SEATTLE – As the weeks have gone on, the Seattle Pacific Falcons have steadily stepped up their level of play.
 
Now, they have something to show for it: Their first winning streak of the season.
 
Hunter Beirne scored 15 points and Schuyler Berry tallied all 12 of her points during a solid second half as SPU used a 15-0 third-quarter scoring run  on the way to 73-45 non-conference women's basketball victory against Pacific Lutheran.
 
Tuesday's victory in Brougham Pavilion came on the heels of Saturday's 81-65 win against Stanislaus State. But it took some time for the Falcons to find their groove.
 
"It feels good. We talked about just getting into what we know, getting into our offense, having some off-ball movement," said head coach Karen Byers, whose team improved to 4-9 and has won three of its last five after a 1-7 start.

"We to start to kind of relax and play like we were just in practice," she added. "We were just really tense and tight. We were looking to get some stops, they took a deep breath and just responded well."
 




Fifth-year point guard Beirne and senior center Berry both had solid overall stat lines. Beirne hit 7 of 12 from the floor, had seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. Berry pulled down five boards, dished four assists, and blocked two shots.
 
"I'm hoping this is a leaping-off point where Schuyler feels comfortable and gets more rebounds and has opportunities to have more games like this," Byers said.
 
The numbers on the stat sheet showed that SPU had its best defensive performance of the season. Pacific Lutheran's 45 points, 28.8 percent field goal shooting and 17 made shots were all season lows for a Falcons opponent.
 
Seattle Pacific scored the first five points of the game, never trailed and was never tied. But a somewhat sputtering first half with just 30 percent shooting from the field (12 of 40) left it up for grabs heading into the break, as the Falcons had a 30-21 lead.
 
 

It was still just a nine-point margin at 39-30 with 5:01 left in the third quarter. That's when SPU found some spark and put up 15 straight points during a stretch of four minutes: seven from Beirne, and two each from Layne Kearns, Grace Turley, Berry, and Haylie Ohta. At the other end, the Falcons forced PLU (2-5) into four missed shots and four turnovers.
 
Now up 54-30 inside the final minute of the third, Seattle Pacific never let the lead slip below 19 the rest of the way.
 
"Especially today when we came out sluggish and didn't guard really well, it was an opportunity for us to show that we've been here before," Byers said, "and can make a messy game turn into something that's going to go our way at the end."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After the 30 percent first-half shooting mark, SPU improved considerably to 47 percent (16 of 34) in the second half for a final mark of 37.8 (28 of 74).
-- The Falcons had just 13 turnovers and forced the Lutes into 25, which they converted into 26 points.
-- The last time Seattle Pacific kept an opponent under 50 points was last Feb. 10 in a 59-47 victory at Western Oregon.
-- The Falcons got their 73 points against a tough defensive team, as the Lutes came in allowing just 57.7 per game. The most anyone had scored against them this year was 64.
 

-- Redshirt freshman Julia Lavigne scored a career-high eight points, hitting 4 of 6 from the floor. She also collected five rebounds.
-- SPU had 13 steals, its second-highest total of the season (14 against Cal State San Marcos on Nov.15). Grace Leasure had three; Lolo Weatherspoon, Layne Kearns, and Emilia Bishop came up with two each.
-- For the second straight game, Leasure had a career high for rebounds, this time with seven. She had six in Saturday's win against Stanislaus State, topping her previous high of five.
-- On the roster for PLU is freshman guard Kate Wooten, whose older brother Coleman played for Seattle Pacific from 2015-19. On Tuesday, she scored seven points and had seven rebounds for the Lutes.
 
UP NEXT
 SPU wraps up non-conference play and the 2024 calendar year this weekend with a trip to Salt Lake City. Up first is host Westminster on Friday, followed by a rematch against Metro State on Saturday, also at Westminster. Both games tip off at noon Pacific time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 73, Pacific Lutheran 45
 
PACIFIC LUTHERAN (2-6)
Spahr 0-0 0-0 0, Javernick 4-9 0-0 11, Schmidtke 2-5 0-0 4, Reisner 1-5 0-0 2, Samura 3-8 0-0 6, Akamine 0-1 0-0 0, Tobin 0-1 1-2 1, Wood 1-1 0-0 3, Moles 0-2 0-0 0, Wada 0-7 1-2 1, Wooten 2-6 2-2 7, Griffin 1-4 0-0 3, Allen-George 0-1 0-0 0, Gallo-Paul 1-3 0-0 3, Wardenaar 0-1 0-0 0, Bright 2-5 0-0 4.  Totals 17-59 4-6 45
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-9)
Leasure 2-7 0-0 4, Weatherspoon 2-5 2-3 6, Berry 4-13 4-4 12, Beirne 7-12 0-0 15, Kearns 3-0 2-2 9, Turley 0-4 2-2 2, Bishop 3-7 0-1 6 Mertes 0-4 0-0 0, Ohta 2-3 2-2 8, Lavigne 4-6 0-2 8, Bergevin 0-1 0-0 0, Sharp 1-3 0-0 3.  Totals 28-74 12-16 73.
 
Pacific Lutheran                   7           14           12           12           -- 45
Seattle Pacific                     14           16           24           19           -- 73
 
3-point goals – PLU 7-21 (Javernick 3-4, Schmidtke 0-2, Reisner 0-2, Samura 0-3, Wood 1-1, Wada 0-2, Wooten 1-4, Griffin 1-1, Gallo-Paul 1-2), SPU 5-18 (Beirne 1-4, Kearns 1-3, Turley 0-3, Mertes 0-3, Ohta 2-3, Bergevin 0-1, Sharp 1-1)..  Fouled out – None.   Rebounds – PLU 46 (Wooten 7), SPU 44 (Leasure 7, Beirne 7).  Assists – PLU 11 (Wada 4). SPU 16 (Beirne 5).   Turnovers (points allowed) – PLU 25 (26), SPU 13 (11).  Total fouls – PLU 18, SPU 8.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 102.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Westminster
Friday, Dec. 20     Noon PST
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah