BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Finally on 10th try …
 
… they did it.

How sweet it was.
 
And how timely, too.
 
Natalie Hoff scored a career-high 21 points, and Seattle Pacific finished the game on a 12-2 scoring run, coming from 63-57 down to beat Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament on Thursday night, 69-65.

The victory sends fifth-seeded SPU (15-12) into the semifinals on Friday night at 7:30 against No. 1-seeded and host Western Washington in Carver Gymnasium.

It also snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Seawolves. The last time the Falcons beat Anchorage was in the 2018 GNAC Tournament, 74-65 in the semifinals at Anchorage.
 
Hoff and fellow fifth-year Falcon Ashley Alter hadn't yet arrived at SPU. Head coach Mike Simonson was here for that one, but was the lead assistant on Julie Heisey's staff
 
In the nine games and five years since that long-ago victory, the Seawolves had prevailed every time.
 
Until Thursday.
 
"It's a great feeling to beat them when it really matters," Alter said. "Losing them in one of our last games of the season (64-54 last Thursday in Seattle) and seeing them again (tonight) was just such a good opportunity to finish this off and just get a win and propel us into the next round."
 
Added Simonson, "It was like a rollercoaster – it felt like it was Six Flags. That was the type of game that shows how much parity is in the GNAC this  year. There were moments when we played our best basketball, and there were moments when Anchorage played their best basketball. That was a heavyweight slugfest, so we're happy to come out with the victory."
 




DOWN, BUT NEVER OUT OF IT
With six minutes left in Thursday game, it appeared as if Anchorage might be on its way to another one. Down 55-48 to start the fourth quarter, Seattle Pacific put seven straight points on the board: a lay-in by Maya Hoff, a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Anna Eddy off an assist by Hunter Beirne, and another lay-in by Maya Hoff. Just like that, it was 55-55 with 8:25 still to play.
 
The Seawolves answered with an 8-2 surge to go up 63-57 at the 6:18 mark.
 
 

But for the next 4 minutes, 45 seconds, the SPU defense kept Anchorage scoreless, and the offense came up with nine consecutive points – and seemingly everyone got into the act.
 
A deep 3 by Hailey Marlow cut it to 63-60. A pair of free throws by Natalie Hoff – the first one giving her 20 points to tie her career high, the second one setting a new one at 21 – brought the Falcons within 63-62 at 3:31 to go. Then, with the clock now below three minutes, a Maya Hoff jumper missed, but Alter hustled for the rebound on the right side of the lane and secured it. That led to a go-ahead 3-footer straight in front of the hoop by Beirne, making it 64-63.
 
Beirne then found Anna Eddy for a lay-in and a 66-63 lead at 1:46. Alaska Anchorage cut it to 66-65 with 1:33 to go on a foul line jumper by Jahnna Hajdukovich. Neither team scored on their next possessions, leaving the ball in the Falcons' hands with time ticking away. Maya Hoff found Alter for a lay-in and a 68-65 advantage at 32.7 seconds.
 
That still left it a one-possession game, which Hajdukovich tried to equalize with a 3-pointer from way out on the right side. But Eddy jumped, reached up, and got her fingers on the ball, then secured it on the way down. She brought it into front court and eventually was fouled with 3.6 seconds to go. She missed the first, but hit the second to make it a two-possession game at 69-65.
 
The Seawolves got two more tries, but Maya Hoff blocked the first, and time finally ran out on the second.
 
In their two regular-season meetings, SPU had one solid quarter at Anchorage (the first) and one in Seattle (the third). But on Thursday, it was very close to a full 40-minute performance.
 
"We've been working on putting together a full game against them of our best basketball," Hoff said. "I think we did very close to that."

BY THE NUMBERS
-- Seattle Pacific had by far its best shooting night of the season, finishing at 60.5 percent (26 of 43). That included 66.7 percent in the first quarter (8 of 12), and again in the second (6 of 9), 50 percent in the third (5 of 10), and 58.3 in the fourth (7 of 12).
--Its previous best game this year was 50 percent (25 of 50) against Montana State Billings on Feb. 11.
-- Alaska Anchorage wound up at 36.6 percent (21 of 58), but stayed in the game by making 55 percent from 3-point range (11 of 20).
--SPU built a quick 9-0 lead, and were up 27-20 early in the second quarter. That's when Anchorage put together a 15-2 surge to go up 35-29, and took a 35-34 lead into halftime.
-- After turning the ball over 13 times during the first half (eight in the second quarter alone), leading to 14 Seawolves points, the Falcons had just five second-half turnovers, which UAA converted into just three points.
 

-- Natalie wasn't the only Hoff with a career high on Thursday. Sophomore sister Maya dished six assists, double her previous best. She had three in three different games, most recently at Holy Names on Dec. 14. She also tied her career high with three blocks.
-- Natalie Hoff's three rebounds put her one away from 600 for her career.
-- Vishe Rabb led UAA with 16 points and six rebounds, but was helped off the court with 2:13 to go with an injury.




NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC Tournament
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 69, Alaska Anchorage 65
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (15-12)
N. Hoff 7-11 6-6 21, M. Hoff 5-8 1-2 11, Beirne 2-4 1-2 6, Eddy 4-6 1-2 11, Alter 4-7 0-0 8, Weatherspoon 0-0 0-0 0, Marlow 2-2 0-0 6, Berry 2-3 2-2 6.  Totals 26-43 11-14 69.
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (18-10)
Robertson 2-3 2-4 6, Pinckney 2-6 2-3 7, Evans 2-6 2-2 7, Rabb 4-13 6-6 16, Hajdukovich 3-6 0-0 8, Berfield 1-5 0-0 3, Moore 2-5 0-0 4, Bey 0-2 0-0 0, Ingram 4-9 0-0 12, Fernandez 1-2 0-0 2.  Totals 21-59 12-15 65
 
Seattle Pacific                     20           14           14           21           -- 69
Alaska Anchorage                16           19           20           10          -- 66
 
3-point goals – SPU 6-13 (N. Hoff 1-2, M. Hoff 0-1, Beirne 1-2, Eddy 2-5, Alter 0-1, Marlow 2-2), UAA 11-20 (Pinckney 1-1, Evans 1-1, Rabb 2-5, Hajdukovich 2-4, Berfield 1-3, Bey 0-1, Ingram 4-5).  Fouled out – None.   Rebounds – SPU SPU 29 (Alter 8), UAA 27 (Rabb 6).  Assists – SPU 21 (M. Hoff 6, Beirne 6), UAA 12 (Pinckney 3, Moore 3).   Turnovers – SPU 18, UAA 13.  Total fouls – SPU 12, UAA 19.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 147.
 
Next game
GNAC semifinals
Seattle Pacific vs. Western Washington
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.