ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team set a new program record with 19 3-pointers against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday night, while Grace Turley, Layne Kearns, Haylie-Anne Ohta, and Grace Mertes set new career-highs in points scored, leading the Falcons to a 101-98 victory over the Seawolves.
 
FROM THE COACH
"The way the team played and the things that they accomplished tonight bring tears to my eyes about how proud I am of this team," head coach Karen Byers said. "We had great mindsets, played with joy, followed the plan, and I can't be prouder. There are still a few things to work on, but I'm happy that we'll get to celebrate these accomplishments tonight."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Thursday's game between the Falcons and the Seahawks featured nine ties and 23 lead changes.
  • The Falcons led for 61.8 percent of Thursday's contest.
• SPU's largest lead of the game happened with 28 seconds left in the third quarter when they were up 74-67.
  • The Falcons went 6-for-7 from 3-point range during the fourth quarter, led by 10 points from Kearns.
• The Falcons had closed out Thursday's historic victory by hitting free throws late, as the team made 13 free throws during the fourth quarter.
  • Those 13 free throws were aided by another stellar quarter of 3-point shooting, as SPU hit four of its five 3-point attempts over the final 10 minutes of the game.
• SPU hung on to pick up the 101-98 victory on the road against the Seawolves.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons were other-worldly from 3-point range, going 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) from deep against the Seawolves.
  • They finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field and went 20-for-27 from the free throw line.
• Turley scored a career-high 33 points while shooting 9-for-17 from the field.
  • Turley took advantage of free attempts, making 12 of her 15 tries from the line.
• Kearns scored a career-high 26 points with 10 made field goals, including four made 3-pointers.
  • Kearns pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Falcons.
  • Kearns also led the Falcons with six assists on Thursday.
• Ohta scored a career-high 17 points while making all five of her 3-point attempts.
  • Ohta had five assists with seven rebounds on Thursday.
• Mertes went 5-for-8 from 3-point range on her way to setting a new career-high of 17 points.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons entered the weekend shooting 24.8 percent from 3-point range during the 2025-26 season.
  • SPU raised its 3-point field goal percentage to 28 percent in one game.
• Turley (33), Kearns (26), Ohta (17), and Mertes (17) all set new career-highs in scoring on Thursday night for the Falcons.
• The Falcons topped the previous program record of 17 made 3-pointers, set on Jan. 27, 2007, against Dixie State (now Utah Tech).
• Thursday was the first time the Falcons have scored 100 points or more in a single game since Jan. 27, 2007, when they beat Dixie State 106-62 in Seattle.
• Thursday was the first win of any kind against Anchorage at Anchorage since March 2, 2018 (74-65 in GNAC Tournament semifinals).
• The Falcons picked up their first regular-season victory at Anchorage since March 6, 2010 (67-60 in regular-season finale).

UP NEXT
The Falcons finish off their weekend in Alaska when they play Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PST.
 
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