BURNABY, B.C. – Pick a spot on the court. Didn't matter where.
 
Pick a shot at the hoop. Didn't matter what kind.
 
Ashley Alter was finding her spots …
 
… and hitting her shots.
 
Alter poured in 26 points and Natalie Hoff came up big in the fourth quarter with nine of her 16 points, as Seattle Pacific pulled away from Simon Fraser and pulled out a much-needed Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball on Thursday night, 59-48, in West Gym.
 
Draining 12 of 19 from the field and scoring 20 of SPU's first 21 points of the night, Alter is now just one basket away from reaching 1,000 points for her career. She'll head into Saturday night's game at No. 8 Western Washington with 998.
 
 

"Ashley is a heck of a scorer. But the best thing that I loved is she was kind of getting them through our offense, making really good reads and just being aggressive," head coach Mike Simonson said. "We needed every point that she gave us in the first half because a lot of our other players were just kind of slow to get going, and she was hot from the start."
 
When she wasn't scoring, the fifth-year guard / forward was rebounding, pulling down 11. That was her third double-double of the season and the sixth of her career.
 
Fifth-year forward Hoff was 5 of 6 from the free throw line during the decisive fourth quarter. The first two of those gave Seattle Pacific (13-10, 8-7 GNAC) what was at that moment its biggest lead of the night, 48-37, with 5:49 left.
 
 

Then, with Simon Fraser (9-11, 7-9 GNAC) still within reach. Hoff drained back-to-back baskets – a lay-in off a feed from Hunter Beirne, and a step-around scoop shot – for a 56-40 advantage with just 3:26 on the clock.
 
The victory kept the Falcons in sole possession of fourth place in the standings with three games left. They still need to clinch a spot in the conference tournament, but are now a step closer to doing so after coming off back-to-back homecourt losses.
 
"It was probably the biggest win we have had (this season), and one of our biggest program wins," Simonson said. "We had not won at Simon Fraser since I've been head coach (the last W in Burnaby was 74-63 on Jan. 13, 2018), so it was a big one."
 
POINTS, COUNTER POINTS
Alter scored the first nine points of the game for the Falcons. But the Red Leafs kept answering, and had a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. She finished the quarter with 14 on baskets ranging from driving lay-ins to a pair of 3-pointers.
 
It continued in the second quarter, as Alter put another six on the board. But the back-and-forth continued, with two ties and seven lead changes.
 
 

For everything that Alter was doing, it was a turnaround scoop shot by sophomore center Schuyler Berry that put SPU in front for good, 25-24 with 50 seconds left before halftime. The Falcons took a 27-26 edge into the locker room.
 
Up just 29-28 early in the third, Seattle Pacific put up six straight points, all from the Hoff sisters: the first five by Natalie, and the sixth by Maya.
 
Simon Fraser never got closer than four the rest of the night, the last time at 39-35 with 25 seconds left in the third. From there, the Falcons went on a 13-2 run. Alter started it with a lay-in to close out the third quarter, then capped with a coast-to-coaster midway through the fourth to make it 52-37 at 4:45 to go.
 
"We wanted to attack some of the mismatches they were giving us, and we did a really good job taking care of the ball and find them," Simonson said of that decisive stretch.
 
Seattle Pacific limited GNAC leading scorer Jessica Wisotzki to 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting. (She came in averaging 21.5.) Simon Fraser's point total was its lowest of the year, the second time that has happened against the Falcons. (The first time was in a 64-53 loss in Brougham Pavilion on Jan. 21).
 
"I'm so impressed with our defense. Simon Fraser is, I think, maybe the hardest team to guard in our conference. To hold them to 48 on their home court shows we were playing really good defense," Simonson said. "Then the leading scorer in our conference, to hold her to 14, that's kudos to Hailey Marlow and Ashley. They were guarding her all night, and they really guarded her well."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU shot just 36 percent for the game, 21 of 58. While Alter was 12 of 19, baskets were hard to come by for most everyone else (9 of 39).
-- But the defense limited Simon Fraser to just 23 percent (14 of 61). At the second quarter media timeout, the Leafs were 0 for 10 in the period; at the third quarter media, they were 0 for 6.
-- SPU had a solid rebounding effort in the second half with a 25-14 advantage. The Red Leafs had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, but just four in the second.
-- The Falcons continued their recent trend of taking care of the ball, finishing with just 12 turnovers. They've now had fewer than 15 in eight straight games.
-- Ashley Alter's double-double was her second straight against Simon. She had 15 points and 12 rebounds last month at home.
-- SPU has two season series sweeps. The other one was against Saint Martin's.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons tip off against Western Washington on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. inside Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham. In a battle of nationally ranked teams on Thursday, the No. 8 Vikings fell to No. 20 Montana State Billings on a 3-point buzzer beater, 66-64.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
Seattle Pacific 59, Simon Fraser 48
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-10, 8-7 GNAC)
N. Hoff 4-11 8-9 16, M. Hoff 0-3 5-6 5, Beirne 0-5 0-0 0, Eddy 0-7 1-2 1, Alter 12-19 0-0 26, Weatherspoon 1-3 0-2 2, Marlow 1-3 0-0 2, Berry 3-7 1-2 7.  Totals 21-58 15-21 59.
 
SIMON FRASER (9-11, 7-9 GNAC)
Cutler 1-7 5-8 7, Gardner 1-4 0-0 2, S. Wisotzki 1-9 2-2 4, Kramer 1-4 0-0 3, J. Wisotzki 5-18 4-4 3-4 14, Killins 4-12 2-2 11, Klassen 0-0 2-2 2, Swant 1-7 3-3 5, Dulai 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 14-61 17-21 48.
 
Seattle Pacific     15           12           14           18           -- 59
Simon Fraser       16           10             9           13           -- 48
 
3-point goals – SPU 2-12 (Beirne 0-1, Eddy 0-4, Alter 2-5, Marlow 0-2), Simon 3-21 (S. Wisitzki 0-1, Kramer 1-3, J. Wisotzki 1-8, Killins 1-6, Swant 0-3). Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – SPU 44 (Alter 11), Simon 41 (Cutler 15). Assists – SPU 8 (Hoff 3, Berry 3), Simon 3 (3 players with 1). Turnovers – SPU 12, Simon 14.  Total fouls – SPU 17, Simon 16.  Technical fouls – Simon: Coach Langford.  Attendance – 270.
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at No. 8 Western Washington
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.