Box score (PDF)
 
BURNABY, B.C. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons got the shots.
 
They just couldn't get the makes.
 
Madi Hingston scored 14 points and was one of three SPU players in double figures, but Simon Fraser took charge with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and stayed ahead the rest of the way in a 71-54 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Thursday night.
 
Ashley Alter added 11 points, and Hailee Bennett chipped in 10 in West Gym.
 
The Falcons (3-10, 1-4 GNAC) hit just 32 percent for the game, draining 18 of 56. Simon Fraser (9-6, 4-1 GNAC) made nine more shots (27 of 63, for 42.9 percent).
 
 

"We were getting decent shots – it was just one of those games where maybe we were pressing a little bit trying to get over the hump," head coach Mike Simonson said. "When we got down in the second quarter, we were just right there playing even with them the whole rest of the game. We just couldn't get over that hump."
 
SPU got a spark at the end of the first quarter when junior forward Ashlynn Burgess beat the buzzer with second-chance lay-in to get them within one at 11-10.
 
But the Falcons then went through the first three minutes of the second quarter without a point, missing five shots, while Simon Fraser (9-6, 4-1 GNAC) put 10 straight on the board. The first six of those came from Tayler Drynan on back-to-back traditional three-point plays. That helped produce a 21-10 Clan lead.

 

Hingston finally got the Falcons back on the board with a lay-in off a feed from Rachel Berg at the 7:01 mark before halftime. That cut the Clan's lead to nine, and it was still just 10 at intermission, 34-24.
 
Seattle Pacific got within seven midway through the third quarter at 41-34. Hingston got the last basket of that mini-rally on a banked lay-in shot. But Simon Fraser came right back downcourt, and Emma Kramer buried a 3-pointer from 23 feet away on the right side, pushing the lead back to 10 at 44-34.
 
"When we needed a big shot, it seemed like we didn't really get them," Simonson said. "Then they got a couple of 3's that rattled in."
 
Indeed, the Clan like to shoot the long ball, averaging 25 attempts and seven makes per game. But the Falcons limited them to just 23.8 percent from behind the arc (5 of 21).
 
"We did a good job of guarding the 3-point line," Simonson said. "But kudos to them – they did a good job of attacking inside (40-26 on points in the paint), and their bench really got to us."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Simon Fraser's reserves had a 29-16 advantage in points and 19-7 in rebounds.
-- Clan players weren't the only cold shooters from downtown. The Falcons hit just 2 of 12 (16.7 percent).
-- Ashlynn Burgess and Kayla Brundidge led Seattle Pacific on the boards with six each.
-- Madi Hingston has shot .500 or better from the floor in three straight games. She was 6 of 12 on Thursday and is a combined 14 of 26 (.538) through the last three.
-- Hailee Bennett had her third straight perfect night at the free throw line and her fifth such night of the year. This time, she was 7 for 7, pushing her season and GNAC-leading mark to 90.2 percent (46 of 51). Her first one on Thursday gave her 100 makes for her career. She is now 106 of 120 (88.3 percent).
 
UP NEXT
SPU completes its two-game road trip on Saturday at Western Washington. Tip-off in Carver Gymnasium is at 7:00 p.m. The Vikings rolled past Saint Martin's on Thursday night, 93-47.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
Simon Fraser 71, Seattle Pacific 54
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-10, 1-3 GNAC)
Bennett 1-11 7-7 10, Berg 0-4 0-0 0, Rexach Roure 2-6 0-0 4, Hingston 6-12 2-4 14, Brennan 0-0 0-0 0, Brundidge 2-4 0-0 4, Alter 4-8 2-2 11, Sterk 0-1 0-0 0, Hoff 1-5 0-0 2, Burgess 2-5 5-6 9. Totals 18-56 16-19 54.
 
SIMON FRASER (9-6, 4-1 GNAC)
Killins 0-0 0-0 0, Klassen 3-5 2-2 8, Drynan 5-9 6-6 16, Swant 2-5 1-2 6, Chan 1-5 0-0 2, Kramer 4-6 0-0 9, Hart 2-4 3-4 8, Wisotzki 2-7 0-0 4, Sands 0-1 0-0 0, Carey 3-5 0-0 6, Nwabuko 1-5 0-0 2, Jones 4-11 0-0 10. Totals 27-63 12-14 71.
 
Seattle Pacific    10          14          15          15          -- 54
Simon Fraser      11          23          19          18          -- 71
 
3-point goals – SPU 2-12 (Bennett 1-5, Berg 0-1, Rexach Roure 0-2, Hingston 0-3, Alter 1-1), Simon 5-21 (Drynan 0-3, Swant 1-2, Chan 0-1, Kramer 1-2, Hart 1-2, Wisotzki 0-4, Jones 2-7). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 27 (Brundidge 6, Burgess 6), Simon 43 (Nwabuko 8). Assists – SPU 13 (Berg 3), Simon 10 (3 players with 2). Turnovers – SPU 15, Simon 13. Total fouls – SPU 16, Simon 21. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 302.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.