Box score (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – By game's end, the Seattle Pacific Falcons had put six more shots into the basket than Saint Martin's.
 
On this night, however, it was going to take seven more.
 
And that seventh one just wouldn't go.
 
Ashlynn Burgess poured in 25 points for Seattle Pacific, but Bria Thames drained a pair of free throws for Saint Martin's with 1:26 left on Wednesday, and the Saints hung on to beat the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game, 63-62.
 
The game in Brougham Pavilion had 15 lead changes and six ties. Thames factored into the last of each, knotting it at 62-62 on her first, and putting Saint Martin's up 63-62 on her second.
 
The Falcons (5-12, 3-6 GNAC) had the ball for the final 46 seconds, retaining possession on three fouls by Saint Martin's (9-7, 4-5 GNAC).
 
With 12.4 seconds left, SPU took it out one final time. It was worked around the perimeter until Burgess hit Kayla Brundidge with a pass under the hoop on the left side. Her attempted lay-in rattled around and off the rim.
 
Brundidge grabbed the offensive rebound and tried to go back up. But the ball was knocked away and ultimately called out of bounds in favor of Saint Martin's with four-tenths of a second left.
 
 

"All those lead changes – we haven't had a situation like that this year. That should give us confidence that we can respond and fight back when adversity hits," head coach Mike Simonson said. "Obviously, it stings, especially with the progress we've made.
 
"But I know this game we'll look back on and say, 'Hey, we got better in this one.' It'll be a positive thing for us moving forward. It's just that the outcome wasn't what we wanted."
 
NEITHER SIDE COULD BREAK IT OPEN
The teams traded scoring runs all night on Iron Coaching Court. Saint Martin's had the first one, going from 4-2 down to 8-4 up. The Falcons responded with nine points in a row for a 13-8 lead.
 
SPU used an eight-point burst in the second period to turn a 25-22 deficit into a 30-25 lead. The Saints then got 11 of the final 13 points in the half to take a 36-32 edge into intermission.
 
After yielding the first point of the second half on a free throw, Seattle Pacific put the next nine on the board to go up, 41-37. From there to the end of the third, the game was tied three times and the lead changed hands four, with a spin-around lay-in by Burgess putting SPU up 51-50 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The Falcons quickly made it 55-50 on a lay-in by Burgess and a jumper by Hailee Bennett with 9:15 left. Saint Martin's then ran off 11 in a row and kept SPU scoreless for nearly six minutes, going ahead 61-55 with 3:45 to play.
 
Burgess then got SPU's final seven points of the game: a traditional three-point play for 61-58, a lay-in off a pass from Ashley Alter for 61-60, and an eight-footer from the left of the lane with Madi Hingston assisting. That put the Falcons up 62-61 at the 1:43 mark.
 
But no more points would be forthcoming.
 
"Ultimately, I thought down the stretch, we executed quite well to take the lead," Simonson said. "I'm pretty pleased with the way we finished the game. It was that stretch from eight minutes to four minutes when we were in foul trouble." (Bennett and Hingston were saddled with four apiece).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The free throw line became the deciding factor. The Saints went 20 times, hitting 15. The Falcons were just 3 of 4.
-- Ashlynn Burgess shot 80 percent from the field, hitting 12 of 15.
-- Along with Burgess' 25 points, Ashly Alter and Hailee Bennett tallied 10 apiece.
 

-- Bennett also dished out a career-high six assists. Her previous best was five, achieved three times, most recently last Thursday against Concordia-Portland.
-- Bria Thames, who came in averaging a double-double of 12.5 points and 11.8 rebounds, had another one, this time 20 points and 15 boards. Tierney DeDonatis led the Saints with 26 points.
-- SPU's 27 field goals came on its best shooting night of the season – and first of better than 50 percent (51.9 on 27 of 52). Saint Martin's was limited to 36.2 percent (21 of 58).
 
UP NEXT
SPU and Saint Martin's came into the night tied for seventh in the standings, one game below the cutoff line to make the conference tournament. One of the teams sitting just above that line is Montana State Billings (9-8, 4-4 GNAC) – and the Yellowjackets are up next for the Falcons on Thursday night in Billings. Tip-off is at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Saint Martin's 63, Seattle Pacific 62
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (9-7, 4-5 GNAC)
Dingus 3-12 5-6 11, Vivola 0-1 0-0 0, Thames 7-18 6-9 20, DeDonatis 9-13 4-5 26, Sutterlict 0-2 0-0 0, Schultz 2-7 0-0 6, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Russ 0-0 0-0 0, Nilsson 0-4 0-0 0.Totals 21-58 15-20 63.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-12, 3-6 GNAC)
Brundidge 1-4 1-2 3, Alter 4-7 0-0 10, Burgess 12-15 1-1 25, Bennett 4-7 0-0 10, Hingston 3-10 0-0 7, Berg 1-2 1-1 3, Rexach Roure 0-2 0-0 0, Brennan 0-3 0-0 0,. Sterk 0-0 0-0 0, Hoff 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 27-52 3-4 62.
 
Saint Martin's     18          18          14          13          -- 63
Seattle Pacific    19          13          19          11          -- 62
 
3-point goals – STM 6-15 (Dingus 0-5, DeDonatis 4-5, Schultz 2-5), SPU 5-17 (Alter 2-3, Burgess 0-1, Bennett 2-3, Hingston 1-6, Berg 0-1, Rexach Roure 0-1, Brennan 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – StM 32 (Thames 15), SPU 32 (Brundidge 7). Assists – StM 11 (Thames 4), SPU 16 (Bennett 6). Turnovers – StM 11, SPU 17. Total fouls – StM 14, SPU 21. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 244.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
Thurdsay, Jan. 23     4:15 p.m. PST
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.