SALT LAKE CITY – The Seattle Pacific Falcons kept coming up with answers.
 
By the end of the day, they also had come up with their first women's basketball road win of the season.
 
Layne Kearns pumped in 16 points, one of three players in double figures, and SPU took the lead late in the first quarter then stayed ahead the rest of the afternoon on the way to a 75-65 non-conference victory against Westminster.
 
Fifth-year point guard Hunter Beirne added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and senior center Schuyler Berry chipped in 12 points for the Falcons (5-9), who won their third straight game, finally logging a 'W' away from home, this one in Westminster's Behnken Field House.
 
 

"It's good to have that done --  now we can do it again," said coach Karen Byers, whose team has won four of its last six after a 1-7 start. "I don't know if it was the (one-hour) time difference or playing early (tip-off was at 1:00 p.m. Salt Lake time), but it just felt different today. So we were trying all kind of different things. … We just tried to get creative with it;"
 
Down by five at 12-7 midway through the first quarter, Seattle Pacific closed that period on an 11-2 scoring run to take an 18-14 lead.
 
By the midpoint of the second quarter, the Falcons had their first double-digit advantage, up 29-18. Westminster (2-9) rang up six in a row to get within five at 29-24 and a chance to narrow it before SPU took a 33-26 lead into the break.
 
It was still seven at 37-30 early in the third. The Falcons then put 11 of the next 13 points on the board, shared among four players, stretching their advantage to 16 at 48-32. The Griffins responded with their own 12-3 run, quickly getting back within seven at 51-44.
 
A 10-2 SPU scoring surge early in the fourth restored it to a double-digit difference, and the Falcons remained comfortably in front.
 
"We just decided at halftime as a group that we're not losing," Byers said. "If they go on a run, it doesn't matter – we're going to stick it out. Coming out of halftime, Lolo (Weatherspoon) really increased the intensity in her play, and (our players) were asking to guard different defenders because they wanted to play really physical. I really love how they just rose to the occasion."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- The 75 points was Seattle Pacific's second-highest total of the season, topped only by the 81 against Cal State Stanislaus last Saturday.
-- Layne Kearns' 16 points included the 300th of her career. She now has 314.
--At 47.8 percent (32 of 67), SPU had its second-best shooting day of the season. The only one better was 52.5 percent (31 of 59) in a 72-48 win against Cal State San Marcos on Nov. 15.
-- The Falcons had five players at 50 percent or better: Grace Leasure (.750 on 3 of 4), Schuyler Berry (.667 on 6 of 9), Kearns (.583 on 7 of 12), Hunter Beirne (.545 on 6 of 11), and Grace Mertes (.500 on 1 of 2).
--Seattle Pacific dominated the boards, 42-31. That included a 12-5 advantage at the offensive end.
--SPU had 17 assists, its second-highest total of the season behind back-to-back 20s against Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific. Along with Beirne's four, Lolo Weatherspoon also had four.
-- The Falcons are now 3-0 all-time against Westminster.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to Westminster for a rematch against Metro State of Denver on Saturday at noon Pacific time. That will wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule. SPU is hoping to even the score as the Roadrunners escaped from Brougham Pavilion with a 57-56 win on Nov. 29 after nailing a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2.2 seconds left.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah
 
Seattle Pacific 75, Westminster 65
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-9)
Leasure 3-4 0-0 6, Weatherspoon 4-9 0-0 8, Berry 6-9 0-0 12, Beirne 6-11 2-4 15, Kearns 7-12 2-2 16, Turley 1-6 1-2 3, Ohta 0-2 2-2 2, Rubino 2-5 1-2 5, Bishop 2-7 1-2 5, Lavigne 0-0 0-0 0, Mertes 1-2 0-0 3, Bergevin 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 32-67 9-14  75.
 
WESTMINSTER (2-9)
Harrigfeld 4-12 2-4 11, Nawahine 2-5 2-2 6, Conlee 3-8 2-2 8, Rhay 2-11 0-0 6, Ellis 0-1 0-0 0, Javillo 1-6 0-0 2, Okada 2-3 0-0 4, Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Aberle 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson 8-9 3-5 19, Tausinga 3-5 1-1 9.  Totals 25-61 10-14 65.
 
Seattle Pacific     18           15           20           22           -- 75
Westminster        14           12           18           21           -- 65
 
3-point goals – SPU 2-12 (Beirne 1-3, Kearns 2-4, Turley 0-2, Ohta 0-1, Mertes 1-2), WU 5-21 (Harrigfeld 1-4, Nawahine 0-1, Conlee 0-2, Rhay 2-6, Javillo 0-5, Tausinga 2-3).  Fouled out – WU: Nawahine.  Rebounds – SPU 42 (Beirne 6, Kearns 6), WU 31 (Harrigfeld 14).  Assists – SPU 17 (Weatherspoon 4, Beirne 4), WU 15 (Rhay 6).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 14 (13), WU 16 (13).  Total fouls – SPU 14, WU 17.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 44.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific vs. Metro State-Denver
Saturday, Noon PST
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah



SPU SOCIAL 

• Twitter - @SPUSports & @SPUWBB
• Instagram - @SPUSports & @SPUWBB
• Facebook - /SPUSports

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