SEATTLE – Once the Seattle Pacific Falcons got going, they never stopped.
 
Mostly, that's because they kept getting stops.
 
Olivia Mayer pumped in 17 points, Grace Leasure added 14, and SPU came from 20-7 down at the end of the first quarter to beat Westminster University on Friday afternoon in their final non-conference women's basketball game of the season, 57-43.
 
Through the final 30 minutes of the game in Brougham Pavilion, the Falcons (5-7) outscored the Griffins from Salt Lake City, 50-23. Westminster (2-8) had just nine points in the second half until finally getting into double-digits with 2:12 left.
 
 

"I'm really proud of our defense for three quarters. To hold them to 23 points over three quarters is pretty darn good," head coach Mike Simonson said. "We showed that when we really buckle down on defense, we're a really good basketball team. We've just got to be able to do it for 40 minutes. That's something we preach about every day. That will come over time because we're young and still learning how to play a 40-minute game."
 
From late in the second quarter until midway through the third, the Falcons got 14 consecutive defensive stops, forcing eight missed shots and six turnovers.
 
"To get 14 stops in a row, nobody draws it up like that. We're just hoping to get seven runs of three stops in a row," Simonson said. "To get 14 in a row is really good. That's playing good defense, knowing the scout, and contesting every shot. If we didn't foul, they really struggled to get a quality shots against us."
 




Down 24-13 midway through the second quarter, Seattle Pacific went on a 6-0 run on a traditional three-point play by freshman guard Layne Kearns and a 3-pointer from the right of the lane by Mayer.
 
"Part of it was coming off the (holiday) break, we were trying to get all the rust off, and I thought we were very rusty in the first quarter," Simonson said. "We challenged them at the end of the quarter and said, 'Hey, we're in a game, we're in for a fight. How are we going to choose to respond?'
 
"Then we just got down, started playing good defense and started chipping away at the score"
 
By halftime, the Falcons had closed within four at 30-26. Then, they ran off the first seven points of the third quarter, getting within 30-28 on a lay-in by Schuyler Berry and going in front for the first time at 31-30 on a trey from the right corner by freshman guard Haylie-Anne Ohta. A put-back by Mayer made it 33-30.
 
Westminster climbed into one final tie at 33-33 on a 3-pointer by Teulia Nawahine. SPU then took charge on a 10-0 scoring run to finish the quarter, capped by Mayer's buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 43-33 advantage heading into the final quarter.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After hitting just 3 of 14 (21 percent) from the field during the first quarter when they had some good looks but without the points to show for it, the Falcons shot 19 of 42 (45 percent) the rest of the day, finishing at 22 of 56 (39.3 percent).
-- Westminster, on the other hand, hit a blistering 9 of 13 (69.2 percent) through the first 10 minutes (9 of 13), but was just 8 of 37 (21.6 percent) the rest of the way, finishing at 17 of 50 (34 percent). The Griffins hit just four field goals during the second half.
-- SPU had a season-high nine makes and a season-high percentage (40.9 on 9 of 22) from 3-point range. The previous highs were eight makes and a .348 percentage, both against Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 30.
 

-- Grace Leasure (3 of 4) and Olivia Mayer (4 of 6) hit a combined 70 percent behind the arc (7 of 10).
-- Of the 21 Westminster turnovers, 15 were Falcon steals. Mayer had four of those.
--The Falcons converted those turnovers into 22 points.
-- Mayer led the Falcons with seven rebounds.
-- Former SPU player Beth Pettingill (now Elizabeth Means) had six points and a game-high eight rebounds for Westminster.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific gets full on into its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule next week, visiting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 4, and Central Washington on Saturday the 6th. Tip-off in Nampa is at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time. The game in Ellensburg starts at 4:00 p.m. Both games are doubleheader openers, with the SPU men in the second half of both: 6:15 PST in both venues.

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, Dec. 29, 20234
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 57, Westminster 43
 
WESTMINSTER (2-8)
Harrigfeld 2-2 0-0 4, Means 2-10 2-4 6, Lichtie 5-10 0-0 10, Nawahine 3-9 1-2 8, Javillo 0-4 0-0 0, Monson 0-2 0-0 0, Robinson 4-11 3-4 11, Okada 1-1 0-0 2, Crofts 0-0 2-2 2, Reed 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 17-50 8-12 43.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-7)
Weatherspoon 3-11 0-0 6, Mayer 6-10 1-4 17, Berry 4-11 0-1 8, Ohta 1-4 1-2 4, Kearns 2-7 1-1 6, Leasure 5-7 1-2 14, Carlisle 03 0-0 0, Bishop 1-3 0-2 2.  Totals 22-56 4-12 57.
 
Westminster        20           10             3           10           -- 43
Seattle Pacific       7           19           17           14           -- 57
 
3-point goals – WU 1-10 (Means 0-1, Nawahine 1-4, Javillo 0-2, Monson 0-2, Reed 0-1), SPU 9-22 (Weatherspoon 0-1, Mayer 4-6, Ohta 1-4, Kearns 1-5, Leasure 3-4, Carlisle 0-2).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – WU 38 (Means 8), SPU 34 (Mayer 7).  Assists – WU 5 (Okada 2), SAPU 12 (Ohta 3, Kearns 3).  Turnovers (points allowed) – WU 21 (22), SPU 18 (11).  Total fouls – WU 13, SPU 13.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 101
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Thursday, Jan. 4     4:15 p.m. PST
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 

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