DENVER – They shot better than they have all season. Had more rebounds. Took great care of the basketball.
 
All of that just didn't add up to enough points in the final stages on Saturday afternoon for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
Hunter Beirne scored 14 points, Schuyler Berry added 13 and Olivia Mayer chipped in 12, but Metro State went on a 10-3 run inside the last three minutes, wiping out a 59-54 deficit on the way to a 64-62 victory in its own Thanksgiving Classic.
 
The Falcons (1-5) took the lead midway through the second quarter, were up by as many as eight. They were still up seven at 55-48 with 7;50 left in the game before the Roadrunners (1-4) climbed back into it.
 
 

"I thought we played well enough to win the game. But down the stretch, our defense faltered," head coach Mike Simonson said. "Everything is a learning curve. This is the first time we've had a close game down the stretch. I wish we could rewind the clock about 20 minutes, because if we do that the last three minutes of the game, we could have pulled it out.
 
"But kudos to them – they made some big shots and exploited some things in our defense down the stretch that we have to be cleaner about," Simonson added.
 
Coming off a 68-41 loss at Colorado Christian on Friday when it hit just a season-low 29.2 percent from the field (18 of 48), SPU bounced back with a season-high 41.7 percent on Saturday (25 of 60). That included 6 of 21 from downtown a .286 percentage that also was a season-best.
 
"I thought today was a definite improvement, a step in the right direction," Simonson said. "Our offense showed some improvement, and we hit some shots. I was really pleased with the rebounding (SPU had a 33-30 advantage) and only 10 turnovers this early in the year is pretty good, especially against them because I thought they were kind of handsy, and they could force some."
 
Up 31-27 at halftime, the Falcons stretched it to 38-30 early in the third on a turnaround shot by Mayer and back-to-baskets by Beirne (a trey and a two).
 
Metro responded with eight straight points to tie it at 38-38. Seattle Pacific had an answer with a lay-in by Berry, a 3-pointer from the left corner by Haylie-Anne Ohta, and a driving lay-in by Beirne for a 45-38 advantage.
 
The margin was down to two at 47-45 entering the fourth quarter. Consecutive baskets by Mayer – a putback lay-in, and a trey from the top of the key – pushed it back out to seven at 52-45.
 
Metro eventually got within one at 55-54. A Berry lay-in and a Beirne putback restored the margin to five a 59-54 with 3:05 to go. Then, while the Roadrunners put the next nine points on the board for a 63-59 lead, the Falcons didn't score again until Mayer nailed a 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds remaining, cutting Metro's lead to 63-62.
 
Brooklynn Jones hit 1 of 2 free throws at 3.6 to play. The second one missed and Berry grabbed the rebound and got it out to Beirne. But all she had time to do was heave one up from near midcourt, and it fell short.
 
"There were a lot of bright spots for us," Simonson said "If we just keep plugging along and getting better, I'm excited to get back on the court this week for practice."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

-- Freshman guard Haylie-Anne Ohta, who got her first career start, finished with a career-high eight points, hitting 3 of 7 overall, with 2 of 4 from long range.
-- Seattle Pacific had four more field goals than Metro State (25-21), with one more make from downtown (6-5). But the Roadrunners enjoyed a decisive lead at the free throw line, hitting 17 of 23. SPU was just 6 of 11
-- Junior center Schuyler Berry came off the bench on Saturday and hit 6 of 10 from the field during her 25 minutes of action on the way to her season-high 13 points. That was her second-best shooting night of the season, trailing only the .800 (4 of 5) that she hit against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Nov. 11.
-- Olivia Mayer led the Falcons with seven rebounds.
-- Hailey Marlow pulled down four boards, pushing her past 100 for her career. She now has 103.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons get to play at home for the first time this season when they open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this coming Thursday against Alaska Fairbanks at 5:15 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion That will be the first game of a doubleheader, followed by the SPU men against the Nanooks at 7:30 p.m.


NCAA WOMEN"S BASKETBALL
Metro State Thanksgiving Classic
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023
Auraria Event Center / Denver, Colo.
 
Metro State 64, Seattle Pacific 62
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-5)
Leasure 0-2 2-2 2, Weatherspoon 2-7 1-2 5, Mayer 5-11 0-0 12, Ohta 3-7 0-0 8, Beirne 7-14 0-1 16, Berry 6-10 1-2 13, Marlow 1-6 2-4 4, Bishop 1-2 0-0 2, Carlisle 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 25-60 6-11 62.
 
METRO STATE (1-4)
Sealy 5-6 3-6 13, Byrnes 1-2 0-0 2, Espinsoa 6-13 3-3 17, Silva Pereira 2-5 5-7 10, Jones 2-5 3-4 8, Hernandez 2-4 0-0 4, Yow 3-8 3-3 10, Roffle 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 21-43 17-23 64.
 
Seattle Pacific     17           14           16           15           -- 62
Metro State          14           13           18           19           -- 64
 
3-point goals – SPU 6-21 (Leasure 0-1, Weatherspoon 0-2, Mayer 2-5, Ohta 2-4, Beirne 2-6, Marlow 0-3), Metro 5-12 (Espinosa 2-3, Silve Pereira 1-1, Jones 1-3, Yow 1-5).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – SPU 33 (Mayer 7), Metro 30 (Espinosa 8).  Assists – SPU 10 (Berry 3, Marlow 3), Metro 14 (Silva Pereira 5).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 10 (8), Metro 13 (10). Total fouls – SPU 20, Metro 14.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 136.
 
 
Next game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Nov. 30     5:15 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.