The women’s basketball team stayed in the game for most of the afternoon, but third-ranked Seattle Pacific showed why it is one of the top teams in the country, taking the early lead and never relinquishing it in a 63-47 victory Saturday in GNAC action at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
Pacific (17-0, 8-0 GNAC) scored 12 of the game’s first 14 points, but responded, going on an 8-0 run later in the first half to cut the Falcon lead to 18-14 with 6:10 left in the first half. The Falcons would score six unanswered points to extend their lead to 11, but a three-pointer by Kamrica Ary-Turner ( Way, ) and a layup by Jackie Thomas () allowed SeattleU to go into the locker room at halftime down by only six points at 30-24.
The two teams basically traded baskets for most of the second half, with a jumper by Ary-Turner bringing the Redhawks within seven at 52-45 with 5:03 remaining. Seattle Pacific put the game away with a 9-0 run, the last four points of the run on back-to-back layups by Daesha Henderson.
Hoping to provide a spark off the bench, junior Alysse Carlson () led SeattleU with a career-high 11 points, hitting 3-of-4 shots from behind the three-point line. Thomas finished the game with ten points, seven rebounds, three assists, and six steals, while Ary-Turner earned nine points and four rebounds in the contest.
Seattle Pacific’s Kelsey Hill led all players with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots, including a perfect 8-of-8 performance at the free throw line. Jackie Hollands scored 14 points and dished out four assists, while Megan Hoisington finished with ten points. Point guard Beth Christensen contributed four points, four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals to the winning effort.
shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the field, while Seattle Pacific hit 42.9 percent (21-of-49) of its field goal attempts. The Falcons enjoyed a significant advantage at the free throw line, hitting 16-of-26 attempts from the charity stripe while the Redhawks hit only 3-of-5 shots from the foul line. Seattle Pacific, which also won the rebounding battle, 37-34, has now won 20 straight games over dating back to Nov. 21, 1995.
(12-4, 3-4 GNAC) will look to recover at home next weekend, as Saint Martin’s comes to the for a GNAC contest Thursday, Jan. 31, beginning at 7 p.m. The Redhawks will also host Western Oregon next Saturday, Feb. 2, also at 7 p.m. at the .