SEATTLE – For a few scintillating minutes, the Seattle Pacific Falcons had the momentum. They had clawed back from a 12-point deficit to take a one-point lead against Alaska Anchorage.
 
Then the Seawolves came up with an answer. And another one. And another one – 11 straight points' worth of answers.
 
Natalie Hoff scored 16 points on Thursday, but that double-digit scoring run by Anchorage bridging the third and fourth quarters was enough to snag the momentum back for good on the way to a 64-54 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory in Brougham Pavilion.
 

However, based on Thursday's results from around the conference, the Falcons finished the night assured of a spot in next week's GNAC Tournament at Western Washington in Bellingham. Regardless of how things go on Saturday in the season finale against Alaska Fairbanks at 2:00 p.m. in Brougham, they are guaranteed the No. 5 seed,
 
That will mean a rematch with Anchorage in the first round on March 2. The Seawolves are locked into the No. 4 seed.

Tip-off time will be either 5:15 or 7:30 p.m. That has not yet been determined by the conference.

 

"It's a huge accomplishment – I'd rather we had won tonight to get in, but at the end of the day, we've had a good season, a really good season, and our season isn't over for a reason" head coach Mike Simonson said. "We have a chance to continue going on. I know our best basketball is really good and that's what playing good basketball shows, that you're going to win some games and make it into the top six of the conference."
 
Anna Eddy added 13 points for Seattle Pacific, and Ashley Alter chipped in nine plus a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Alaska Anchorage (17-9, 9-8 GNAC), led from the opening moments after scoring the first four points of the game, then put another four in a row on the board after a putback by Hoff and a coast-to-coaster by Eddy tied it at 4-4.
 
The Seawolves extended the lead to as many as 12 points at 31-19 with 2:30 left before halftime. They took a 33-23 lead into the break.
 
It quickly went back up to 12 at 35-23 in the opening moments of the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Vishe' Rabb, who poured in a game-high 28 points, including a perfect 11 for 11 at the foul line.
 
That's when the Falcons began to chip away. They got it down to six, 39-33 when Eddy drilled a 3-pointer from the right of the lane, leading UAA to call a timeout.
 
Seattle Pacific eventually cut it to four at 41-37 when Schuyler Berry drained a pair of free throws. Then it was just three at 42-39 on a Hoff lay-in from an Alter assist. A pair of Hoff free throws brought the Falcons within one at 42-41 at the 2:50 mark of the quarter.
 
Finally with 1:53 to go in the third, Hunter Beirne found Eddy for a lay-in and a 43-42 SPU lead.
 
"We had a great third quarter. That's how you guard up against Alaska Anchorage," Simonson said. "Natalie had a great third quarter (six points, two rebounds, one assist). She was really efficient and we got her the ball inside. We made some tweaks on our game plan, and we executed well."
 
But the lead lasted just 22 seconds. Rabb put up five straight points on a traditional three-point play, then, on the next trip downcourt, hit two more free throws.
 
"Rabb was incredible. She was unstoppable," Simonson said. (She hit 7 of 14 for the game, 3 of 6 from long range, and had eight rebounds.) "You have to give her credit. To have a player score 28 on us, that usually does not happen. That's a heck of a job by her and by Anchorage, so kudos to them. They got the job done."
 
Anchorage took a 48-43 lead into the fourth, added another three-point play, this one by Jazzpher Evans after SPU turned over the ball on the opening possession, then capped the 11-0 burst on a driving scoop shot by Rabb.
 
By the time the Seawolves were through, they had made it an 18-4 run in a span of 10 minutes to make it a 13-point bulge at 60-47 with just 2:01 to play.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- One of the big reasons SPU was able to stay within striking distance was because it took care of the basketball, committing just 11 turnovers that netted just six points for Anchorage. When the teams played in Alaska on Dec. 3, the Falcons had 28 turnovers, leading to 28 Seawolves points. UAA forces an average of 21 turnovers per game. "However many years we've played against Anchorage, just 11 turnovers against them is very good," Mike Simonson said. "It's a shame we didn't win the game with that type of number against them.."
-- Natalie Hoff's seven rebounds put her at 592 for her career. They also factored an overall 33-32 edge on the boards, with nine of those at the offensive end that generated 11 second-chance points.
-- Although the foul count was almost dead even (SPU 21, UAA 20), the Seawolves had a huge advantage at the line, hitting 21 of 26. The Falcons were 8 of 12.
-- Seattle Pacific shot just 36.8 percent from the field (21 of 57), and only 22.2 percent (4 of 18) from downtown. Anchorage hit 41.3 percent (19 of 46) overall and 41.7 (5 of 12) behind the arc.
-- The Seawolves now have won nine straight games in the series.
 
UP NEXT
The regular season concludes on Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks at 2:00 p.m. Prior to tip-off, SPU will celebrate Senior Day in honor of Ashley Alter, Chiara De Virgilio, and Natalie Hoff.
 

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
 
Alaska Anchorage 64, Seattle Pacific 54
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (17-9, 9-8 GNAC)
Robertson 2-3 0-0 4, Pinckney 0-2 1-2 1, Evans 6-10 2-3 14, Rabb 7-14 11-11 28, Hajdukovich 1-6 4-4 6, Moore 0-4 2-2 2, Bey 0-1 0-0 0, Berfield 0-1 0-0 0, Ingram 2-4 1-2 7, Fernandez 0-0 0-2 0, Tovia 1-1 0-0 2.  Totals 19-46 21-26 64.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-12, 8-9 GNAC)
N. Hoff -15 2-3 16, M. Hoff -6 2-2 8, Beirne 0-5 0-0 0, Eddy 5-9 0-2 13, Alter 4-15 0-1 9, Weatherspoon 0-1 0-0 0, Marlow 2-6 0-0 4, Berry 0-0 4-4 4.  Totals 21-57 8-12 54.
 
Alaska Anchorage             19           14           15           16           -- 64       
Seattle Pacific                     10           13           20           11           -- 54
 
3-point goals – UAA 5-12 (Ravv 3-6, Hajdukovich 0-2, Berfield 0-1, Ingram 2-3), SPU 4-18 (N. Hoff 0-2, Beirne 0-1, Eddy 3-7, Alter 1-5, Marlow 0-3).  Fouled out – UAA: Robertson.  SPU: Marlow.  Rebounds – UAA 32 (Rabb 8), SPU 33 (Alter 8).  Assists – UAA 6 (Rabb 2), SPU 11 (Alter 3).  Turnovers – UAA 10, SPU 11.  Total fouls – UAA 20, SPU 21.  Technical fouls – XXX.  Attendance – 176.
 
 
Next game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.