Box score (PDF)

BILLINGS, Mont. – The freshman got it started.
 
The two seniors got it finished.

Bayley Brennan drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the early stages of the fourth quarter, then Madi Hingston and Hailee Bennett combined to hit 5 of 6 at the free throw line in the last 40 seconds, lifting Seattle Pacific past Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Thursday, 69-63.
 
It was the first road win of the season for the Falcons (6-12, 4-6 GNAC) and it came against a Billings team (9-9, 4-5 GNAC) that they are chasing for a spot in the conference tournament.
 
 

Brennan, who is in her first year of action after redshirting last season, took four shots for the game – all from behind the 3-point arc – and buried all of them to finish with a career-high 12 points in Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
Bennett, a native of Kalispell who was playing in her home state for the final time, tallied a game-high 18. The last two of those came at the foul line with 10.5 seconds to play, pushing SPU's lead to the eventual final score. Fellow senior Hingston had just three points for the night, but they all came at the line just six seconds apart in the final minute to keep it a two-possession game.
 
"We just stepped up to the plate in the last few minutes," SPU coach Mike Simonson said. "Kudos to Billings – they did a very good job defensively on us in the fourth quarter – they were a tough team down the stretch. I'm just so proud of our kids for making game-winning plays. We just saw a lot of positives down the stretch that went our way."
 
DÉJÀ VU – BUT IN SPU'S FAVOR
Thursday's game was a near duplicate of Tuesday's contest against Saint Martin's in Brougham Pavilion. That one had six ties and 15 lead changes, as the Saints escaped with a 63-62 victory.
 
This time, it was nine ties and 15 lead changes.
 
 

"We talked about that in our pre-game tonight," Simonson said. "We lost, but I felt so confident that we were in a close game and we were going to gain experience from it. I'm so happy that this next game, we had another opportunity like that. It showed we can have poise and execute and do positive things down the stretch to win a basketball game."
 
The Yellowjackets seemed ready to break it open in their favor at the outset of the third quarter. Having taken a 31-30 halftime lead on a buzzer-beater by Jeanann Lemelin, Billings racked up the first eight points to push it out to a 39-30 advantage.
 
But Brennan, with a pair of 3's, and Ashlynn Burgess, with three baskets from close range, shot the Falcons back into it. Seattle Pacific went into the fourth quarter down just two, 49-47.
 
Billings was still up 54-49 when Brennan nailed two straight treys from the left corner for a 55-54 edge. The Jackets put four straight on the board, then Bennett tied it at 58-58 on a 3-pointer from the left of the lane with 4:39 left.
 
Tied 60-60, Burgess hit one of her two foul shots at the 1:51 mark, and SPU never trailed again. Bennett made 64-60 on a 3-pointer at 1:13, and Hingston bumped it up to 65-60 with a free throw at 40.1 seconds.

Lemelin

kept MSUB in it with a trey at 36.8 for 65-63. Hingston returned it to a two-possession game, 67-63, with two free throws at 34.8.
 
Billings got off two more shots, both from long range, but missed on both, and Bennett sealed it on her two at the foul line with 10.5 seconds left.
 
"Bayley can shoot it, and she is unfazed, especially in that area of the game," Simonson said. "When she had an open jumper, she buried it, and that's her strength. Ashlynn got a lot of good looks during that (third-quarter) stretch. She had two or three in a row that got us back in there. We went to our strengths."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After shooting 51.9 percent on Tuesday, the Falcons were near that again, hitting 49 percent against Billings (25 of 51). That included 50 percent (10 of 20) from downtown. Along with Bayley Brennan's 4 of 4, Hailee Bennett connected on 4 of 8 long ones.
-- At the other end, SPU limited the Yellowjackets to 38 percent (25 of 65).
-- Ashlynn Burgess finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and grabbed eight rebounds.
-- Ashley Alter hauled down a team-leading nine rebounds.
-- Bennett's two clinching free throws pushed her current streak to 25 makes in a row and her season percentage to 90.9 (50 of 55).
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific begins the second half of the GNAC schedule next week with a trip to Alaska. Up first is a visit to Fairbanks on Thursday, Jan. 31, followed by a trip to current No. 5-ranked Anchorage on Saturday, Feb. 1. Both games tip off at 6:15 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Seattle Pacific 69, Montana State Billings 63
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-12, 4-6 GNAC)
Bennett 6-12 2-2 18, Hingston 0-3 3-4 3, Brundidge 3-8 3-3 9, Alter 2-6 0-0 5, Burgess 5-8 1-2 11, Berg 0-1 0-0 0, Rexach Roure 3-5 0-0 7, Brennan 4-4 0-0 12, Hoff 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 25-51 9-11 69.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (9-9, 4-5 GNAC)
Montague 1-3 0-0 3, Lemelin 7-12 0-0 18, Shelley 6-21 4-6 17, Zahn 4-9 0-1 8, Cunningham 5-12 0-0 12, St.John 1-4 0-0 2, Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Wiilams 0-0 0-0 0, Manuel 0-0 1-2 1, Blakely 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 25-65 5-9 63.
 
Seattle Pacific                   18          12          17          22          -- 69
Montana State Billings     18          13          18          14          -- 63
 
3-point goals – SPU 10-20 (Bennett 4-8, Rexach Roure 1-2, HIngston 0-2, Brennan 4-4, Alter 1-3, Burgess 0-1), MSUB 8-23 (St.John 0-1, Montague 1-3, Lemelin 4-7, Shelley 1-2, Zahn 0-2, Cunningham 2-7, Blakely 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 37 (Alter 9), MSUB 30 (Shelley 10). Assists – SPU (Hoff 4), MSUB 13 (Lemelin 4). Turnovers – SPU 16, MSUB 6. Total fouls – SPU 10, MSUB 13. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 501.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Thursday, Jan. 30     6:15 p.m. PST
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska