Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – This time, the comeback started soon enough.
 
And this time, it was big enough, too.
 
Carly Rataushk hit a 3-footer directly in front of the basket with 6.7 seconds left, and Seattle Pacific rallied from an 18-point second-quarter deficit to beat Western Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Thursday night, 61-59.
 
The Falcons (5-9, 4-3 GNAC) snapped a three-game losing streak and beat arch-rival Western Washington (9-6, 4-3 GNAC) for the third straight time.

 "We saw some true grit from this team," SPU head coach Mike Simonson said. "Western Washington is one of the most highly respected teams in the conference. They do a really good job of playing disciplined, physical, smart basketball.
 
"Our women came out and stayed the course and played a great, competitive game against a good team like that."

 

Sophomore guard Hailee Bennett led SPU with a career-high 17 points and found senior center Rataushk with the short pass that led to the game-winning basket.

  "I was trying to read the defense, but I got down the left lane and figured the defense would rotate over to me because it was pretty close to the end of the game," Bennett said. "And so I just dished to Carly because I saw that she was open, and hoped that it went in."
 
 

Senior point guard Jaylee Albert added 11 points for Seattle Pacific, and junior guard Jade Skidmore came off the bench for 10 points.
 
SPU was down 29-11 with 6:39 left in the second quarter when it went on a 15-0 scoring run to climb back into the game. Bennett scored five of her 17 during that surge, and Skidmore chipped in four.
 
By halftime, Western's lead was just 34-30.
 
The Falcons used another run, this one 10-0, to move in front 40-35 by the midpoint of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Bennett from the top of the key produced the game's first tie, 35-35, just 90 seconds into the third. A mere 51 seconds later, a Rataushk lay-in off an assist from Skidmore put SPU on top for the first time, 37-35.
 
"We hadn't started third quarters very well," Simonson said. "We purposely took a long halftime to make sure we could be focused on a lot of adjustments."
 
Indeed during last Saturday's 77-70 loss at Central Washington, the Falcons had trimmed a 10-point second-quarter deficit down to just seven by the break. But near the end of the third, they were down by 21, and despite a late rally, couldn't get closer than four.
 
But Thursday was different.
 
 

"We felt confident," Simonson said. "But at the same time, we knew we had to go out and execute the same things we were doing."
 
The Falcon did, and took a 46-44 lead into the fourth. Western scored the first five points to go up 49-46. But SPU answered with five points of its own, starting with a traditional three-point play by Bennett with 6:57 left for a 51-49 lead.
 
Seattle Pacific stayed in front until a lay-in by Lexie Bland tied the score at 59-59 with 34.4 seconds left. The Falcons called timeout with 26.2 seconds remaining and 22 on the shot clock. They used 20 of those seconds until Bennett, playing on the top left of the lane, found Rataushk open in the middle for the go-ahead score.
 
Western Washington had a chance to tie or win the game. After a timeout at the 6.7-second mark, the Vikings inbounded in front of their bench and Kelsey Rogers got off a 15-foot shot from the right of the foul line. It bounced off the front of the rim, and nobody was able to gain control of the ball in the ensuing scramble before the final buzzer sounded.
 
"Once we got on the same page and got some stops, that kind of catapulted our offense," Simonson said. "In the second quarter, we had a stretch where we had nine defensive stops in a row. That's a huge goal we had is to get consecutive stops. That's what really ignited us and gave us energy and led into our offense."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Bennett's previous career high was 14 points, on Nov. 10 against Humboldt State. Her 17 on Thursday was more than double her 8.0 average.
-- It was the first time this season SPU has kept an opponent below 60 points.
-- From their 29-11 deficit, the Falcons outscored Western Washington through the last 26½ minutes of the game, 50-30.
-- In falling behind by 18, SPU turned the ball over nine times, resulting in 11 Vikings points. It had just six turnovers the rest of the way, yielding just five points.
-- Cici West and Natalie Hoff each had seven rebounds for SPU. West got hers in just 20 minutes, as she was in foul trouble much of the night before picking up her fifth with 3:15 to play.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons take on Simon Fraser at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday in Brougham Pavilion. The Clan edged Saint Martin's on Thursday night in Lacey, 75-72.
 

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 61, Western Washington 59
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (9-6, 4-3 GNAC)
Rogers 7-16 0-0 14, Schwecke 1-7 0-0 2, Bland 5-9 1-2 13, Duff 2-11 3-3 7, Castaneda 3-5 3-4 11, Dykstra 0-0 0-0 0, Fierke 0-0 0-0 0, Gimmaka 1-2 2-2 4, Olson 3-8 1-2 8, Westendorf 0-0 0-0 0.Totals 22-58 10-13 59.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-9, 4-3 GNAC)
West 2-5 1-2 5, Rataushk 3-8 2-2 8, Evans 2-7 1-1 5, Albert 4-8 0-0 11, Bennett 5-14 5-5 17, Hingston 0-2 0-0 0, Skidmore 3-5 4-4 10, Boston 0-0 0-0 0, Alter 0-0 0-0 0, Hoff 1-3 5-5 5. Totals 20-52 16-19 61.
 
Western Washington          23            11           10           15           -- 59
Seattle Pacific                       6           24           16           15           -- 61
 
3-point goals – WWU 5-17 (Bland 2-5, Duff 0-2, Castaneda 2-4, Olson 1-6), SPU 5-11 (Evans 0-1, Albert 3-6, Bennett 2-4). Fouled out – SPU: West. Rebounds – WWU 40 (Rogers 10), SPU 28 (West 7, Hoff 7). Assists – WWU 10 (Bland 3, Duff 3), SPU 9 (Bennett 3). Turnovers – WWU 18, SPU 15. Total fouls – WWU 19, SPU 19. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 273.
 
 
Next game
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 19     4:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.