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      VIDEO: Julie Heisey, Lindsay Lee, Rachel Shim


ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Make a basket, get an assist.
 
Those two commodities came in record numbers for the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Thursday night.
 
Senior forward Courtney Hollander scored 17 points, one of five players in double figures, and senior point guard Rachel Shim dished a career-high eight assists – more than a quarter of the team's 31 – as SPU rolled past Simon Fraser in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament, 85-59.
 
The third-seeded Falcons (22-6) will take on No. 2 seed and host team Alaska Anchorage (25-3) in the semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. Pacific time in the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
Seattle Pacific broke two of its own conference tournament records on Thursday. It hit 35 field goals, eclipsing the old mark of 33. Of those, 31 were assisted, shattering the previous high of 22.
 
Both of those were recorded on Feb. 28, 2011 in an 81-45 first-round rout of Western Oregon in the inaugural year of the GNAC tourney.

 

"Just having that aggressive mentality coming out in the game individually creates those opportunities for others," said Shim, whose previous high for assists was seven, set Jan. 23 at Saint Martin's. "That just made it so fun having this kind of game where everyone scored and everyone got touches on the ball."
 
"Obviously, we wouldn't have had all those assists if people didn't make their shots."
 
As for the 35 field goals, the Falcons didn't start off as if they would come anywhere near that. They shot just 29.4 percent in the opening quarter (5 of 17), then hit a staggering 61.2 percent (30 of 49) the rest of the way, for a final mark of 53 percent (35 of 66).
 
"I think we got comfortable," head coach Julie Heisey said. "At the beginning, we did a good job, but we missed some shots. I tried to encourage the kids that we were getting the right shots and getting lay-up (attempts), but we just needed to maybe take a little bit more time. Part of it is I think you just kind of settle down and find a rhythm, and I think that's what we did."
 
Senior center Julia Haining logged a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. That was her third of the season and of her career. Senior guard Jordan McPhee added 14 points, senior forward Erica Pagano had 11, and junior center Carly Rataushk chipped in 10. Senior point guard Rachel Shim dished a career-high eight assists.
 
Seattle Pacific trailed just once, that when Simon Fraser (14-15) scored the initial basket of the game. The Falcons ran off five straight points, saw the Clan tie it at 5-5 on a 3-pointer by Sophie Swant, then ran off five more in a row to go ahead for good.
 
Up 41-30 at halftime, SPU broke it open during the third quarter by outscoring the Clan 24-10 to take a 65-40 lead into the final period.
 
ANOTHER FREE THROW RECORD
 

Jordan McPhee got half a dozen of her 14 points at the free throw line on Thursday, hitting 6 of 8. That gave her 129 makes for the season, and broke the school record of 128, set by Jan Bolton in 1991-92. McPhee tied and broke the record on the same trip to the line with 5;24 left in the game, pushing SPU's lead to 77-48.
 
That is the third free throw record McPhee has been involved in this season. In the opener on Nov. 10 against Humboldt State, she went 6 for 6 as the Falcons drained 23 of 24 for a 95.8 percentage that set a new standard for single-game accuracy.
 
On Jan. 13 in a 74-63 win at Simon Fraser, McPhee hit 13 of 14, tying the individual single-game accuracy record.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Of the 10 Falcons who played, everyone scored, nine had at least one assists, and nine had at least one rebound.
--This was SPU's first win against Simon Fraser in the conference tournament. The Clan had won the previous three games.
-- Overall, the Falcons are now 4-6 in GNAC Tourney play. All four wins – Western Oregon (2011), Montana State Billings (2013), Northwest Nazarene (2017) and now Simon Fraser – have come in the first round.
-- The win leveled coach Julie Heisey's all-time record against the Clan at 10-10.
-- Seattle Pacific dominated in the paint, outscoring Simon Fraser, 50-10. "We challenged them at halftime: We needed more post presence, and we got that," Heisey said.
 
ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE

The Falcons and Seawolves split their regular-season games, each winning at home: 66-48 for SPU on Jan. 20, and  73-47 for UAA on Feb. 15. Anchorage was ranked No. 4 nationally both times; it comes into this week ranked No. 9. As was the case in those games, these are the top two defensive teams in the GNAC. The Falcons allow 60.8 points per game, the Seawolves 62.9.
 
"It doesn't matter who you play: To be the best, you have to beat whoever is in front of you," Heisey said. "We'll focus on doing the things we've done all year: rebounding and defense and playing together. Yes, they're a formidable opponent. But if we have the privilege of going to the national tournament, I'm glad we get to play the top teams in the nation because that's what prepares you for the next round."


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC Tournament
First round
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
 
Seattle Pacific 85, Simon Fraser 59
 
SIMON FRASER (14-15)
Jessica Jones 5-15 2-2 16, Sophie Swant 6-14 0-0 15, Tayla Jackson 1-4 6-8 8, Tia Tsang 2-5 0-0 6, Claudia Hart 2-9, 0-0 5, Tayler Drynan 2-4 0-0 5, Nicole Vander Helm 1-3 0-0 3, Kendal Sands 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 19-55 9-12 59.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (22-6)
Courtney Hollander 8-12 0-2 17, Jordan McPhee 4-5 6-8 14, Erica Pagano 4-10 3-4 11, Julia Haining 5-6 0-0 10, Carly Rataushk 5-9 0-0 10, Lindsay See 3-8 0-0 8, Rachel Shim 2-7 0-0 5, Hailee Bennett 2-3 0-0 4, Jaylee Albert 1-2 0-0 3, Riley Evans 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 35-66 9-14 85.
 
Simon Fraser       10           20           10           19           -- 59
Seattle Pacific     15           26           24           20           -- 85
 
3-point goals – Simon 12-25 (Jones 4-12, Swant 3-4, Tsang 2-3, Hart 1-2, Drynan 1-2, Vander Helm 1-1, Sands 0-1), SPU 6-17 (Lee 2-6, Evans 1-2, Albert 1-1, Hollander 1-3, Shim 1-3, Bennett 0-1, Pagano 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Simon 26 (Jones 5), SPU 41 (Haining 12). Assists – Simon 16 (Drynan 5, Swant 5), SPU 31 (Shim 8). Turnovers – Simon 20, SPU 13. Total fouls – Simon 16, SPU 16. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 569.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific vs. Alaska Anchorage, GNAC semifinals
Friday, 8:30 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska