SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team hosted 14th-ranked Central Washington on Thursday evening, where the high-powered offense from the Wildcats was too much for the Falcons to overcome, as they fell 88-56.

FROM THE COACH
"Central is one of the best teams in the country and is always a tough competitor," head coach Karen Byers said. "Our defense and rebounding struggled tonight. We were able to limit our turnovers, and we outscored them on the free throw line. We will adjust and see what we can do in our next game."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week Grace Leasure gave the Falcons an early 2-0 lead after hitting a pair of free throws.
• The Wildcats responded with an 18-6 run over the next five minutes of the first quarter.
  • The Falcons went 3-for-6 from the field during that stretch, with Leasure scoring four points while Grace Turley added two more.
• The Falcons trailed the Wildcats 24-16 at the end of the first quarter.
• The Falcons fell victim to another 19-6 run from the Wildcats that lasted the first seven minutes of the second quarter.
  • Grace Mertes made a 3-pointer, Layne Kearns hit a floating jump shot, and a free throw from Haylie-Anne Ohta made up the scoring for the Falcons over that span.
• A pull-up jumper from Turley ended the scoring in the first half, as the Falcons trailed 46-27.
• The Falcons opened the third quarter with a short 6-2 run over the Wildcats.
  • SPU went 3-for-4 from the field during that span.
• The Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run, which gave them a 60-35 lead with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter.
• In the fourth quarter, SPU had an 8-2 run against CWU.
  • Turley, Jadlyn Senderson, Leasure, and Kara Wilson scored two points each for the Falcons.
• The Wildcats went on to take the game 88-56.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• Leasure led the Falcons with 17 points scored while grabbing a team-high four rebounds and six steals.
• Kearns scored 10 points with three rebounds.
• Turley led the Falcons with three assists. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Wildcats entered the game ranked 14th in the country in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association national poll.

UP NEXT
The Falcons are back at home on Saturday when they host Northwest Nazarene at 4:15 p.m.
 
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