SEATTLE – Too many long balls for Western Washington made it a long night for Seattle Pacific.
 
The Vikings drained 11 shots from behind the arc, with four of those coming during the decisive third quarter and went on to an 81-52 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against the Falcons in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Sophomore guard Layne Kearns led the way with 14 points for SPU (8-22, 2-15 GNAC), but was the only Falcon in double figures. She also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Senior wing Lolo Weatherspoon added nine points and four boards.
 
While Western (17-9, 12-5 GNAC) was hitting 11 of 21 from downtown, Seattle Pacific was just 2 of 13. The Vikings also had a 41-34 advantage on the glass, including 11-5 at the offensive end that led to a 16-7 margin in second-chance points.
 
 

"They beat us on all the categories I wanted to beat them in," coach Karen Byers said. "They out-rebounded us, the had almost 20 more attempts on the hoop than we did (66-50). They're just so good at finding that extra pass and that open person. We really had to scramble on defense. They had a great night and we didn't shoot well."
 
The Falcons were within seven points midway through the second quarter at 26-19. But WWU closed the period on a 10-2 scoring run and took a 36-21 lead into halftime.
 
A 8-0 spurt to start the third quarter on a lay-in by Weatherspoon, a 3-pointer by Haylie-Anne Ohta another lay-in by Weatherspoon, and a free throw by Hunter Beirne dropped the deficit back down to single digits at 38-29. The Vikings answered with nine straight points, doubling their lead to 18 at 47-29. It never went below 16 after that.
 
"I thought for sure that's where we were going to make a turn," Byers said. "I thought, 'OK, here we go – we're finally in rhythm.' But then the wheels came off."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- SPU shot just 32 percent from he field (16 of 50). Western Washington was at 45.5 percent (30 of 66)/
-- Layne Kearns hit all seven of her free throws and now has a streak of 17 straight. Earlier in the season, she drained 20 in a row.
-- Seattle Pacific tied its season high with nine blocked shots. Junior center Emilia Bishop had two, and seven other players had one.
-- That pushed the team's season total to 124 (4.13 average).Even if the Falcons don't' get any blocks on Saturday against Simon Fraser, they are guaranteed of finishing with an average of at least 4.0 per game. The last time an SPU team averaged four blocks per game was during the 2014-15 season.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wrap up the schedule on Saturday against Simon Fraser at 2:00 p.m. That will be Senior Day, with Hunter Beirne, Peyton Bergevin, Schuyler Berry, and Lolo Weatherspoon to be honored prior to tip-off. The Red Leafs pulled off a 68-66 road upset of No. 21 Montana State Billings on Thursday.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Western Washington 81, Seattle Pacific 52
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (17-9, 12-5 GNAC)
Deaver 5-10 3-4 15, Wikstrom 2-8 0-0 6, Dykstra 3-10 2-2 9, Oberg 6-10 0-1 15, Grandbois 2-4 0-0 5, Stump 6-11 0-0 14, Watts 6-12 2-5 14, VanderYacht 0-1 3-4 3, Brockman 0-0 0-0 0, Size 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 30-66 10-18 81.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-22, 2-15 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 4-0 1-2 9, Rubino 0-4 2-4 2, Ohta 2-4 1-2 6, Beirne 2-10 3-4 7, Kearns 3-11 7-7 14, Biship 2-2 2-2 6, Leasure 1-2 0-2 2, Lavigne 1-2 2-3 4, Mertes 1-2 0-0 2.  Totals 16-50 18-26 52.
 
Western Washington           21           15           26           19           -- 81
Seattle Pacific                     13             8           16           15           -- 52
 
3-point goals – WWU 11-21 (Deaver 2-3, Wikstrom 2-4, Dykstra 1-3, Oberg 3-6, Grandbois 1-1, Stump 2-3, VanderYacht 0-1), SPU 2-13 (Weatherspoon 0-1, Ohta 1-3, Beirne 0-4, Kearns 1-3, Turley 0-1, Mertes 0-1).  Fouled out – WWU: Watts.  Rebounds – WWU 41 (Watts 9), SPU 34 (Kearns 9).  Assists – WWU 16 (Oberg 6), SPU 8 (Beirne 4).  Turnovers (points allowed) – WWU 4 (6), WPU 14 (16).  Total fouls – WWU 17, SPU 15.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 131.
 
 
Next game
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
 
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