BILLINGS, Mont. – One quarter made the difference on Saturday afternoon – and not in Seattle Pacific's favor.
 
Olivia Mayer scored 17 points and Hunter Beirne added 16, but Montana State Billings went on a 22-9 scoring spree during the second period, and that ultimately was enough to help lift the No. 11- ranked Yellowjackets to a 66-55 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women' basketball victory in Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
SPU (10-14, 7-7 GNAC), which had made a nice move up the standings the past two weeks, saw its four-game winning streak halted. Billings (22-4, 13-1 GNAC) extended its win streak to five and maintained a tenuous grip on the top rung of the conference ladder with four games remaining.
 
 

"That second quarter, Billings did a great job defensively and kept us on our toes with some of the things they were throwing at us," head coach Mike Simonson said. "We just kind of lost our momentum, and Billings is a tough team to get momentum on and keep momentum with.
 
"We had a great first quarter, then they kind of changed it up and kind of kept control of the game the rest of the way. We just couldn't get over the hump," Simonson added.
 
Indeed, the Falcons had a 19-13 lead at the end of one, thanks in part to an 13-2 scoring turn, with eight straight to start it off, that turned an 11-6 deficit into a 14-11 lead.

The Yellowjackets then put up the first seven points of the second quarter to get back on top, 20-19. Mayer answered with a lay-in for a 21-20 SPU edge, then it was another nine in a row by Billings to make it 29-21.
 
The Falcons got as close as three at 29-26 and were still within seven at halftime, 35-28.
 
MSUB took its first double-digit advantage of the night at 40-30 with 7:47 left in the third. Seattle Pacific got as close as three at 40-37 on a foul line jumper by Beirne, a free throw by Mayer, two free throws by Hailey Marlow, and another foul line jumper by Beirne.
 
The Yellowjackets re-established control by scoring nine of the last 11 points in the quarter, taking a 49-39 advantage into the fourth.
 
"We could go on mini-runs and it seemed like maybe we were going to get a chance to take the lead again or get right back in there," Simonson said. "Then they would hit a big shot or get a big rebound."
 
SPU actually had more rebounds for the game, 35-30. But Montana State Billings had a 9-2 margin on the offensive glass.
 
The other  difference was turnovers. MSUB, always one of the best teams in the conference at taking care of the ball, had just six, which the Falcons converted into nine points. Seattle Pacific had 20 turnovers, with six in a stretch of seven possessions after cutting the deficit to 40-37 in the third. The Yellowjackets converted those into seven points, and had 19 points off turnovers for the game.
 
"They just do not beat themselves," Simonson said of the Jackets. 'Teams typically cough it up against our defense, but that didn't happen tonight. They played a good, solid, sound game and made it difficult to beat them."
 
The Falcons were still within striking distance early in the fourth quarter, down just eight at 51-43 with 8:23 to go. Billings rang up the next six points and essentially put it out of reach.
 
"There were moments when I was really proud of our fight. We had some really good moments," Simonson said. "It's just hard to stay attached to a team when they're getting more shots, more free throws, and hitting more 3s.
 
"We have to clean some things up. But when we're sound, we're pretty good," Simonson added. "That first quarter shows our best basketball is pretty good. That should give us some confidence going into next week."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU shot 45.2 percent from the field (19 of 42), its third-highest percentage of the season and fifth straight game in the 40s. Along with Olivia Mayer's 6-of-11, Hunter Beirne drained 6 of 10, with 2 of 3 from downtown.
-- Mayer grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Falcons, along with two assists, two blocked shots, and one steal. She has 59.2 percent (42 of 71) in her past five games.
-- Her 17 points pushed her past 900 for her career. She now has 902, with 374 of those this season with the Falcons.
-- Montana Billings hit just 32.3 percent (20 of 62).
 

-- Schuyler Berry had two blocked shots, both of them against Billings star Kola Bad Bear. She finished with 18 points, slightly above her 16.8 average, but Berry forced her into 4-of-10 shooting from the floor. "What doesn't get seen in the stat sheet is Schuyler did a great job on Bad Bear. She did a really good job of holding down the middle and making it tough," Mike Simonson said.
-- This was SPU's seventh game against a national top-25 team this season and the second time it has played a No. 11-ranked squad. The Falcons beat then-No. 11 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 58-53 on Nov. 11.

UP NEXT
The Falcons have their final two home games of the season this coming week. Simon Fraser visits Brougham Pavilion on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.. Next Saturday, it's a Senior Day doubleheader, with the SPU men tipping off against Montana State Billings at 2:00 p.m., followed by the women against Western Washington at 4:15.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
(No. 11) Montana State Billings 66, Seattle Pacific 55
 
SEATTLE PACIFC (10-14, 7-7 GNAC)
Mayer 6-11 4-7 17, Berry 2-3 2-2 6, Marlow 1-6 4-4 6, Beirne 6-10 2-2 16, Kearns 3-5 0-0 8, Weatherspoon 1-4 0-2 2, Ohta 0-2 0-0 0, Leasure 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 19-42 12-17 55
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (22-4, 13-1 GNAC)
Bad Bear 4-12 10-11 18, Boyce 3-10 0-0 7, Giese 2-10 2-2 8, Montague 7-10 1-2 19, Nelson 3-7 6-6 12, Williams 0-4 0-0 0, Zahn 1-8 0-0 2, Grossman 0-0 0-0, Andeas 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 20-62 19-21 66.
 
Seattle Pacific                    19             9           11           16           -- 55
Montana State Billings      13           22           14           17          -- 66       
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-13 (Mayer 1-2, Marlow 0-3, Beirne 2-3, Weatherspoon 0-1, Ohta 0-1), MSUB 7-20 (Boyce 1-1, Giese 2-6, Montague 4-6, Nelson 0-1, Williams 0-1, Zahn 0-4, Andreas 0-1).  Fouled out – MSUB: Bad Bear.  Rebounds – SPU 35 (Mayer 7), MSUB 30 (Giese 10).  Assists – SPU 11 (Beirne 3), MSUB 16 (Nelson 6).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 20 (19), MSUB 6 (9).  Total fouls – SPU 18, MSUB 15.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 647.
 
 
Next game
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

 
SPU SOCIAL 
Twitter - @SPUSports & @SpuWbb
Instagram - @SPUSports & @SPU_Basketball
Facebook - /SPUSports

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