ELLENSBURG, Wash. – For most of the first half, the Seattle Pacific Falcons went punch-counterpunch with Alaska Anchorage.
 
Once the Seawolves got going, however, they just kept going.
 
 

Olivia Mayer pumped in 19 points, one of three Falcons in double figures, but UAA's 16-6 scoring run to finish the first half gave the Seawolves command, and they kept it the rest of the way to take a 79-57 decision on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament.
 
The loss in Central Washington's Nicholson Arena ended Seattle Pacific's season at 11-18
 
Schuyler Berry added 11 points for the Falcons, and Hunter Beirne chipped in 10. Senior guard Hailey Marlow, in her final game for SPU, finished with a career-high nine assists.
 
"That was a bummer. I fold the gals we needed to have the same kind of defensive effort that we had up in Anchorage, and we just didn't have it in us today for whatever reason," head coach Mike Simonson said. "They really dented us, meaning we couldn't keep them away from the rim. (UAA got 48 points in the paint; Seattle Pacific had 28.) That's kind of not SPU defense."
 
SPU and Anchorage were tied 25-25 midway through the second quarter after a lay-in by Berry.
 
But from there, the Seawolves put the next nine points on the board to go in front, 34-25. The Falcons slowly climbed back in with a reverse lay-in by Mayer, a Mayer free throw, and another Berry lay-in off an assist from Marlow, and just like that, it was back to 36-30.
 
SPU was just moments away from heading into the locker room at halftime within single digits. But Senya Rabouin buried a deep 3-pointer from the left of the lane with just two seconds showing, and that gave Anchorage a 41-31 lead at the break.
 
 

"They seemed to hit their big looks," Simonson said. "We switched on the ball screen and had a big on her, and a lot of times, when you have a post player guarding a guard, they want to drive it. But she decided to do a stepback 3, and she hit it.
 
"That was a big shot and gave them a lot of momentum," he added. "They seemed to hit a lot of big shots."
 
The Seawolves then came out and scored the first six points of the third quarter, enlarging the margin to 16 at 47-31. That started them on their way to a 28-point period. By the time it was over, UAA had a 25-point bulge at 69-44 heading into the fourth.
 
"It seemed like we were making some defensive mistakes early that I thought we cleaned up, and we would be fine in the second half," Simonson said. "But that wasn't the case, and they got those 28 points in the third quarter."
 
The two teams met just one week ago at Anchorage in the penultimate game of the regular season. The Falcons' defense kept the Seawolves to a season-low 51 points, but managed just 39 points of their own. On Thursday, SPU found much more on offense, hitting at a 43.1 percent clip (22 of 51) – an 11 percentage point jump from last week's 32.7.
 
But UAA shot even better, hitting 45.6 percent (31 of 68). That was 14 percentage points higher than their 31.8 a week ago.
 
"I thought we executed better on the offensive end," Simonson said. "I think if we would have played a little bit better defensively and converted a couple extra looks, it would have been a different game. But kudos to them – they did a great job and they get to move on."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Hailey Marlow's previous career high for assists was six.
--Along with her 19 points, on 7 of 15 shooting from the field, Olivia Mayer pulled down seven rebounds. Hunter Beirne also had seven boards.
-- Once again however, the Seawolves dominated the boards, 45-28. That included a sizable 17-6 advantage at the offensive end, leading to 19 second-chance points. The Falcons got just six on second chances.
-- SPU had its best ball handling game of the three against Anchorage this season with just 16 turnovers (23 in the first regular-season game, 19 last week). But the Seawolves converted those turnovers into 22 points.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Falcons are expected to have most everyone back next season, as Hailey Marlow is the only graduating senior.
 
"I told the team it was a good season and no one can take that away from them," Simonson said. "At the beginning of the year in Denver, we played Colorado Christian and Metro State, and at that point, we had a lot of work to do just be a competitive team in the conference. For us to get better and better as the year went on with all the adversity we had with injuries and low on bodies, for us to make the conference tournament was a huge win.
 
"We wanted to go farther and wanted to keep playing. But with only one senior (leaving), it's a great starting point for next season."


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC Tournament
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Nicholson Arena / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 79, Seattle Pacific 57
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-18)
Weatherspoon 3-5 1-2 8, Mayer 7-15 3-4 19, Berry 4-7 3-5 11, Marlow 1-3 0-0 3, Beirne 4-11 2-4 10, Kearns 3-7 0-0 6, Ohta 0-1 0-0 0, Leasure 0-2 0-0 0.  Totals 22-51 9-15 57.
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (19-8)
Hollingshead 4-6 0-0 8, Rabouin 8-14 0-1 18, Evans 3-9 3-4 10, Rabb 1-8 3-4 5, Mack 3-7 2-2 9, Pearson 2-7 2-2 6, Gamble 2-4 1-2 5, Alexander 0-2 2-2 2, Ross 4-4 0-0 8, Walsh 4-7 0-0 8.  Totals 31-68 13-17 79.
 
Seattle Pacific                     16           15           13           13           -- 57
Alaska Anchorage             18           23           28           10           -- 79
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-20 (Weatherspoon 1-1, Mayer 2-6, Marlow 1-3, Beirne 0-3, Kearns 0-4, Ohta 0-1, Leasure 0-2), UAA 4-16 (Rabouin 2-4, Evans 1-3, Rabb 0-3, Mack 1-4, Pearson 0-2).  Fouled out – SPU: Marlow.  Rebounds – SPU 28 (Mayer 7, Beirne 7), UAA 45 (Evans 7).  Assists – SPU 17 (Marlow 9), UAA 10 (Rabouin 5).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 16 (22), UAA 12 (11).  Total fouls – SPU 19, UAA 19). Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 420.

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