SEATTLE – They got the looks …,
 
… but not the luck.
 
 

Olivia Mayer scored 16 points and was one of four Seattle Pacific players in double figures, but the Falcons saw numerous quality shots bounce just short or swirl in and out, as No. 13-ranked Western Washington fended off a fourth-quarter comeback to secure a 66-55 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Saturday afternoon.
 
Among those joining Mayer in double digits in Brougham Pavilion was senior guard Hailey Marlow, who was honored prior to tip-off on Senior Day as the only SPU player heading for graduation this year. Marlow finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot before fouling out with 35 seconds remaining.
 
Junior wing Lolo Weatherspoon had 11 points, and junior center Schuyler Berry chipped in 10 for short-handed Seattle Pacific, which was down to just seven players because of injuries. All five starters went 30-plus minutes.
 




"We were down a bunch of players and fatigue really set in for us, and I think that's part of the reason our looks didn't fall," head coach Mike Simonson said. "Kudos to Western Washington – they're so sound defensively and offensively, as well. They don't have any true weaknesses. When you play against a team like that, you have to play almost a perfect game. We did some things very well. We took care of the ball and got a lot of good shots."
 
The Falcons (10-16, 7-9 GNAC) remain in the hunt for what would be the sixth and final entry in the conference tournament. They got some help on Saturday when Northwest Nazarene (9-14, 6-10) dropped an 81-69 decision at Central Washington to remain in seventh place, one game behind Seattle Pacific. The Nighthawks are guaranteed a seventh win next Thursday via forfeit from Western Oregon, which has shut down its season.
 
SPU will close its season with its Alaska trip, visiting Anchorage on Thursday and Fairbanks on Saturday. It needs to win at least one of those for a shot at the tournament.
 
 

"Luckily, we were able to get both of them here back in December, although that feels like light years ago," Simonson said of the GNAC-opening weekend in Brougham Pavilion when the Falcons beat both teams. "But we're a very different team now and they're both different teams, and we need to refresh on how to prepare for them. Obviously, we want to go up there and play our best basketball. We want to make the GNAC Tournaent, and luckily, that's still in our grasp."
 
CLIMBING BACK INTO IT
Western Washington (21-5, 14-3 GNAC) appeared ready to pull away in the second quarter, building a 16-point lead at 33-17. SPU cut it to nine by halftime at 35-26. The Vikings pushed it back to 14 late in the third at 50-36, then saw the Falcons rally within single digits at 50-41 entering the final quarter.
 
Down 56-44, Seattle Pacific ran off six straight points: a pair of free throws by Weatherspoon, a driving lay-in by Marlow, and a fast-break lay-in by Hunter Beirne off an assist from Mayer after Mayer stole the ball in WWU's left front court. Just like that it was 56-50 with 4:38 still on the clock.
 
Western doused that momentum on its next possession. Brooke Walling grabbed an offensive rebound, made good on the second-chance opportunity with a lay-in, and was fouled. She converted the three-point play to make it 59-50,
 
The Falcons came up empty on their next two trips downcourt. Then Vikings guard Mason Oberg, who finished with a game-high 19 points, buried a 3-point dagger from the left corner for a 62-50 advantage with just 2:41 to go. SPU never got closer than nine after that.
 
"We got it down to six, and I thought that's maybe when the floodgates would open for us," Simonson said. "They hit some big shots. … We would hit a big shot, then give up a transition buicket. Then we'd hit another big shot, but give up an offensive rebound for a wide-open 3. Those are things that will set you back pretty quick.
 
"There's a lot of good things we can build off of, but we have to play for 40 minutes and we have to play close to a perfect game," Simonson added, "because that's what every team is looking to do at this time of year is playing their best basketball. And best basketball is near to perfect."
 
BREAKING 400
Olivia Mayer's 16 points on Saturday pushed her to 937 for her career and gave her 409 this season for the Falcons.
 
The last SPU player to hit for 400 in a season was Jordan McPbee with 425 during 2017-18.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- After tying a season-high of 46.9 percent shooting from the field in Thursday's game against Simon Fraser, SPU hit just 32.3 percent on Saturday, 21 of 65. The Falcons did have one of their better days from downtown at 41.2 percent (7 of 17)
-- Western Washington finished at 46.3 percent (25 of 54) and 46.7 behind the arc (7 of 15). The Vikings also hit all nine of their free throws; the Falcons were 6 of 11.
-- SPU had by far its best game of the season for taking care of the basketball with just five turnovers, leading to just seven WWU points. On Thursday, Simon Fraser converted 19 turnovers into 31 points.
-- Western Washington dominated the boards, 45-29, and had two players in double digits: 11 for Stephanie Peterson and 10 for Olivia Wikstrom. Olivia Mayer had seven for Seattle Pacific.
-- The Vikings have won 12 straight against the Falcons.
-- SPU finished 7-4 at home.

UP NEXT
SPU's Alaska trip starts on Thursday in the first half of a doubleheader at Anchorage, tipping off at 6:15 p.m. Pacific timer. The Falcon men play the Seawolves at 8:30 p.m. Pacific.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKEBALL
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 13) Western Washington 66, Seattle Pacific 55
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (21-5, 14-3 GNAC)
Walling 8-14 1-1 17, Garrison 3-7 2-2 8, R. Dykstra 4-10 0-0 9, Peterson 1-6 0-0 3, Oberg 5-9 4-4 19, Grandbois 0-1 2-2 2, Wikstrom 3-6 0-0 6, D. Dykstra 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 1-1 0-0 2.  Totals 25-54 9-9 65.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-16, 7-9 GNAC)
Mayer 6-16 2-3 16, Berry 4-8 2-2 10, Marlow 4-10 0-1 10, Beirne 3-12 0-0 8, Kearns 0-7 0-3 0, Weatherspoon 4-9 2-2 11, Ohta 0-3 0-0 0.  Totals 21-65 6-11 55.
 
Western Washington           19           16           15           16           -- 66
Seattle Pacific                     15           11            15           14           -- 55
 
3-point goals – WWU 7-15 (Walling 0-1,R. Dykstra 1-2, Peterson 1-3, Oberg 5-6, Grandbois 0-1, Wikstrom 0-2), SPU 7-17 (Mayer 2-6, Marlow 2-5), Beirne 2-3, Kearns 0-1, Weatherspoon 1-1, Ohta 0-1).  Fouled out – SPU: Marlow.  Rebounds – WWU 45 (Peterson 11, Wikstrom 10), SPU 29 (Mayer 7).  Assists – WWU 14 (Peterson 5), SPU 12 (Marlow 5).  Turnovers (points allowed) – WWU 16 (14), SPU 5 (7).  Total fouls – WWU 12, SPU 14.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 275.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Thursday, Feb. 29     6:15 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska