Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The postseason will have to wait until next season.
 
Ashley Alter scored a career-high 18 points, and Jade Skidmore notched her 1,000^th career point, but Seattle Pacific went through a 6½-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter and dropped a 60-53 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball decision to Western Oregon on Thursday night.
 
The loss in the New P.E. Building eliminated the Falcons (8-18, 7-12 GNAC) from contention for a berth in next week's conference tournament. Seattle Pacific came in needing to win its last two games and have Concordia-Portland lose its last two in order to claim the sixth and final ticket to Bellingham. (The Cavaliers wound up edging Saint Martin's on Thursday, 85-81.)
 
Even so, after graduating all five starters plus its sixth woman from 2018 and learning a new system under first-year head coach Mike Simonson, the Falcons stayed in the chase until the final week.
 
 

"To play meaningful basketball this late in the season is very good for an inexperienced group," Simonson said. "We've learned what it takes to win: It takes being consistent. We have another chance to do that on Saturday (in the season finale at Concordia), and we want to win that game and have our seniors go out on a high note."
 
SPU freshman guard Alter hit 6 of 7 from the floor (draining her first six, including a pair of 3-pointers). She easily beat her previous career high of 10, set at Central Washington on Jan. 12.
 
"The thing I love about Ashley is she's fearless," Simonson said. "Every time she comes into the game, she affects the game one way or another. She did that tonight and proved how good she can be."
 
 

Junior guard Skidmore needed just one point in Thursday's game to reach 1,000 She got there with a turnaround 12-foot jumper from the left side of the lane at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter. Skidmore finished with five points.
 
Down 44-43 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, Seattle Pacific went back on top at 46-44 on Alter's 22-foot trey from the right of the lane with 9:22 remaining.
 
But Western Oregon (8-17, 5-14 GNAC) put up the next 11 points for a 55-46 lead as the Falcons went scoreless for 6 minutes, 22 seconds, missing seven shots and turning the ball over twice.
 
SPU finally got back on the board when redshirt senior forward Cici West drove for a lay-in with exactly three minutes remaining. West then got a steal and went coast-to-coast for a lay-in at the 2:20, mark, cutting the margin to 55-50.
 
It was still five at 57-52 with 1:29 left. The Falcons managed just one more point the rest of the way, that on a free throw by Skidmore with 55 seconds to go. Western Oregon's final five points came at the line.
 
"We played a decent defensive game," Simonson said. "They made their open shots, and we didn't make ours. It was very similar to our game at Western Washington (a 60-43 loss on Feb. 16) where we played well defensively, but couldn't get the offense going. We have to step up and make big shots when the game is on the line."
 
Neither team could get untracked early on, as they combined to miss their first 16 shots (0 of 6 for SPU, 0 of 10 for WOU). The initial points for the Falcons didn't come until 3:51 remained in the opening quarter on a putback by senior center Carly Rataushk.
 
The Falcons were down 24-23 at halftime and trailed for most of the third quarter. A pair of free throws by redshirt freshman Rachel Berg and a 13-footer straight in front by Alter gave Seattle Pacific a 43-42 edge heading into the fourth.
 
BY THE NUMERS
-- Skidmore now has 1,004 points for her career. The first 874 of those came during her two seasons at Walla Walla Community College.
-- Prior to Thursday, SPU had won 43 of the 47 all-time games against the Wolves, including the last eight in a row. The most recent victory for Western Oregon in the series was 67-62 on Jan. 22, 2015 in Monmouth.
-- Alter was the only Falcon to score in double figures. West and sophomore guard Kaprice Boston each had six.
-- West's five rebounds gave her 227 for the season.
-- Riley Evans needs one rebound in Saturday's game at Concordia to reach 100 for her career. She had one on Thursday.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific will conclude its season on Saturday at Concordia-Portland. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m.

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019
New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
 
Western Oregon 60, Seattle Pacific 53
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-18, 7-12 GNAC)
Alter 6-7 4-4 18, Boston 3-7 0-0 6, West 3-6 0-0 6, Rataushk 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 2-5 1-2 5, Bennett 2-5 0-0 4, Albert 1-7 0-0 3, Evans 1-8 0-0 3, Berg 0-2 2-2 2, Hoff 1-2 0-0 2, Hingston 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 7-8 53.
 
WESTERN OREGON (8-17, 5-14 GNAC)
DeLonge 6-13 5-5 17 Jones 6-13 0-0 13, McCarver 3-10 1-2 8, Harris 2-6 0-0 6, Nelke 3-5 0-0 6, Denton 0-7 3-3 3, Acock 1-2 0-0 3, Rogers 0-2 2-2 2, Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Green 0-0 0-00. Totals 22-60 11-15 60.
 
Seattle Pacific     8              15           20           10           -- 53
Western Oregon 7              17           18           18           -- 60
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-17 (Alter 2-2, Albert 1-5, Evans 1-6, Skidmore 0-1, Berg 0-1, Hingston 0-1, Boston 0-1), WOU 5-19 (Harris 2-5, Jones 1-3, Acock 1-2, McCarver 1-5, Denton 0-4). Fouled out – WOU: McCarver. Rebounds – SPU 35 (Skidmore 5, West 5), WOU 40 (DeLonge 12). Assists – SPU 6 (6 players with 1), WOU 14 (Harris 4). Turnovers – SPU 13, WOU 12. Total fouls – SPU 17, WOU 11. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 213.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Concordia-Portland
Saturday, March 2     2:00 p.m.
LCEF Court / Portland, Ore.