SEATTLE – The double-doubles for Ashley Alter and Natalie Hoff were both solid.
 
However, a different kind of double-double was costly for the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
 
 

Alter went for 20 points and 10 rebounds, Hoff had 17 points and 12 boards, but Northwest Nazarene forced SPU had 27 turnovers, converting them into 25 points on the way to a 63-54 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory in Brougham Pavilion
 
Senior forward Hoff logged her second double-doble of the season and fourth of her career. She tied her career high with the 12 rebounds, and was one point shy of her career scoring high.
 
Senior guard / forward Alter had her second career double-double, and the 10 rebounds tied her career high.
 
Northwest Nazarene (5-3, 1-1 GNAC) came in forcing an average of 17.5 turnovers. In their two games combined this week (the Nighthawks lost 71-67 at Montana State Billings on Thursday), their opponents had 43 turnovers that led to 49 points.
 
Seattle Pacific (4-5, 1-1 GNAC), which has steadily improved in that area, was averaging just 14.4 turnovers coming into Saturday.
 
 

"You gotta give credit to NNU – they're a really good defensive team and do a great job of forcing turnovers," Falcons head coach Mike Simonson said. "Yes, it was the first time playing a team that presses all game and denies the way they do. We had some players who hadn't played against Northwest Nazarene, and it takes a time or two to get used to it. It takes a time or two to coach against it.
 
"The good news is it's conference, and we get to play them again (later in the season)," Simonson added. "It was a bummer to turn it over that many times. But I know we'll be better going into next week."
 
CLOSE ALL THE WAY
Neither team was ever ahead by double digits. Seattle Pacific rang up six straight points to take a 44-39 lead with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Northwest Nazarene (5-3, 1-1 GNAC) then closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to head into the final 10 minutes with a four-point edge, 50-46.
 
The Nighthawks stayed in front the rest of the way. Twice during the fourth, SPU got within two, the last time at 54-52 on a lay-up by Alter with 5:50 to play.
 
But the Falcons then went five minutes without scoring as NNU forced them into three missed shots and five turnovers, while putting another six points on their own side of the board for a 60-52 lead with just 1:12 to go.
 
An Alter jumper ended the dry spell on offense with 49 seconds left and cut the margin to six at 60-54. Northwest Nazarene got its final three points at the free throw line, as Seattle Pacific was forced to foul.
 
"We did not play great in the first half overall, so it was a blessing that we were down just two (32-30)," Simonson said. "We felt our better basketball was always coming, but we just never got over the hump. Our best basketball did not show up tonight, but credit to NNU: They took us out of what we typically do."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Ashley Alter shot 8 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range. Of her 10 rebounds, half were at the offensive end and half at the defensive end. ""Ashley looked like an all-conference player tonight," Simonson said. "Her tenacity, the way she attacked the rim, the way she rebounded was really an impressive performance."
-- Natalie Hoff shot 8 of 11 from the floor, a significant improvement from Thursday's 1-for-11 in a 69-65 victory against Central Washington. Among her 12 boards three were off the offensive glass. "Natalie was very efficient. It was a great bounceback game for her. She's really good at rebounding, both figuratively and literally. She rebounded from a poor (shooting) game, and she rebounded from the field tonight."
 

-- Thanks primarily to Alter and Hoff, Seattle Pacific had a 48-33 rebounding advantage on Saturday. Senior point guard Abril Rexach Roure grabbed seven, the most she has had in an SPU uniform since joining the program in 2019. Her career high is nine, which she recorded during her freshman year at Eastern Wyoming College in 2018..
-- The Falcons had two more field goals than the Nighthawks (23-21) and had the same number of 3-pointers (five each). The difference was at the foul line, where NNU hit 16 of 19 and SPU was just 3 of 8.
-- SPU shot 39 percent for the game (23 of 59). NNU was at 32.8 percent (21 of 64).
-- Nyalam Thabach led the Nighthawks with 16 points, and Jordan Pinson added 15.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific takes a two-game California road trip this coming week. The Falcons visit Stanislaus State on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Turlock, then take on Cal State East Bay next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Hayward.