at the free throw line this season, coming into Tuesday's game at only 64.5 percent, last in the GNAC. That number just went up considerably (to 70.4 percent) after a 20-of-22 performance (90.9 percent). The Falcons hit their first 15 tries on Tuesday before a miss.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Nov. 29, at home against Concordia-Portland. Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m., followed by the SPU men against Northwest Nazarene at 7:30.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 84, Holy Names 73
 
HOLY NAMES (0-4)
Carley-Hilliard 9-12 2-4 20, Krouse 6-14 5-5 19, Hernandez 5-19 0-0 15, Martin 3-8 1-4 7, Candelario 2-4 0-0 5, Kintz 2-5 0-0 4, Valenzuela 1-4 0-0 3, Williams 0-0 0- 0, Maglietta 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 8-13 73.
 
SEATTLE (1-4)
Evans 9-19 5-6 29, West 6-9 2-2 14, Hingston 3-5 4-4 13, Boston 4-9 4-4 13, Albert 2-9 0-0 6, Rataushk 1-6 2-2 4 Hoff 0-2 3-4 3, Skidmore 1-4 0-0 2, Alter 0-0 0-0 0, Berg 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 20-22 84.
 
Holy Names         16           21           13           23           -- 73
Seattle Pacific     13           13           28           30           -- 84
 
3-point goals – HNU 9-26 (Hernandez 5-16, Krouse 2-3, Candelario 1-3, Valenzuela 1-3, Maglietta 0-1), SPU 12-24 (Evans 6-10, Hingston 3-3, Albert 2-5, Boston 1-1, Skidmore 0-2, Berg 0-2, Hoff 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – HNU 40 (Martin 14), SPU 42 (West 12). Assists – HNU 14 (Kintz 4), SPU 15 (Albert 4). Turnovers – HNU 15,SPU 11. Total fouls – HNU 18, SPU 14. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 155.
 
 
Next game
Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Nov. 29    5:15 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.