SEATTLE – Just when they needed points the most …
 
… the points stopped coming for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
The Simon Fraser Red Leafs went on a 12-1 scoring run in the final 3:55 on Thursday night and pulled away to beat Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game, 77-69.
 
 

Junior forward Olivia Mayer recorded her eighth double-double of the season, this one with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Junior center Schuyler Berry came off the bench to add 20 points, her second output in the 20s this season and just shy of her career-high 22.
 
The Falcons (10-15, 7-8 GNAC) are still very much alive for a spot in the conference tournament. But they missed out on an opportunity to enhance their chances at making the postseason. The top six teams in the final standings will earn a trip to Ellensburg for the tourney on March 7-9.
 
The Falcons remain in sixth place, one game ahead of Northwest Nazarene. Both have three games left.
 
"It was there to be  had; we just didn't take it," head coach Mike Simonson said. "It's a bummer I know it stings because we really wanted this one. This was a big one for us. Obviously, the good news is we have some more work we can do and still get into the conference tournament."
 
Turnovers haunted the Falcons in a big way on Thursday. They had 19 for the game, and Simon Fraser (16-12, 9-7 GNAC) converted on 12 of those, adding 31 points to their score. (The Falcons got eight points off 11 Red Leafs turnovers.)
 
Of those 31 points, six came during a 1-minute, 40-second stretch late in the game. SPU had been up by one at 68-67, but the ball got away on three of the next four possessions, and the Red Leafs scored on all of them to go up 73-68 – accounting for half of their 12-1 game-ending surge.
 
 

"We've improved a lot, but man – we can't make those mistakes and win tough, close GNAC games," Simonson said. "Them getting to the free throw line 21 times to our nine, and points off turnovers, 31 to 8. That was the difference in the game."
 
Even with that, it was a far different game than last month in Burnaby, B.C., when Simon Fraser rolled to an 83-57 win.
 
Thursday's contest was tied six times and the lead changed hands 11 times. The Red Leafs were up 33-26 late in the first half, then saw SPU go on a 17-6 run bridging the second and third quarters to go in front, 43-39.
 
 

The Falcons had a 48-45 edge with 3:54 left in the third quarter before Simon Fraser strung together a 12-3 scoring burst to take a 57-51 lead into the final quarter. Seattle Pacific got back into a 62-62 tie on a turnaround lay-in by Berry with 5:59 to go. That was part of a stretch during which she factored into 10 consecutive Falcons points, scoring eight of them herself and assisting on a Hailey Marlow lay-in that provided a 66-65 advantage with 4:25 to go.
 
Berry capped it with a turnaround 5-footer to make it 68-65 at the 3:55 mark. But the only point SPU got the rest of the way was a Berry free throw with 1:04 left.
 
"We did some good things in the game, definitely some bright spots," Simonson said. "We had a pretty good offensive game, shot better from the field and had two more shots than they did. Against a team that shoots a lot like they do, it was good for us to be in the game where even though we turned it over 19 times, we were right there with an almost equal number of shots."
 
For the second straight game, Simon Fraser junior guard Sophia Wisotzki went off for a career high against the Falcons. She had 29 last month, then went for 32 on Thursday, She hit just 9 of 21 from the field, but was 11 of 12 at the foul line. Gemma Cutler added a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU tied its season high shooting percentage, finishing at .469 (30 of 64). Simon Fraser had three fewer field goals and hit .435 (27 of 62).
-- The Red Leafs hit 15 of 21 at the foul line; the Falcons were 5 of 9.
-- Schuyler Berry got her 20 points on 75 percent shooting from the field (9 of 12). Olivia Mayer hit an even 50 percent from the floor, draining 8 of 16, with 2 of 3 from downtown.
-- Mayer's 19 points pushed her to 921 for her career.
-- Freshman guard Layne Kearns added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons.
-- Simon Fraser has won six of its last seven games. The Red Leafs prevailed on Thursday even though senior guard / forward Jessica Wisotzki, who averages 17.5 points per game, was out with an injury.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific wraps up its home schedule on Saturday with a Senior Day game against No. 13-ranked Western Washington. Tip-off is at 4:15 p.m. Prior to the start, guard Hailey Marlow and third-year managers Abby and Vicky Moreton will be honored for their contributions to the program. It's the second half of a doubleheader, with the SPU men squaring off against Montana State Billings at 2:00 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Simon Fraser 77, Seattle Pacific 69
 
SIMON FRASER (16-12, 9-7 GNAC)
Cutler 8-12 0-1 16, Killins 3-10 0-07, S. Wisotzki 9-21 11-12 32, Loukes 0-4 2-6 2, Dulai 2-5 0-0 6, Shelvey 5-8 2-2 14, Quirke 0-1 0-0 0, Gardner 0-1 0-0 0, Tetteh-Wayoe 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 27-62 15-21 77.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-15, 7-8 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 3-8 1-1 7, Mayer 8-16 1-2 19, Marlow 3-9 0-0 7, Beirne 2-7 0-0 4, Kearns 4-8 1-1 10, Berry 9-12 2-5 20, Ohta 0-1 0-0 0, Bishop 1-3 0-0 2  Totals 30-64 5-9 69.
 
Simon Fraser      21           16           20           20           -- 77
Seattle Pacific     17           17           17           18           -- 69
 
3-point goals – Simon 8-16 (Killilns 1-4, S. Wisotzki 3-7, Dulai 2-2, Shelvey 2-3), SPU 4-13 (Mayer 2-3, Marlow 1-5, Beirne 0-2, Keaerns 1-3).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – Simon 33 (Cutler 11), SPU 40 (Mayer 11).  Assists – Simon 8 (Dulai 3), SPU 8 (Beirne 3, Berry 3).  Turnovers (points allowed) – Simon 11 (8), SPU 19 (31).  Total fouls – Simon 14, SPU 19.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 114.
 
 
Next game
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 4:15 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.


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