PORTLAND, Ore. – During her career at Seattle Pacific, Hunter Beirne has done it all on the basketball court. She scores. She sets up her teammates with nifty passes. She rebounds, plays defense, and essentially runs the show when she's out there.
 
The fifth-year point guard also has done it all in the classroom. Having already completed her double major in business / economics / philosophy, and government / political science, she currently is working on her master of arts in teaching.
 
 

Beirne now has another academic distinction to go along with all of that. She has been named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team for women's basketball for the fourth time.
 
That makes her the first player in program history to earn four All-Academic awards.
 
Beirne is one of seven Falcons named to the team. Joining her are senior third-time selections Schuyler Berry and Lolo Weatherspoon, junior second-time honoree Emilia Bishop, and sophomore first-timers Layne Kearns, Grace Leasure, and Haylie-Anne Ohta.
 
 

"That's one of the great things about SPU and basketball is that our team is not just wanting to compete on the court, but school is also really important to them," coach Karen Byers said. "We tend to recruit that type of player who also wants to perform in the classroom.
 
"It's hard to keep up a good grade-point average when you're in-season, and I'm so proud that they're able to get their work done," Byers added.
 
Normally, players with solid classroom credentials can be named to the team as a sophomore, junior, and senior (freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and first-year transfers are not eligible for nomination). However, Beirne was one of many athletes across all sports nationwide who was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA when the 2020-21 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
For Beirne, who was named to the 2022, 2023, and 2024 teams, this is that additional season, thereby providing the opportunity to make the team for a fourth time. She is maintaining a perfect 4.00 grade-point average in her graduate school courses after completing all of her undergrad work in the 3.90 range.
 
On the court, she is having her finest season, leading the team in scoring at a career-best 13.6 points per game on .457 shooting from the field – also a career best that includes a team0leading .356 (31 of 67) from 3-point range. She also has dealt 80 assists, well within range of racking up 100 for the first time with eight games remaining.
 
 

Weatherspoon, a communications major with a 3.40 GPA, also is having her best season with career-high averages of 8.9 points on .429 shooting, plus 3.4 rebounds. Her 26 steals are second-most on the team. She has two games of more than 20 points and just last Saturday tied her career high with six rebounds.
 
 

Berry has a 3.94 GPA as a global studies major. She was averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds when an injury sidelined her in January. Berry joined Beirne on this year's Preseason All-GNAC team, making that squad for the second time.
 
 

Bishop carries a 3.55 GPA as a communications major. She has gradually worked her way into more playing time and has been in SPU's starting lineup for the past two games. On Jan. 25 against Alaska Fairbanks, she went for a career-high double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds. Bishop is now averaging 7.8 points on .466 shooting, plus 4.5 rebounds.
 
 

Leasure carries a perfect 4.00 GPA as a psychology major. (She and Beirne are two of the eight perfect GPAs on the conference list.) She is averaging 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds.

 

Kearns carries a 3.25 GPA in nutrition / dietitian and has started all 23 games, averaging 10.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. Ohta sports a 3.83 GPA in exercise science, is averaging 3.7 points and has handed out 43 assists, second-most on the team.
 
To qualify for the team, players must have a GPA of 3.20 or higher and must be a sophomore or higher in at least their second year with the program.
 
 
2024-25 GNAC ALL-ACADEMIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

SEATTLE PACIFIC
Name                                     Major                                           Year       GPA        Hometown
Hunter Beirne         Master's – Teaching     5^th    4.00   Mukilteo, Wash.
Schuyler Berry        Global Studies          Sr     3.94   Portland, Ore.
Emilia Bishop         Communications          Jr     3.55   Wilsonville, Ore.
Layne Kearns          Nutrition / Dietitian   So     3.25   Hamilton, Mont.
Grace Leasure         Psychology              So     4.00   Portland, Ore.
Haylie-Anne Ohta      Exercise Science        So     3.83   Honolulu, Hawaii
Lolo Weatherspoon     Communications          Sr     3.40   Camas, Wash.


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