Box score (PDF)
 
SEATTLE – Call that one a turnaround with a capital 'T.
 
And a win with a capital 'W.'
 
Ashlynn Burgess and Kayla Brundidge both double-doubled on Saturday afternoon, and Seattle Pacific made a 36-point turnaround – from 14 points down late in the first quarter to 22 up late in the fourth – and beat Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game in Brougham Pavilion, 83-70.
 
Junior forward Burgess, in her first year as a Falcon after starring at Wenatchee Valley College, poured in 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
Freshman post player Brundidge had 10 points and 12 rebounds – along with five blocked shots –  all in just 19 minutes off the bench.
 
Senior guard Hailee Bennett went off for 23 points, including a perfect 9 for 9 at the free throw line.
 
"It was fun to see them piece that together," coach Mike Simonson said of the Falcons (3-9, 1-3 GNAC). "You would think we made some major adjustment at halftime, but we did not. We revisited our game plan and talked about being intentional to carry out the game plan."
 




DIALING IT UP DEFENSIVELY
While the season-high 83 points went a long way, it was the defensive effort – especially in the second half – that carried the day. After allowing Alaska Fairbanks 26 points in the first quarter and 45 through the half on 46.7 percent shooting, SPU stopped the Nanooks cold through the final 20 minutes on Iron Coaching Court, giving up a mere 25 points on 28.9 percent shooting.
 
Fairbanks wound up with three players in the 20s, but points were much harder to come by in the second half. Sam Tollliver had 21 (only three after halftime on 1-of-8 shooting), GNAC leading scorer Jocelyn Gandara totaled 20 (10 after the break on 5 of 15), and Sabrina Ungaro had 20 (10 on 4 of 7).
 
 

Sophomore guard Ashley Alter drew the task of guarding, at different times, Gandara and Tolliver.
 
"She was on their studs left and right, and she had really good support, too," Simonson said. "I think Ashley is one of the best on-ball defenders in the conference. That's kind of her role, and she knows that's her role, and she did a very good job in the second half."
 
The Falcons were up 10-9 just four minutes into the game when Alaska Fairbanks (6-7, 1-3 GNAC) put together a 12-0 run in a span of three minutes to go up 21-10. The Nanooks stretched it to 14 at 26-12 with 1:07 remaining in the quarter.
 
SPU tried to chip away, but the Nanooks kept answering. It was still a double-digit margin at 37-27 with four minutes left in the half, then was down to six by the break at 45-39.
 
SEIZING CONTROL
The tone was decidedly different to start the third quarter. The Falcons put the first 13 points on the board. A turnaround lay-in by Burgess, a short jumper by Bennett, and a lay-in by Brundidge off a feed by Bennett tied it 45-45 at the 7:48 mark. A driving lay-in by Burgess at 7:08 put SPU ahead for the first time since 10-9. A pair of Bennett free throws, one by Burgess, then two more by Bennett made it 52-45.
 
At the other end, the Falcons forced Fairbanks into eight straight misses – and they yanked down the defensive rebound on seven of those.
 
 

"Fairbanks is a really good offensive team, and I do think it took us awhile to get used to guarding them – especially after guarding Alaska Anchorage two days ago," Simonson said. "It's a completely different style, and it took us 20 minutes to get used to defending them."
 
UAF eventually climbed back into a 54-54 tie. But a 12-1 Seattle Pacific run bridging the third and fourth quarters produced a 66-55 lead with 8:44 left in the game. The 22-point bulge, at 83-61, came with 2:28 left.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--The last time SPU had two players with more than 20 points was Jan. 16, 2016 when Jordan McPhee had 28 and Courtney Hollander 21 against Western Washington.
-- While limiting Fairbanks to 28.9 percent shooting in the second half (11 of 38), the Falcons shot 51.9 percent (15 of 29).
-- SPU hit 87 percent at the free throw line for the game (20 of 23).
-- Not only did the Falcons have a season-low nine turnovers, just two of those were in the second half.
-- For the second straight game, SPU had a season-high for blocked shots. This time, it was six, including Kayla Brundidge's five. The last Falcon with five in a game was Megan Hoisington on Feb. 6, 2010, against Northwest Nazarene.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific takes to the road next week, visiting Simon Fraser on Thursday in British Columbia and Western Washington on Saturday in Bellingham. Both games tip off at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2019
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 83, Alaska Fairbanks 70
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (6-7, 1-3 GNAC)
Wallace 1-5 1-2 3, Richards 1-4 0-0 3, Gandara 9-23 3-4 21, Ungaro 6-10 5-5 20, Tolliver 7-16 4-8 21, Krupa 0-1 0-0 0, Pusich 0-0 0-0 0, Kraska 1-2 0-0 2, Conwell 0-5 0-0 0, Saccomen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-68 13-19 70
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-9, 1-3 GNAC)
Alter 4-15 0-0 8, Burgess 10-13 7-8 27, Hoff 1-2 0-0 2, Bennett 7-11 9-9 23, Rexach Roure 2-5 0-0 4, Berg 0-7 0-2 0, Hingston 4-6 0-0 9, Brennan 0-3 0-0 0, Brundidge 3-4 4-4 10, Sterk 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 20-23 83.
 
Alaska Fairbanks              26          19          10          15          -- 70
Seattle Pacific                   14          25          21          23          -- 83
 
3-point goals – UAF 7-18 (Wallace 0-1, Richards 1-4, Gandara 0-3, Ungaro 3-4, Tolliver 3-5, Krupa 0-1), SPU 1-9 (Alter 0-3, Burgess 0-1, Bennett 0-1, Rexach Roure 0-1, Berg 0-2, Hingston 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – UAF 35 (Gandara 9), SPU 47 (Brundidge 12, Burgess 11). Assists – UAF 5 (Richards 2, Gandara 2), SPU 16 (Bennett 3). Turnovers – UAF 8, SPU 9. Total fouls – UAF 18, SPU 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 215.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Thursday, Jan. 9     7:00 p.m.
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.