ELLENSBURG, Wash. – When the game was on the line, the Metro State Roadrunners kept finding a way to get to the line.
 
That ultimately kept Seattle Pacific from getting back into the women's basketball win column.
 
Metro hit 11 free throws in the fourth quarter on Friday, and the Falcons went frigid from the field during those same final 10 minutes, falling 60-55 to the Roadrunners on the first day of the Central Washington Tournament in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Seniors Ashley Alter and Kaprice Boston each tallied 12 points for SPU (2-4), which dropped its fourth straight.
 
For the afternoon, Metro State drained 16 of 21 from the stripe, with 14 of 18 during the second half. The Falcons were a mere 5 of 8 for the game.
 
The Denver-based Roadrunners had more points from the line (11, on 14 shots) than from the field (7, on just eight shots) during the final quarter. SPU was just 3 of 16 on field goals and 3 of 4 on free throws.
 
 

"The game plan was to keep them off the free throw line. We wanted 12 for the whole game for them," head coach Mike Simonson said. "They shot 18 in the second half, so we really fell apart from our game plan in the second half. They upped their physicality and did a great job of getting the ball inside. … We didn't do a good job of keeping the ball from inside the paint."
 
A 9-0 run through the last 4:22 of the second quarter brought Seattle Pacific from 25-23 down to 32-25 ahead by halftime. It was one of the best shooting quarters of the season for the Falcons, as they buried 7 of 14, with 5 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc. It all added up to 20 points, with six players factoring into that total.
 
"We had a few of people bury 3s (two for Anna Eddy, one each for Boston and Abril Rexach Roure), and the next thing you know, we've got pretty balanced scoring, which is what we're looking for," Simonson said.
 
The Falcons maintained the lead throughout the entire third quarter and were up 44-42 heading into the fourth. A pair of free throws by Boston with 8:51 to play pushed it back to a four-point advantage at 46-42.
 
But that's when Metro State (3-1) rang up nine straight points to move ahead, 51-46, as SPU missed its first seven shots to start the fourth. Junior guard Bayley Brennan finally connected, draining a 3-pointer from the left of the lane, cutting it to 51-49.
 
 

Another trey, this one by Boston from the right elbow, lifted the Falcons into a 55-55 tie with 3:00 remaining. But those wound be their final points of the day. A driving scoop lay-in by Jaela Richardson at the 2:42 mark put the Roadrunners back on top at 57-55.
 
Still, Seattle Pacific had its opportunities as the teams traded missed shots and turnovers through the next two minutes, leaving the difference at two points. Metro State pushed it out to three at 58-55 on 1 of 2 free throws by Alex Carlton with 7.6 seconds to go. Now needing a trey, the Falcons called timeout.
 
On the ensuing inbounds. Rexach Roure drove through traffic underneath the hoop toward the left side. But officials ruled that along the way, her foot touched the baseline, resulting in an out-of-bounds call and giving the ball back to the Roadrunners.
 
Allie Navarette effectively sealed it by hitting two free throws with 4.1 seconds to go and the Falcons out of timeouts.
 
Simonson said the big thing for his team right now is just hitting some shots and gaining the confidence to go along with that. SPU hit 34.5 percent on Friday (20 of 58).
 
"We're not getting aggressive, confident looks on our shots," Simonson said. "We need to see the ball go through the net. (When it does), it's pretty contagious – we had a 20-point second quarter."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- For the fifth time in six games, the Falcons kept their opponent below 40 percent shooting from the field, as Metro State finished at 39.2 percent (20 of 51).
-- Seattle Pacific set a season high for makes from downtown with 10 of 29 (34.5 percent). That was more than half of what its season total had been (19 makes) coming into the game. The previous high for the team was eight against Corban on Nov. 12.
-- Along with her 12 points Kaprice Boston grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, came up with a steal, and did not commit a turnovers in nearly 32 minutes of playing time.
-- SPU had a 40-32 advantage on the boards, the fifth time in six games it has out-rebounded the opposition.
-- The Falcons committed just eight turnovers, by far their lowest total of the season. Their previous low was 12 against Hawaii Pacific.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific wraps up the preseason tournament portion of its schedule on Saturday, taking on on Westminster College of Salt Lake City at 2:00 p.m.in Nicholson Pavilion. The Griffins fell 83-71 to host Central Washington in Friday's second game.
 
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 2-4
Metro State 3-1.