SEATTLE – They kept Montana State Billings' high-scoring offense in check.
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons just weren't able to get their own offense untracked.
 
Olivia Mayer scored 13 points, but was the only SPU player in double figures, and No. 12-ranked MSUB finished the third quarter on a 10-2 run to open up a commanding lead on the way to a 63-38 women's basketball victory on Saturday afternoon in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference-leading Yellowjackets (16-3, 7-0 GNAC) came in averaging 74.1 points per game (82.2) in GNAC games) and shooting .447 from the field. The Falcons (6-11, 3-4 GNAC) kept them way below those numbers (63 points on .316 shooting) and under 60 points until inside the final minute of the game.
 
But at the other end of the court, Seattle Pacific shot just .271 and was kept to fewer than 40 points for the first time this winter.
 
 

"They're a very good defensive team. They value defense just like we do," head coach Mike Simonson said. "I really respect Billings because of that. They didn't do anything we haven't seen before, but they do a good job of executing some of those things."
 
The Falcons went up 12-10 early in the second quarter on a turnaround 12-footer by Lolo Weatherspoon. Billings than ran off the next nine points as SPU went through a 5 ½-minute scoring drought. Still, the game was well within reach at halftime as the Yellowjackets took a 25-17 lead into the locker room.
 
The margin grew to 12 points a 36-24 just beyond the midpoint of the third quarter. That's when Seattle Pacific put together a six-point surge to climb back into it: a pair of free throws by Mayer, a putback by Emilia Bishop, and a lay-in by Mayer off an assist from Hailey Marlow. Just like that, it was 36-30.

"I thought we battled really hard and I thought we played good defense," Simonson said. "We got it down to six, and I thought that was going to be our moment. But then we finished the third quarter a little soft, and so that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back.
 
"When your margin for error isn't very big and you're fighting to hard to stay in it and fighting so hard to get good looks, and then when you don't make those good looks, that makes it tight," he added.
 
Montana State Billings quickly pushed it back out to 10, and then to 12 at 44-32. The Falcons got a stop and still had a few seconds to get back downcourt. But Dyauni Boyce swiped an outlet pass and had just enough time to launch a jumper from the foul line that snuggled in as the buzzer was sounding to give the Jackets their biggest lead,46-32, entering the final 10 minutes.
 
"That gave them a lot of momentum going into the fourth, in a game that didn't have a lot of momentum swings," Simonson said. "When there was one, it felt like a huge momentum swing, even though it was just one bucket. It felt huge because both teams were doing a really good job of controlling the momentum."
 
The Yellowjackets effectively put it away when their first four makes of the fourth quarter were all from 3-point range, helping them push the margin into the 20s.The second of those treys, by Aspen Giese, sparked a 10-0 scoring run.
 
"There were times when they hit  tough ones and a couple times when we had a couple defensive miscues down the stretch," Simonson said. "Good teams make you pay when you have a miscue. That's what we have to do is make teams pay when they have a miscue."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The game featured two of the leading newcomers in the GNAC. Along with her 13 points, SPU's Olivia Mayer also had six rebounds and one blocked shot. Billings senior Kola Bad Bear also had 13 points, plus four rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
-- The Falcons hit 16 of 59 from the floor for 27.1 percent. The Yellowjackets hit 18 of 57 for 31.6 percent.
-- MSUB had a sizable advantage at the foul line, draining 18 of 22. SPU went just six times, hitting two.
-- The other big difference was on second-chance points. Billings had 16 off 13 offensive rebounds. Seattle Pacific had just four off nine offensive boards.

UP NEXT
The Falcons wrap up the first half of GNAC play with a two-game road trip. First stop is Bellingham next Thursday to take on current No. 21-ranked Western Washington at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday. SPU heads to Burnaby, British Columbia for a contest at Simon Fraser, also tipping off at 7:00 p.m.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
 
(No. 12) Montana State Billings 63, Seattle Pacific 38
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (16-3, 7-0 GNAC)
Bad Bear 5-7 0-0 13, Boyce 2-7 3-4 8, Giese 2-11 0-0 6, Montague 3-9 5-6 13, Nelson 2-6 3-4 7, Baumann 1-2 0-0 3, Williams 0-3 1-2 1, Zahn 1-5 2-2 4, Grossman 0-0 4-4 4, Andreas 1-5 0-0 2, Burkhart 1-2 0-0 2  Totals 18-57 18-22 63.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-11, 3-4 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 2-5 0-0 5, Mayer 5-14 2-3 13, Berry 2-10 0-1 4, Beirne 3-9 0-0 7, Kearns 0-3 0-0 0, Leasure 1-7 0-2 2, Marlow 1-5 0-03, Bishop 1-2 0-0 2, Ohta 1-2 0-0 3, Carlisle 0-2 0-0 0.  Totals 16-59 2-8 38.
 
Montana State Billings        10           15           21           17           -- 63
Seattle Pacific                       10             7           15             6           -- 38
 
3-point goals – MSUB 9-31 (Bad Bear 3-5, Boyce 1-4, Giese 2-8, Montague 2-6, Nelson 0-1, Baumann 1-1, Williams 0-1, Zahn 0-2, Andreas 0-3), SPU 4-19 (Weatherspoon 0-1, Mayer 1-5, Beirne 1-6, Leasure 0-2, Marlow 1-4, Ohta 1-1).  Fouled out --  None.  Rebounds – MSUB 49 (Boyce 11), SPU 38 (Mayer 6).  Assists – MSUB 15 (Boyce 5), SPU 6 (Beirne 4).  Turnovers (points allowed) – MSUB 13 (7), SPU 14 (11).  Total fouls – MSUB 12, SPU 22.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 146.
 
 
NEXT GAME
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Thursday, Jan. 25     7:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.


SPU SOCIAL 

• Twitter - @SPUSports & @SpuWbb
• Instagram - @SPUSports & @SPU_Basketball
• Facebook - /SPUSports

Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons