SALT LAKE CITY – If they were looking for some confidence and momentum heading into the holiday break – and they most certainly were looking for it – the Seattle Pacific Falcons got it in bunches on Saturday.
 
Lolo Weatherspoon broke loose for 22 points, and SPU broke the 90-point barrier for the first time in almost seven years by rolling past Metro State in the non-conference women's basketball finale, 92-74.
 
The Falcons (6-9) thus turned the tables on the Roadrunners (2-10).On Nov. 29 in Seattle, the first day of the SPU Thanksgiving Tournament,  Ashlyn Yow nailed a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give Metro State a 57-56 victory.
 
This time, senior wing Weatherspoon was one of six players in double figures for the Falcons, who won their fourth straight game and now have taken five of their last seven.
 
They got this one by shooting 51.5 percent from the field (34 of 66), and hit 50 percent or better in three of the four quarters.
 
"After watching them a few times and playing them before, we were just looking to break off our usual plays, looking for splits and moving the ball," said Weatherspoon, who hit 9 of 15 from the field (2 of 5 from long range), grabbed three rebounds, dished three assists, and came up with three steals. "I think the whole team did a great job of finding shooters and taking shots that were open. We played great team basketball today."
 
 

Sophomore guard Layne Kearns tacked on 13 points, sophomore guard Haylie Ohta tallied a career-high 12; senior center Schuyler Berry, redshirt freshman guard Grace Turley and junior forward Madison Rubino each had 11. Turley's total was a career high and came in her first college start.
 
The last time Seattle Pacific scored in the 90s was Jan. 23, 2018 in a 94-76 victory against Saint Martin's in Brougham Pavilion.
 
SPU, which did not have a road win heading into the weekend, left Behnken Field House on the Westminster University campus with two of them in a span of 24 hours. The Falcons beat the host Griffins on Friday, 75-65.
 
Trailing Metro State by an 11-9 margin in the first quarter, Seattle Pacific went on a 21-6 scoring run bridging the latter part of the first and early part of the second quarters to take a 30-17 lead.
 
Before the half was over, the margin grew to as large as 21 points at 49-28. It didn't get closer than 12 during the second half, and that was with less than four minutes to play as the Falcons never let Metro State get enough momentum to make a serious climb back into the game.
 
 

"We were feeling good, but we knew we were still on a business trip, so it wasn't time to celebrate yet," head coach Karen Byers said. "We were going to play our game and share the wealth. I looked, and almost everyone had scored, so that was great."
 
At the other end of the court, Seattle Pacific put the defensive brakes on Metro State guard Mikylah Espinosa. She came into the weekend averaging a team-high 13.8 points and poured in 26 in  78-72 loss to Northwest Nazarene on Friday. The Falcons limited her to six on 3-of-11 shooting (0 of 4 downtown). Espinosa had 12 in last month's SPU game.
 
"She surprised us in the first game and then she put 26 up on NNU on Friday. We were not going to let that happen to us," Byers said. "That was a goal of ours was to shut her down and not let her get hot, because if she got hot, she would just rain it on us."
 
This was the first time since 2021 that the Falcons had won their last game prior to the down time.
 
"It's definitely huge momentum, especially going into break, just being able to stack on our wins," Weatherspoon said. "It's not only a momentum builder, it's a confidence builder for the whole team. Just knowing how we can play and how good we can be is huge for us."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After never scoring more than 76 points in any game last season (and scoring in the 70s just three times), SPU now has five games in the 70s, one in the 80s, and now one in the 90s this season.
-- For the second day in a row, SPU had its second-best shooting day of the season. The top mark is .525 against Cal State San Marcos on Nov. 15. On Friday, the Falcons shot .478, then topped that with Saturday's .515.
-- Metro State also had a solid shooting day, hitting 50 percent, hitting 32 of 64.
-- Lolo Weatherspoon's 22-point output was her second game of 20-plus this season. She had 24 at Simon Fraser on Dec. 5. She now has three 20-pointers for her career.
-- Haylie Ohta's 12 points beat her previous high of 10, set at Western Washington last Jan. 25. On Saturday, she hit 4 of 7, with 2 of 4 downtown.
-- Grace Turley's first college double-digit scoring game eclipsed her previous career high of 9 at Western Washington on Dec. 7.
-- For the third time this season, SPU totaled 20 assists. Hunter Beirne logged seven, her fourth game this year that many.
-- The Falcons found their way to the free throw line, hitting 15 of 23. The Roadrunners were 5 of 7.
 
UP NEXT
Following the break, Seattle Pacific gets fully into its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule. Up first is a trip to current No. 3-ranked Montana State Billings on Saturday, Jan. 4. Tipoff in Alterowitz Gymnasium is at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah
 
Seattle Pacific 92, Metro State 74
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-9)
Weatherspoon 9-15 2-4 22, Berry 4-7 3-4 11, Turley 3-5 3-4 11, Beirne 3-12 2-2 8, Kearns 5-11 1-1 13, Rubino 4-4 2-6 11, Bishop 2-3 0-0 4, Ohta 4-7 2-2 12, Mertes 0-2 0-0 0.  Totals 34-66 15-23 92.
 
METRO STATE (2-10)
Pippett 3-3 2-2 8, Espinosa 3-11 0-0 6, Silva Pereira 3-5 0-0 7, Millard 4-8 0-0 8, Yow 6-12 1-1 4, Sealy 2-5 0-0 4, Byrnes 1-2 0-0 2, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Rollo 2-2 0-0 4, Roffle 5-9 2-4 12, Jones 3-6 0-0 9.  Totals 32-64 5-7 74.
 
Seattle Pacific     23           26           20           23           -- 92
Metro State          15           19           17           23           -- 74
 
3-point goals – SPU 9-23 (Weatherspoon 2-5, Turley 2-3, Beirne 0-3, Kearns 2-5, Rubino 1-1, Ohta 2-4, Mertes 0-2), Metro 5-17 (Espinosa 0-4, Silva Pereira 1-1, Millard 0-1, Yow 1-3, Young 0-1, Roffle 0-2, Jones 3-5).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – SPU 35 (Berry 7), Metro 33 (4 players with 4).  Assists – SPU 20 (Beirne 7), Metro 22 (Yow 7).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 10 (11), Metro 14 (23).  Total fouls – SPU 10, Metro 16.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 23.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
Saturday, Jan. 4     1:00 p.m. PST
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 


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