Box score (PDF)
 
NAMPA, Idaho – The Seattle Pacific Falcons knew they would have to find a way to hang onto the ball under the relentless defensive pressure of Northwest Nazarene.
 
But from start to finish, the Nighthawks and their defense had the upper hand.
 
Ashlynn Burgess pumped in 13 points for the Falcons, but NNU forced 32 turnovers and converted those into 32 points on Saturday afternoon in rolling to a 77-47 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory in the Johnson Sports Center.
 
Northwest Nazarene (6-3, 2-0 GNAC) broke open the game in the second quarter with three scoring runs: 8-0 at the start to go from 12-11 to 20-11 up, 10-0 in the middle to go from 23-15 to 33-15, and 7-0 at the end to go from 33-18 to 40-18 by halftime.
 
"They obviously did a great job of speeding up the game," SPU head coach Mike Simonson said. "A lot of (the turnovers) were our own costly mistakes."
 
Seattle Pacific (0-8, 0-2 GNAC) put together a solid third quarter, ringing up 10 straight points to cut a 22-point deficit down to 12 at 46-34. But the Nighthawks answered with 11 points in a row bridging the third and fourth periods, expanding the lead to 25 early in the fourth.
 
"I know the final score doesn't say it, but there were stretches of the game when we held our own," Simonson said. "There were some moments when I thought we were going to have one of those magical comebacks. But then they hit a couple of big shots."
 
The Falcons dominated the boards, 48-29. Senior guard Hailee Bennett collected a team-high eight, and Burgess pulled down five.
 
"I've said before, one of the things I'm pleased with is we've been rebounding well for such an undersized team," Simonson said.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Of the 32 turnovers, 20 were steals by the Nighthawks.
-- SPU's 48 rebounds and the plus-19 margin were both season highs. Previous highs were 42 rebounds against Regis on Nov. 23, and plus-8 against Fresno Pacific on Nov. 9. It was the team's third time in the 40s.
--The Falcons shot considerably better against Northwest Nazarene than they did at Central Washington two nights earlier. SPU hit 39.6 percent on Saturday (19 of 48). In Thursday's 65-46 loss to the Wildcats, they shot just 27 percent from the floor (17 of 63).
 
UP NEXT
SPU has this coming week off from competition to focus on fall quarter academic finals. It returns to action on Monday, Dec. 16 in a non-conference home game against Cal State Los Angeles. Tip-off in Brougham Pavilion is at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 77, Seattle Pacific 47
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (0-8, 0-2 GNAC)
Burgess 6-11 1-2 13, Berg 2-4 2-2 6, Sterk 2-5 2-2 6, Brennan 2-4 2-2 6, Alter 2-6 0-0 5, Rexach Roure 2-5 1-1 5, Hingston 1-3 0-0 2, Bennett 1-6 0-0 2, Brundidge 1-2 0-0 2, Hoff 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 8-9 47.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (RECORD)
Valles 8-14 2-4 19, Jenkins 7-11 1-3 17, Albrecht 7-13 0-1 15, Emerson 4-9 0-0 8, Hanson 2-5 0-0 6, Gall 2-5 0-0 4, Salisbury 1-1 2-2 4, Clark 0-4 2-2 2, Wesels 1-4 0-0 2, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Eubanks 0-0 0-0 0, Knishka 0-3 0-0 0, Pinson 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 32-76 7-12 77.
 
Seattle Pacific                     11             7           20             9           -- 47
Northwest Nazarene          12           28           15           22           -- 77
 
3-point goals – SPU 1-9 (Alter 1-3, Berg 0-1, Hingston 0-1, Bennett 0-2, Burgess 0-2), NNU 6-26 (Jenkins 2-5, Hanson 2-4, Albrecht 1-2, Valles 1-4, Clark 0-1, Wessels 0-1, Knishka 0-2, Pinson 0-3, Gall 0-2, Emerson 0-2). Fouled out – SPU: Bennett. Rebounds – SPU 48 (Bennett 8), NNU 29 (Eubanks 5). Assists – SPU 9 (Hingston 3), NNU 12 (Clark 3). Turnovers – SPU 32, NNU 5. Total fouls – SPU 15, NNU 16. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 333.
 
 
Next game
Cal State Los Angeles at Seattle Pacific
Monday, Dec. 16     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.