SEATTLE – Not even 24 hours earlier, the shots weren't falling from anywhere for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
On Saturday afternoon, they were falling from everywhere.
 
Abril Rexach Roure and Natalie Hoff each pumped in 15 points, and the Falcons had four double-digit scorers altogether on the way to a 71-47 women's basketball rout against College of Idaho in Brougham Pavilion. That gave them a split of the weekend series.
 
In Friday's 51-42 loss to the Yotes, SPU managed to hit just 12 field goals, went 0-for-13 from 3-point range, and shot just 26.1 percent from the field.
 
Different story on Saturday. The Falcons (4-3) drained 26 of their 60 attempts, including 6 of 13 from downtown for a mark of 43.1 percent.
 
 

"Kudos to our character. Our team wants to succeed, they want to play at a high level, and they're willing to take coaching and apply it," SPU head coach Mike Simonson said. "That's the sign of a good team, especially a young team, that as we mature, we're going to get better and better."
 
Ashley Alter added 12 points for Seattle Pacific, and Rachel Berg chipped in 10. All four of the double-figure scorers shot 50 percent or better: 75 percent for Rexach Roure (6 of 8), 60 percent for Hoff (6 of 10), 57 percent for Berg (4 of 7), and 50 percent for Alter (5 of 10).
 
"We wanted to be intentional about celebrating little things, and today, we had a lot of energy," Simonson said. "When we got a defensive stop, our bench was excited. If we scored on a certain action or got a good look, we really tried to applaud the little things. That really helped with our momentum in the game."
 




KEPT THE FAST START GOING
The Falcons put the first nine points of Friday's game on the board, but it ultimately wasn't enough, as the Yotes (4-9) had forged ahead by halftime and stayed ahead for most of the second half, pulling away late in the game.
 
Saturday's rematch saw another fast start by SPU, as it was up 7-0 in the first three minutes on a lay-up by senior point guard Rexach Roure, a trey by junior guard Berg, and a 12-footer from the right of the lane by sophomore post player Kayla Brundidge.
 
By the end of the first quarter, the margin had ballooned to 19-5. A 3-pointer by junior forward Alter and a pair of free throws by junior forward Hoff made it 24-5 three minutes into the second quarter. A 10-0 run by the Yotes – their only run of the game – cut the lead to 24-15 with 4:55 left until halftime.
 
Emerging from a timeout, the Falcons put together a 7-2 burst, pushing the margin back to 31-17, and it stayed in double-digits the rest of the way.
 
The 21 points SPU allowed in the first half, and the 47 allowed for the game were the lowest totals for an opponent this season.
 
"What we really talked about is that our identity is as a defensive team," Simonson said. "We focused on not letting our offense dictate our defensive energy."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After not draining a 3-pointer on Friday (the last time that happened was 0-for-11 at Simon Fraser on Jan. 30, 2014), the Falcons hit their first two on Saturday, both of them by Rachel Berg. "She impresses me all time. To come back from a game like yesterday, she knocked down a couple of 3s and executed the game really well from an offensive standpoint," coach Mike Simonson said.
-- Abril Rexach Roure's 15 points were more than double her previous season high of six. She also dished a season-high seven assists and grabbed four rebounds – and had no turnovers.
 

-- SPU was dominant on the boards again, 43-23, including 17-8 off the offensive glass. Kayla Brundidge grabbed 10, her second double-digit performance of the season, to go along with seven points and three blocked shots. One of her baskets came on a fourth-chance opportunity at the outset of the third quarter after Ashley Alter, Berg, and Kaprice Boston all saw their shots bounce off the rim in a span of six seconds.
-- Senior guard Boston came down with seven boards.
-- Senior forward Ashlynn Burgess had a productive 12 minutes off the bench with six points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
-- SPU limited College of Idaho to 35 percent shooting (18 of 51).
-- This marked the third week in a row the Falcons have bounced back to win on Saturday and split their weekend series after dropping the Friday game, first against Saint Martin's, then Lewis-Clark State, and now College of Idaho.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays its first road games of the year, visiting Saint Martin's in Lacey on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 4 and 5. Both games in Marcus Pavilion tip off at 6:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 71, College of Idaho 47
 
COLLEGE OF IDAHO (4-9)
Rasmussen 5-7 0-1 10, Mitchell 2-11 2-2 6, Cannon 2-10 0-0 5, French 0-5 0-0 0, Reed 0-1 0-0 0, Schritter 0-1 0-0 0, Renfro 5-6 1-2 15, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Sayer 0-0 0-0 0, Shepherd 0-1 0-0 0, Krusemark 1-3 2-2 5, Riggle 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 18-51 5-7 47.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-3)
Alter 5-10 0-0 12, Brundidge 3-7 1-2 7, Berg 4-7 0-0 10, Rexach Roure 6-8 1-2 15, Boston 0-7 0-0 0, Poling 0-0 0-0 0, Mastora 0-2 2-2 2, Hudson 1-2 0-0 2, Pettingill 0-3 2-2 2, Hoff 6-10 3-4 15, Burgess 1-4 4-4 6. Totals 26-60 13-16 71.
 
College of Idaho    5           16           17             9           -- 47
Seattle Pacific     19           16           20           16           -- 71
 
3-point goals – CI 6-16 (Mitchell 0-2, Cannon 1-3, French 0-4, Renfro 4-4, Krusemark 1-3), SPU 6-13 (Alter 2-4, Berg 2-3, Rexach Roure 2-2, Boston 0-1, Mastora 0-1, Pettingill 0-1, Hoff 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – CI 23 (Rasmussen 4), SPU 43 (Brundidge 10). Assists – CI 13 (French 3, Sayer 3), SPU 17 (Rexach Roure 7). Turnovers – CI 20, SPU 15. Total fouls – CI 20, SPU 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 0.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Thursday, Feb. 4     6:00 p.m.
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.