Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
PORTLAND, Ore. – Before they walked off the court for the final time this season, the Seattle Pacific Falcons left everything they had on the court.
 
Cici West concluded her college basketball career with her 10^th double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, but Concordia-Portland fended off SPU in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon, 67-62.
 
The back-and-forth contest on LCEF Court was tied eight times, and the lead changed hands 10 times.
 
"It was a really fun game. Our core value is passion, and that's something we talk about and preach every single day," said Mike Simonson, who wound up first season as head coach. "I thought that was a passionate game. We got up and down the floor, we ran fast, and we rebounded the ball well.
 
"We got excited and had the momentum at times," Simonson added. "To have a game like that, regardless of outcome, was huge for our program."
 




The Falcons (8-19, 7-13 GNAC) were down 23-14 at the end of the first quarter, but got right back into it by starting the second quarter with a 10-0 run. Junior guard Madi Hngston drained a 3-pointer, senior point guard Jaylee Albert popped in a 10-foot floater, West had a putback and a free throw for a traditional three-point play, and senior center Carly Rataushk capped it by stealing the ball and going coast-to-coast for a lay-in.
 
That put SPU up 24-23 with 5:43 remaining before halftime. The lead changed hands five more times before the break, and Concordia went into the locker room up 30-28.
 
The Cavaliers (16-12, 11-9 GNAC) took a 45-42 lead into the fourth. They stretched it out to 10 at 55-45 with 7:17 left. Seattle Pacific climbed back into it, getting as close as 65-62 on a lay-in by West with 18.6 seconds to play.
 
Concordia's Olivia Vedzaldinos pushed it back to five at 67-62 on a pair of free throws at 12.2 seconds. Those were the last of the 14 fourth-quarter points for the GNAC's leading scorers, as she finished with 24.
 
"Being a first-year head coach and having a team that doesn't have a lot of experience, it was amazing to see how much our team grew throughout the year, on the court and off," Simonson said. "I saw some of our seniors who were juniors and sophomores the last two years really come into their own. The record wasn't there. But at times, we played some very, very good basketball."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The 20 points for redshirt senior forward West tied her SPU high. She also had 20 on Dec. 19 at Concordia Irvine.
-- Two other Falcon seniors also finished their careers with double-digit scoring. Riley Evans tallied 12 points, and Albert added 10, to go along with four assists. Rataushk had eight points and two rebounds in her career finale
-- Evans went 2 for 2 at the foul line, securing her place in the Falcon record book. She hit 60 of 65 for the season, for 92.3 percent. That eclipsed the previous record of 91.7 percent (77 of 84) by Suzanna Ohlsen in 2013-14. Evans wound up at 89.4 percent for her career (76 of 85).

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, March 2, 2019
LCEF Court / Portland, Ore.
 
Concordia-Portland 67, Seattle Pacific 62
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-19, 7-13 GNAC)
Evans 4-8 2-2 12, Albert 4-11 0-0 10, Hingston 2-9 0-0 5, West 7-9 6-11 20, Rataushk 4-9 0-0 8, Berg 1-4 0-0 2, Skidmore 0-2 0-0 0, Boston 0-3 2-2 2, Alter 0-0 0-0 0, Bennett 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 23-60 11-17 62.
 
CONCORDIA-PORTAND (16-12, 11-9 GNAC)
Williams 3-7 0-0 6, Vezaldenos 7-14 6-7 24, Higbie 3-10 5-10 11, Taylor 1-=2 2-4 4, Sarman 5-12 0-0 10, Etherly 1-1 0-0 3, LeSure 3-5 0-0 6, Zhang 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 13-21 67.
 
Seattle Pacific                     14           14           14           20           -- 62
Concordia-Portland           23             7           15           22           -- 67
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-22 (Evans 2-5, Albert 2-7, Hingston 1-5, Bwerg 0-1, Boston 0-1, Bennett 0-3), CU 8-14 (Williams 3-6, Vezaldenos 4-7, Etherly 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 32 (West 10), CU 42 (Sarman 11). Assists – SPU 8 (Albert 4), CU 14 (Sarman 8). Turnovers – SPU 17, CU 21. Total fouls – SPU 17, CU 17. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 511.
 
 
Next game
Season complete.