Seattle Pacific University Athletics

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Whether from downtown or at the free throw line, Hunter Beirne buried 'em when it mattered most.
 
The Seattle Pacific junior point guard drained a 3-pointer from the right side with 1:15 remaining, then went 6 for 6 at the line during the final 38 seconds to help the Falcons hang on and defeat preseason No. 11-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills on the final night of the WWU Veterans Day Classic, 58-53.
 
Beirne finished with 15 points in Carver Gymnasium as the Falcons (1-1) bounced back from Friday's 79-54 season-opening loss to Cal State Los Angeles..

"It wasn't pretty, but it was a gritty, tough game," SPU head coach Mike Simonson said. "I'm really happy with our experienced players. In the future we have a lot of great young players that I know will step up. But tonight, the upperclassmen really came through.
 
 

SPU newcomer forward Olivia Mayer, who logged 20 double-doubles last year as a sophomore at Whitworth, put her first one into the book for the Falcons. Mayer tallied 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting and collected 12 rebounds, half of those af the offensive end.
 
Senior guard Hailey Marlow chipped in 11 points, six assists, three rebounds, and one steal. It was Marlow who found Beirne open for a 23-footer behind the arc on the right side that returned SPU to a two-possession lead at 52-46 with 73 seconds left on the clock.
 
"Hailey gave us great leadership and spark," Simonson said. "Once she started competing and playing hard, the rest of the team really followed suit."
 
On Friday against Cal State L.A., the Falcons got many of the shots they were looking for, but just couldn't drain them, hitting just 18 of 58 for the night (31.5 percent).
 
They added nearly 10 percentage points on Saturday, hitting 21 of 51 (41.2 percent). But the effort at the other end was even more impressive, as SPU limited Dominguez Hills to just 27 percent shooting (17 of 63).
 
 

"We buckled down and played great defense today against them," Simonson said. "In these big in-region games, experience is important, and I went with a lineup today that was really focused on experience."
 
Up 28-25 at halftime, SPU kept the Toros (0-2) off the scoreboard for almost the first six minutes of the third quarter. During that stretch, the Falcons rang up eight of their own points – a lay-in by Beirne, another by Schuyler Berry, a free throw by Marlow, a lay-in by Mayer, and a free throw by Lolo Weatherspoon – to build an 11-point lead at 36-25.
 
Dominguez Hills was back within five by the end of the third, 39-34, then cut it to 39-36 at the outset of the fourth when Kylee Edgar stole the ball on Seattle Pacific's opening possession and went coast-to-coast.
 
But the Falcons pushed it back to 11 as Berry hit a reverse lay-in, Mayer converted a Dominguez Hills turnover into a lay-in, Berry hit another lay-up, and Mayer had a lay-up off another Toros turnover. That made it 47-36 with 7:25 to go.
 
Dominguez Hills kept chipping away, getting as close as three at 49-46 before Beirne nailed her trey – the only long-range make of the night for SPU.
 
Along with Dominguez Hills, which went to last year's Elite Eight, the tournament included 2023 Division II qualifiers Cal State L.A. and host Western Washington.
 
"If you had told any of the coaches in this tournament that they could go 1-1, you'd be pretty happy," Simonson said. "We have a lot of things to clean up, and we'll improve our shooting percentage.
 
"We'll have tough games next (on the road against NCAA qualifiers Azusa Pacific and Cal State San Marcos)," he added. "But this was a great win against a tough West Region team."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Led by Hailey Marlow's six, the Falcons had assists on 13 of their 21 baskets.
-- Olivia Mayer's first SPU double-double was the 26th of her career, with the first 25 at Whitworth.
--This is the second straight year that the Falcons have gone 1-1 at their season-opening tournament in Bellingham. And it was the second year in a row that the victory game against a ranked team. Last year, it was by a 70-64 count against No. 21 Azusa Pacific.
-- It was the first-ever meeting between SPU and Dominguez Hills.


 
UP NEXT
SPU flies off to Southern California next week for the Cougar Shootout at Azusa Pacific. The Falcons play host APU on Friday at 6:00 p.m., then take on Cal State San Marcos on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
WWU Veterans Day Classic
Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 58, (No. 11) Cal State Dominguez Hills 53
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-1)
Weatherspoon 0-4 2-4 2, Mayer 9-16 0-0 18, Berry 4-5 0-0 8, Marlow 4-13 3-5 11, Beirne 4-8 6-6 15, Kearns 0-2 4-6 4, Leasure 0-3 0-0 0, Bishop 0-0 0-0 0, Carlisle 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 21-51 15-21 58.
 
CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS (0-2)
Benoit 2-9 2-2 8, Gallick 2-7 8-9 12, Jordan 2-8 5-5 9, Edgar 6-11 0-0 12, Walker 3-10 0-0 6, Goldsmith 0-8 0-0 0, Snowden 2-4 2-2 6, Hurst 0-4 0-0 0, Penner 0-2 0-0 0.  Totals 17-63 17-18 53.
 
Seattle Pacific                     12           16           11            19           -- 58
Dominguez Hills                 12           13             9           19           -- 53
 
3-point goals – SPU 1-15 (Weatherspoon 0-1, Mayer 0-3, Marlow 0-5, Beirne 1-2, Kearns 0-2, Leasure 0-2), DH 2-18 (Benoit 2-4, Walker 0-3, Goldsmith 0-4, Snowden 0-2, Hurst 0-4, Penner 0-1).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – SPU 39 (Mayer 12), DH 39 (Jordan 11).  Assists – SPU 13 (Marlow 6), DH 9 (Jordan 5).  Turnovers – SPU 18 (17 points), DH 16 (13 points). Total fouls – SPU 17, DH 21. Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 74.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Azusa Pacific
Friday, Nov. 17     6:00 p.m.
Felix Event Center / Azusa, Calf.