BELLINGHAM, Wash. – First it was the free throw line. Then  it was the 3-point line.
 
From either place on the court, the Seattle Pacific Falcons had a tough time shutting down Western Washington.
 
The Vikings hit 16 of their 17 foul shots during the first half, then had seven makes from downtown during the third quarter on Saturday night and went on to an 83-68 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against SPU inside Carver Gymnasium.
 
Lolo Weatherspoon, back in the starting lineup after a 24-point performance at Simon Fraser on Thursday, pumped in 13 points for the Falcons (2-9, 0-2 GNAC), and Schuyler Berry added 12 in a reserve role.

 

"The adjustments I tried to make, they had a counter for it. They had our number tonight," SPU coach Karen Byers said. "I started small (with the lineup) to try to start more aggressively and put our press on them. But we weren't playing at the level that we needed to play to have that work well."
 
But Western (5-4, 1-1 GNAC) put all five of its starters in double digits. Matter of fact, the starers accounted for all 83 points,led by Olivia Wikstrom with 23 and Demi Dykstra with 20.
 
The Vikings wound up hitting 19 of 20 at the line and 10 of 21 behind the arc, including 7 of 11 during the decisive third quarter.
 
Except for a 2-2 tie in the opening moments, Western Washington led all the way. Up 15-10 midway through the first quarter, the Vikings put 12 straight points on the board to make it 27-10. The margin stayed in double digits through the rest of the first half and was 42-31 at the break.
 
Berry scored the first four points of the second half and brought Seattle Pacific back within seven at 42-35. The Vikings answered with four straight of their own for a 46-35 advantage.
 
That's when the deluge from downtown started.

Western hit two of its first three third-quarter shots, all from inside the arc. Then, through the last seven minutes of that period, the Vikings took 13 more shots, 11 of them behind the arc, and nailed seven of them: That included three straight by Dykstra. All of that made it 68-49 heading into the fourth. They had no more twos during the third and just one free throw.
 
The Falcons shot 33 percent from long range but took just 12 attempts (hitting 4) to WWU's 21 (with 10 makes).
 
"I want us to put up more 3-pointers than we have in the last two games," Byers said. "That's going to have to be a mindset shift of not just looking for the drive, but also looking for our 3-point shooters and taking advantage of that."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Overall, SPU had a respectable shooting night from the floor, hitting 45.3 percent (24 of 53). Western Washington finished at 47.4 (27 of 57).
--After committing 14 fouls and sending the Vikings to the line for 17 free throw attempts during the first half, the Falcons cut it down to seven fouls and just three WWU free throws in the second half, hitting all three and finishing the night at 19 of 20. "The last two games have shown us that we're going to have to work on our defense and keep our hands out," Byers said.
-- At the other end, Seattle Pacific wound up 16 of 19 at the line (84.2 percent) and made its first 11 in a row. That's the third consecutive game of 80 percent or better.
-- Junior center Emilia Bishop had a team-high six of SPU's 24 rebounds.
-- Led by Schuyler Berry's 12, the Falcon bench delivered 33 points on Saturday. That matches what the reserves did on Nov. 16 against Azusa Pacific.
--Fifth-year point guard Hunter Beirne made it a dozen-assist weekend. She had four on Saturday to go along with the career high-tying eight that she dealt on Thursday at Simon Fraser.
-- Redshirt freshman guard Grace Turley scored a career-high nine points, topping her previous high of eight. She hit 2 of 4 from the field and all four free throws. In fact, she is a perfect 11 of 11 at the line so far.
 
UP NEXT
In their only game this coming week, the Falcons host Stanislaus State in a non-conference contest on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2:00 p.m.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Western Washington 83, Seattle Pacific 68
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-9, 0-2 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 5-10 2-4 13, Beirne 3-6 0-0 6, Kearns 2-6 0-0 5, Rubino 4-5 1-1 9, Leasure 0-1 2-2 2, Ohta 0-0 0-0 0, Bishop 3-9 0-0 6, Mertes 1-3 2-2 5, Bergevin 0-1 0-0 0, Lavigne 0-1 1-2 1, Sharp 0-0 0-0 0, Berry 4-7 4-4 12, Turley 2-4 4-4 9.  Totals 24-53 16-19 68.
 
WESTERN WASHNGTON (5-4, 1-1 GNAC)
Wikstrom 7-12 6-6 23, Dykstra 7-14 3-4 20, Deaver 4-9 5-5 14, Oberg 4-12 2-2 10, Grandbois 5-8 3-3 16, Brockman 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-1 0-0 0, VanderYacht 0-1 0-0 0. Size 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 27-57 19-20 83.
 
Seattle Pacific                     14           17           18           19           -- 68
Western Washington          28           14           26           15           -- 83
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-12 (Weatherspoon 1-2, Beirne 0-1, Kearns 1-3, Leasure 0-1, Mertes 1-3, Bergevin 0-1, Turley 1-1), WWU 10-21 (Wikstrom 3-5, Dykstra 3-5, Deaver 1-2, Oberg 0-5, Grandbois 3-4).  Fouled out – SPU: Rubino.  Rebounds – SPU 24 (Bishop 6), WWU 32 (Wikstrom 7).  Assists – SPU 11 (Beirne 4), WWU 11 (Dykstra 3).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 21 (25), WWU 14 (12).  Total fouls – SPU 21, WWU 17.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 267
 
 
Next game
Stanislaus State at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 


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