Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – The way Mike Simonson sees it, losing four straight games to start the season just might be the biggest reason the Seattle Pacific Falcons now have won three in a row.
 
Carly Rataushk scored a career-high 17 points, and Riley Evans topped the 20-point mark for the fourth straight time, finishing with 21 on Saturday night, as SPU beat Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest in Brougham Pavilion, 73-68.
 
In the past 12 days, the Falcons (3-4, 2-0 GNAC) have downed Holy Names by 11, Concordia-Portland by 11, and now Western Oregon by five.
 
"That was a tough schedule (against Fresno Pacific, Humboldt State, Azusa Pacific, and UC San Diego), but it was a blessing for our team," Simonson said. "If we didn't play that tough competition at the start of the year, I don't know how we would have responded tonight. That schedule prepared us for a tough, grind-it-out game like Western Oregon made it."
 




Seattle Pacific had a 65-55 lead with 1:16 left. But WOU (2-4, 1-1 GNAC) put together a quick 9-2 run, closing to 67-64 with 19.4 seconds remaining.
 
Madi Hingston put the Falcons back up by five at 69-64 with a pair of free throws at the 18.4 second mark. Keyonna Jones cut it back to 69-66 on two free throws with 13.8 seconds to go.
 
The teams traded trips to the free throw line the rest of the way. Evans hit two for Seattle Pacific at 12;9 seconds for a 71-66 edge; Natalie DeLonge drained two for the Wolves at 8.4 seconds for 71-68, and Evans restored it to five at the 8.4-second mark.
 
Following a Western Oregon timeout, Kaprice Boston stole the ensuing inbounds pass. Her attempted lay-in was blocked by Ali Nelke. The ball went out and was awarded to the Wolves, but just three seconds remained. That left only enough time for a last-gasp 3-point tray that was way short.
 
Senior center Rataushk beat her previous career high of 15, set on Feb. 23, 2017 at home against Concordia-Portland. She hit 7 of 10 from the floor on Saturday and 3 of 4 from the free throw line
 
Evans hit just 4 of 12 from the field, but was deadly at the line, sinking 11 of 12 – including 8 of 8 during the fourth quarter.
 
As a team, Seattle Pacific hit 26 of 32 free throws (81.7 percent). That was especially helpful because the Falcons weren't as accurate from the field as they have been of late. They shot just 41.5 percent (22 of 53) and were a mere 3 of 11 (27.3 percent) from 3-point range. In the first two games of the win streak, SPU hit 12 of 24 and 11 of 19 from downtown.
 
 

"It felt like we couldn't get that part of our game doing tonight – not that we weren't getting good looks," Simonson said. "We just weren't hitting the ones we normally make.
 
"The good news is we were able to change offensively and be aggressive in driving and going inside to Carly," he added. "She's someone we've been counting on to shoot high-percentage shots and make them – and tonight, she buried them. We've all known she can do that."
 
The game was tied just once at 2-2, and Western Oregon never led. But three times when Seattle Pacific seemed ready to take command – up 15-4 in the first quarter, 46-34 in the third, and 65-55 at the 1:16 mark of the fourth – the Wolves climbed back into it.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--The Falcons committed just 12 turnovers, tying their second-lowest total of the season.
-- Sophomore guard Kaprice Boston had a career-high four steals. Her previous best was three against Southern Utah while she was at Northern Arizona last season.
 
UP NEXT
SPU does not play a game this coming week to focus on fall quarter academic finals. Next up is a non-conference contest against Academy of Art on Wednesday, Dec. 12, with a special 2:00 p.m. tip-off time in Brougham.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 73, Western Oregon 68
 
WESTERN OREGON (2-4, 1-1 GNAC)
Jones 9-16 3-3 23, Nelke 5-7 3-3 13, DeLonge 3-9 3-3 9, Denton 3-15 2-3 8, McCarver 2-5 0-0 4, Acock 1-7 0-0 3, Harris 1-5 0-0 3, Green 0-0 3-4 3, Rogers 1-2 0-0 2, Winkler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-67 14-16 68.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-4, 2-0 GNAC)
Evans 4-12 11-12 21; Rataushk 7-10 3-4 17, Skidmore 4-7 1-2 9, Hoff 2-3 3-3 7, Hingston 2-9 2-3 6, West 1-3 3-4 5, Bennett 1-2 2-2 5, Boston 1-6 1-2 3, Albert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 26-32 73.
 
Western Oregon   11           10           20           27           -- 68
Seattle Pacific      17           11           21           24           -- 73
 
3-point goals – WOU 4-24 (Jones 2-5, Harris 1-3, Acock 1-6, Denton 0-7, McCarver 0-2, Nelke 0-1), SPU 3-11 (Evans 2-4, Bennett 1-2, Hingston 0-3, Albert 0-1). Fouled out – WOU: McCarver. SPU: Bennett, Albert. Rebounds – WOU 39 (Nelke 11), SPU 37 (West 8). Assists – WOU 10 (Jones 4), SPU 11 (Evans 4). Turnovers – WOU 11, SPU 12. Total fouls – WOU 23, SPU 21. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 148.
 
 
Next game
Academy of Art at Seattle Pacific
Wednesday, Dec. 12     2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.