SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons had the makings of a big comeback.
 
What they didn't have was enough time to finish it.
 
Hunter Beirne concluded her career with a double-double of 25 points and a personal-best 11 rebounds, and SPU trimmed a 20-point deficit all the way down to nine before the clock ran out and Simon Fraser went home with an 88-79 victory on the final day of the women's basketball season.
 
Beirne was one of four Falcons who was honored on Senior Day prior to the opening tip-off. Lolo Weatherspoon, who was part of that group, contributed 12 points and six rebounds in her finale. Sophomore guard Layne Kearns chipped in 13 points and eight boards for Seattle Pacific, which finished at 8-23, 2-16 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
The Red Leafs (14-13, 7-11 GNAC) were powered – as they so often are – by senior Sophia Wisotzki, who broke loose for a career-high 38 points in her final college game. She got almost half of those 38 at the free throw line, where she was 18 of 19.
 
Except for Falcon leads of 2-0 and 4-3 in the opening moments and a 37-37 tie midway through the second quarter, Simon Fraser led the rest of the way. They took charge with a 14-4 run to close the first half and build a 51-41 lead by halftime.

 

"I thought that was going to be our turning point – back and forth, got within two, tied it, and then they made that run," coach Karen Byers. "We really played well. Our shots were falling and our 3s were looking so much better today."
 
The Leafs were up by 18 after three quarters at 75-57, and quickly stretched it to 20 at 77-57 on driving scoop shot by Wisotzki to start the fourth.
 
That's when SPU started chipping away. The deficit was down to 13 at the three-minute mark, then 11, then nine at 85-76 with 1:03 to go on a jumper by Beirne from the right of the hoop. But that was as close as the Falcons could come.
 
Although the season was a bumpy one, Byers was pleased with the day-to-day effort from her squad.
 
"We've been through a lot. I told them that I'm so proud of them that they did not crumble or get frustrated," she said. "Every day, they showed up to practice wanting to get better. They were working hard and still in it mentally rather than checking out, and they kept improving."
 
THAT BASKET GAVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS

Senior Peyton Bergevin has been out since mid-December and fellow senior Schuyler Berry has been out since early January with injuries. However, both were able to get onto the court for Senior Day and were in the starting lineup.
 
Just a little more than one minute into the game and Simon Fraser up 3-2, Berry got open underneath the hoop and Bergevin, who had the ball near the top of the key on the left side, found her with the perfect pass for a lay-in and a 4-3 lead. That put both of them onto the stat sheet and it turned out to be SPU's last lead of the game.
 
Berry also grabbed the game's first rebound.
 
A FINAL FAREWELL
Bergevin subbed back into the game at the 3:00 mark so she could receive a ceremonial sub-out on her final day. Berry subbed in for her at 1:46 to go, then came out at 1:23. Weatherspoon came to the bench at 1:19, then finally Beirne left the court with 51.7 seconds remaining..
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Hunter Beirne's previous rebounding high was nine, which she reached three times.
-- This was her second double-double of the season. Her other one was 11 points and 10 assists on Feb. 8 at Saint Martin's.
-- Her 11 points on Saturday gave her 907 for her career, and her three assists gave her 117 for the season, 287 for her career.
-- Layne Kearns hit her only two free throws of the day and finished the season with a streak of 19 straight makes. She also had one of 20 straight.
-- The Falcons had three blocked shots, giving them 130 for the season – a final average of 4.19, marking the first time since 2014-15 with an average of 4-plus per game.
-- Haylie-Anne Ohta's defense helped slow down Sophia Wisotzki at least somewhat during the second half. Wisotzki hit  7 of 11 from the floor during the first half, but was just 2 of 13 during the second half.
-- Both teams hit 29 field goals and shot nearly identical: 39.7 percent for SPU (29 of 734), 38.2 percent for Simon Fraser (29 of 76). Ditto from downtown: 33.3 percent for the Falcons (9 of 27), 29.6 percent for the Red Leafs (8 of 27). SPU hit 12 of 13 (92.3 percent), but the Leafs hit 22 of 26, thanks in large part to Wisotzki's 18 of 19.
-- Lolo Weatherspoon grabbed six rebounds on Saturday, giving her exactly 200 for her career.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Simon Fraser 88, Seatle Pacific 79
 
SIMON FRASER (14-13, 7-11 GNAC)
Quirke 3-7 0-0 6, Gardner 8-15 2-2 22, Wisotzki 9-24 18-19 38, Shalvey 3-7 0-1 7, Dulai 1-8 0-0 2, Bergeron 0-1 0-0 0, Loukes 1-9 1-2 3, Gill 3-3 1-2 7, Neufeld 1-1 0-0 3, Morton 0-1 0-0 0, Tjernagel 0-0 0-0 0, Tetteh-Wayoe 0-0 0-0 0.  Totals 29-76 22-26 88,
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-23, 2-16 GNAC)
Weatherspoon 4-12 3-3 12, Bergevin 0-0 0-0 0, Berry 1-1 0-0 2, Beirne 11-25 2-2 25, Kearns 4-10 2-2 13, Turley 1-4 2-2 5, Rubino 2-3 0-0 4, Ohta 2-7 0-0 6, Bishop 3-7 1-2 7, Leasure 0-0 0-0 0, Lavigne 0-3 2-2 2, Mertes 1-1 0-0 3.  Totals 29-73 12-13 78.
 
Simon Fraser      27           24           24           13           -- 88
Seattle Pacific     23           18           16           22           -- 79
 
3-point goals – Simon 8-27 (Gardner 4-7, Wisotzki 2-11, Shelvey 1-3, Dulai 0-4, Loukes 0-1, Neufeld 1-1), SPU 9-27 (Weathersoon 1-3, Beirne 1-6, Kearns 3-6, Turley 1-3, Ohta 2-6, Lavigne 0-2, Mertes 1-1).  Fouled out – None.  Rebounds – Simon 44 (Gardner 9), SPU 47 (Beirne 11).  Assists – Simon 1 (Wisotzki 4), SPU 13 (Weatherspoon 4, Ohta 4).  Turnovers (points allowed) – Simon 13 (9), SPU 21 (27).  Total fouls – Simon 17, SPU 23.  Technical fouls – None.  Attendance – 125.
 
 
Next game
Season complete.
 
 
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