NAMPA, Idaho – For the first 12 minutes on Saturday, the Seattle Pacific Falcons hit nearly every shot they took. Short range. Long range. Free throws.
 
Then things went cold.
 
After building a 17-point lead early in the second quarter, SPU saw Northwest Nazarene climb nearly all the way back in by halftime. The Nighthawks then put together their own double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter and finally fended off a Falcons comeback to pull out an 88-84 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Saturday.
 
 

Fifth-year point guard Hunter Beirne continued her recent scoring tear for the Falcons. This time, it was a 26-point outing, with 21 of those coming from behind the arc. She now has 84 points in her last three games.
 
Junior forward Madison Rubino added an all-around performance of 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals. Redshirt freshman guard Grace Turley tallied a career-high 14 points, with 12 from downtown.
 
Nearly everyone had their shooting touch during the first quarter as Seattle Pacific (6-14, 0-7 GNAC) hit 14 of 18 from the floor, with 3 of 4 from 3-point land and 4 of 5 at the line for a 35-21 advantage. That was the Falcons' highest-scoring quarter of the year, their first 30-point period since Jan. 23, 2018, and was more than half of their season scoring average of 64.1
 
Then a traditional three-point play by Beirne on SPU's first shot of the second quarter built the lead to 38-21 with 8:28 to go before halftime.
 
But from there, the Falcons hit just one of their final 12 shots in that quarter – a 3-pointer by Beirne at the 3:52 mark – while Northwest Nazarene (11-5, 5-2 GNAC) was ringing up another 17 points to close within 41-38 by the break.
 
 

"We got tight. We started and it was easy, the first quarter was easy, it was going our way, and then the momentum turned," coach Karen Byers said. "They clamped down on defense, we had a little panic moment. We stopped moving the ball, stopped talking – it as just kind of a freeze."
 
Northwest Nazarene, which knocked off No. 6-ranked Montana State Billings on Thursday night, finally tied it at 43-43 just 1:01 into the third quarter. The Nighthawks were up 55-50 midway through the period before SPU put together an 8-0 run on back-to-back treys (first by Turley, then by Beirne) and a pair of free throws by Rubino go to in front 58-55.
 
NNU closed on an 11-0 run to take a 66-58 lead into the fourth. That grew to 78-67 with 5:47 left.

But the Falcons were far from done. They put together a 17-6 surge, with the last seven points coming consecutively – a pair of free throws by Layne Kearns, a driving lay-in by Beirne off a turnover, and a 3-pointer from the right corner by Turley – to level it at 84-84 with 1:26 remaining.
 
"We're learning that when we move the ball and move their defense, then we're getting easier looks," Byers said.'
 
Both teams came up empty on their next possession. Beaux Bruegman put Northwest Nazarene back on top, 86-84,on a pair of foul shots with 37.6 seconds to go.

The Falcons missed their next shot, but caught a break when the ensuing rebound was tied up for a held ball with the possession arrow in their favor at 18.5 seconds.
 
Rubino had a good look from the left of the hoop that wouldn't go. She followed and got her own rebound for a putback try from just to the right of the basket that also wouldn't go. This time, the Nighthawks pulled down the rebound. Madeline Gebers was fouled, and hit two clinching free throws for a two-possession margin at 88-84 with just 1.8 remaining.
 
"We got down, we didn't crumble, and we fought back," Byers said. "I think our biggest takeaway from today is how important it is for us to move the ball. And our energy today as a team was really good."
  
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Senior wing Lolo Weatherspoon produced a solid stat line for SPU with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
--Northwest Nazarene employed an effective, trapping defense all over the court. That forced the Falcons into 24 turnovers (14 of which were Nighthawks steals), which were converted into 22 points.
-- SPU shot 46.2 percent for the game (36 of 65), with a season-high 52.2 percent (12 of 23) on 3-pointers.
-- Hunter Beirne was 7 of 13 from downtown and Grace Turley was 4 of 5.
 

-- Madison Rubino's 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots were the most she has had in an SPU uniform after playing at Idaho in 2021-22 and Cal Poly Humboldt last season. "She really wanted to play down on the block and she feels comfortable there, so I wanted to put her where she felt comfortable – and she went to town," coach Karen Byers said.
-- The Falcons dished a season-high 22 assists, with five each for Beirne and Layne Kearns. Of SPU's 14 first-quarter baskets, 10 were assisted.
-- NNU outscored Seattle Pacific at the free throw line, 25-12. The Nighthawks got 29 attempts; Seattle Pacific had 17.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wrap up the first half of conference play next week when they host the Alaska schools in Brougham Pavilion. Anchorage visits on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and Fairbanks comes in on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Both are doubleheaders, with the SPU men playing the same schools: Anchorage on Thursday at 5:1 Anchorage on Thursday at 5:15; Fairbanks on Saturday at 4:15.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 88, Seattle Pacific 84
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-14, 0-7 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 5-11 0-1 10, Beirne 8-15 3-3 26, Kerans 0-4 4-6 4, Rubino 6-13 3-4 15, Leasure 2-2 0-0 4, Ohta 1-4 0-0 3, Bishop 3-7 2-3 8, Mertes 0-0 0-0 0, Lavigne 0-2 0-0 0, Turley 5-7 0-0 14.  Totals 30-65 12-17 84.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (11-5, 5-2 GNAC)
DeHaro 3-7 3-3 10, Davis 0-5 1-2 1, Waid 7-14 4-4 18, Gebers 2-11 9-10 15, Kate Clark 1-5 3-4 5, Starr 3-6 0-0 7, Clemons 1-2 1-2 3, Edlefsen 2-2 2-2 7, Bruegman 8-14 2-2 20.  Totals 28-72 25-29 88.
 
Seattle Pacific                     35             6           17           26           -- 84
Northwest Nazarene           21            17          28           22           -- 88
 
3-point goals – SPU 12-23 (Beirne 7-13, Kearns 0-1, Ohta 1-4, Turley 4-5), NNU 7-20 (DeHaro 1-1, Davis 0-1, Waid 0-1, Gebers 2-8, Clark 0-2, Starr 1-3, Edlefsen 1-1, Bruegman 2-3).  Fouled out – SPU: Rubino.  Rebounds – SPU 37 (Rubino 8), NNU 47 (Waid 8).  Assists – SPU 22 (Kearns 5, Beirne 5), NNU 12 (DeHaro 5).  Turnovers (points allowed) – SPU 24 (22), NNU 21 (15).  Total fouls – SPU 23, NNU 20.  Technical fouls – NNU: Coach Steele.  Attendance – NA.
 
 
Next game
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 23     7:30 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.


SPU SOCIAL

• Twitter - @SPUSports & @SPUWBB
• Instagram - @SPUSports & @SPUWBB
• Facebook - /SPUSports

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