SEATTLE – On a day when they needed contributions from everyone, that's exactly what the Seattle Pacific Falcons got.
 
Olivia Mayer recorded a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, Hunter Beirne added 14 points and five assists and Emilia Bishop had her second double-digit game on the boards, pulling down 10, as SPU rolled to a 64-44 non-conference women's basketball victory against George Fox in Brougham Pavilion.
 
With various minor aches and pains keeping some of their regulars on the sidelines, the Falcons (4-5) were down to just seven players. All seven scored and all seven grabbed at least one rebound.

"We had to rotate a lot of different lineups; we've got the minor injury bug going around," said head coach Mike Simonson, whose team (4-5) won its third in a row after a 1-5 start. "Realistically, today was a good day, We played good solid defense and held them to 44 points. In the second half, we had a good half of scoring, and we did some good things."
 
Seattle Pacific scored the first four points of the game, never trailed, and was never tied. It had a 10-point lead at 17-7 by the end of the first quarter and took a 25-12 lead into halftime. The margin was up to 19 entering the fourth quarter, but even then, nothing was coming easy.

 

"It felt like we never got into a rhythm, but credit to George Fox – they're very scrappy and they're a tough team," Simonson said. "I knew they were better than what their record showed. They're a solid, well-coached team, and they made some things really difficult. It was not an easy game at all. We had to work for every bucket and work for every stop."
 
 

Mayer, a junior 6-foot-1 forward in her first year with the Falcons after playing the past two seasons at Whitworth in Spokane, logged her third double-double of the season. She had 20 last year with the Pirates and five during her freshman season. On Saturday, she also had two steals and one blocked shot.
 
Redshirt junior point guard Beirne kept up her hot shooting, draining 7 of 13, all from mid-range or underneath. In her past four games, Beirne is hitting at a 55.1 percent clip (27 of 49).

 
 

Sophomore post player Bishop has had double-figure rebounding performances in two of the past three games. She grabbed a career-high 11 in last Thursday's 70-43 victory against Alaska Fairbanks. Her eight points on Saturday was a career high.
 
Junior center Schuyler Berry chipped in 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, and collected seven rebounds. Berry, who ranks No. 9 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference field goal shooting raised her season percentage to 52.5 percent (31 of 59).
 
The Falcons had a dominant 46-29 rebounding advantage, with 14 of those at the offensive end which they converted into 17 second-chance points.
 
"When you look at the rebounding and go all the way down (the scoresheet), you see Olivia had a double-double with four offensive rebounds. Emi (Bishop) had five offensive rebounds – she's just monster on the boards when she wants to be. She did a great job coming in. Layne (Kearns) had six rebounds, Jalena (Carlisle) had six rebounds, Schuyler had seven – that's a lot of rebounding."
 
SPU limited the Bruins to just one offensive rebound.
 
"You have to be very intentional to box out to make sure that's the case, and we did a good job of that today," Simonson said.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Freshman guard Layne Kearns set a career high with nine points and tied her career high with six rebounds.
-- Four the fourth game in a row, the Falcons shot in the 40 percent range from the floor. On Saturday, it was exactly 40 (26 of 65).
-- At the other end, Seattle Pacific's defense limited George Fox to 34 percent (16 of 47).
-- The Falcons did a better job of taking care of the ball during the second half. After 11 turnovers through the first 20 minutes, they had just four more the rest of the way
-- The 44 points allowed was the second-lowest of the season. Alaska Fairbanks got just 43.
-- Schuyler Berry's seven rebounds pushed her past 200 for her career. She now has 201.
-- The rebounding totals for Layne Kearns (nine) and Jalena Carlisle (six) were career highs.
-- This was the first time that Mike Simonson coached against George Fox since his inaugural game in charge of the Falcons back on Nov. 3, 2018. The Bruins pulled out a 75-74 victory in that one
--Erin Yoshitake led the Bruns with 13 points on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
Before they head into the holiday break, the Falcons head onto the road, taking a trip to Northern California next week Up first is a stop at Stanislaus State on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 5:30 p.m. Those two teams played last Dec. 17 in Brougham Pavilion, and the Warriors wiped out an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to win on a buzzer-beater, 63-62. On Saturday, SPU visits Fresno Pacific at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 64, George Fox 44
 
GEORGE FOX (1-5)
Hinds 0-3 0-0 , Yoshitake 5-12 1-2 13, Roberts 3-10 4-4 10, Lacey 1-3 0-0 2, Bartels 3-7 2-3 8, Wells 3-7 0-0 8, Eggers 0-2 0-0 0, Skoro 0-2 1-2 1, Boehm 1-1 0-0 2.  Totals 16-47 8-11 44.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-5)
Mayer 6-17 2-5 14, Berry 5-9 1-1 11, Ohta 2-6 0-0 5, Beirne 7-13 0-1 14, Carlisle 1-6 1-4 3, Bishop 3-5 2-2 8, Kearns 2-9 4-6 9.  Totals 26-65 10-19 64.
 
George Fox            7           5              14           18           -- 44
Seattle Pacific     17           8              20           19           -- 64
 
3-point goals – GFU 4-14 (Hinds 0-1, Yoshitake 12-4, Roberts 0-2, Lacey 0-1, Wells 2-4, Skoro 0-2), SPU 2-15 (Mayer 0-2, Ohta 1-4, Beirne 0-2, Carlisle 0-2, Kearns 1-5).  Fouled out – GFU: Lacey.  Rebounds – GFU 29 (Hinds 7), SPU 46 (Mayer 11, Bishop 10).  Assists – GFU 5 (Roberts 2, Eggers 2), SPU 7 (Beirne 5).  Turnovers (points allowed) – GFU 21 (15), SPU 15 (10).  Total fouls – GFU 24, SPU 14.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 101.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Stanislaus State
Thursday, Dec. 14     5:30 p.m.
Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena / Turlock, Calif.