Last Time Out: The Redhawks (3-15) suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to the University of Portland 74-69 on Jan. 3, in the Connolly Center. After heading into halftime with a point advantage and taking a 15 point lead midway through the final half of regulation, the Pilots battled back to send the game into extra periods. Despite keeping the early overtime minutes even keeled, it was UP who managed to sink in critical baskets and insurance points to hand SU the loss. The game marked the Redhawk's first overtime contest this season.
In the game, three SeattleU players scored in double-digits, led by Ashley Brown with 24. The Kirkland, Wash. native broke her existing career-high of 23 in the game. Sophomore Elle Kerfoot added 19 points, to score in double-digits for the sixth straight game, and senior Cassidy Murillo added 11.
On Deck: Following their pit stop in North Dakota, SeattleU will head south to South Dakota for an 11 a.m. PT game in Vermillion, S.D.
Follow the Game: Fans be sure to log onto www.GoSeattleU.com to follow all your Redhawk women's basketball action. Live stats and streaming will be available from Grand Forks, N.D.
First Overtime Game This Season: The Portland game marked a new first for the Redhawks this season - their first overtime contest. After competing and leading the WCC foe for much of the game, the Pilots were able to garner enough momentum to hand SU their first overtime loss of the year, 74-69.
On the Road...Again: The Redhawks will play their ninth game of the 2009-10 season on the road, when they face off with North Dakota on Friday, Jan. 8. The contest will mark their fifth in a six-game period away from the Connolly Center. They will extend it to 10 road contests two days later at South Dakota.
The Brown-Kerfoot Tandem: Senior Ashley Brown and sophomore Elle Kerfoot have combined for a strong offensive tandem since Kerfoot's return to action seven games ago. Over the last seven contests, Brown has knocked in 98 points to maintain her top scorer's honors and a 14.5 points per game average. Similarly, Kerfoot has scored 96 points over that same period and is averaging a second-best 13.7 points. The pair are the only two players to be averaging in double-digits this year.
Lighten the Load: With such a frontloaded schedule made up of 17 games during the fall of 2009, the Redhawks will enjoy a less hectic final half of the 2009-10 campaign. Beginning Jan. 1, they will play 13 games, but will remain on the West Coast for eight of those contests.
Scouting University of North Dakota: The University of North Dakota hosts the Redhawks following a four-game losing streak. They return home after suffering a 76-65 loss to Eastern Michigan to fall to 3-12 on the year. Three Fighting Sioux players scored in double-digits, beginning with Whitney Ledger who tallied 20 points, going 7-for-14 from the field and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. The forward also added 13 boards for a double-double in the losing effort. Kayla Bagaason and Jossy Bergan rounded out the trio of top scorers with 18 and 12 points, respectively. Guard Mallory Youngblut dished out a team-leading six assists.
This season Bagaason leads UND, averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 boards in 15 straight starts. Top rebounding honors are shared by Ledger and Youngblut, with 6.3 per game. Bergan is the team's assist leader with 2.5 dishes per game. On the year, North Dakota has not seen the win column since Dec. 18, when they beat Northern Arizona 69-55 at home. They own a slight advantage over SeattleU with their victories, as their first, on Nov. 23, was 57-50 at New Mexico State. The other win on the year was on Dec. 7, versus Maryville State, 75-51.
The Redhawks are 1-3 all-time versus the Fighting Sioux. During the 2008-09 season, SU faced North Dakota three times, beginning with a 75-74 victory on February 7, in Seattle. The following two matchups were in Grand Forks, N.D. SU fell on the losing end on both road games.
Game 18 Recap - University of Portland
Jan. 3, 2010 - L (OT) 68-74
In their first overtime contest of the season, the Seattle University women's basketball team was unable to hang on to their early point advantage, as they fell to the University of Portland Sunday afternoon. The Redhawks were edged late in the game by Pilots as they dropped a 74-69 overtime decision at the Connolly Center.
The Redhawks went into halftime riding a 9-2 scoring run, which they carried through into the second half of play. With 12:05 remaining in regulation, SeattleU garnered at 15 point lead, their best score advantage of the afternoon. The second half looked to be the SU half, where they were going to continue to play their pace and cruise to their fourth victory of the season, but it was the Pilot's who began to play tight and scrappy man-on-man defense. They began to chip away at the SeattleU lead and with four-and-a-half minutes left in the second period, Portland made it a 58-57 game. The once double-digit Redhawk lead had diminished to one point.
The Pilots went into overtime with the momentum on their side, after a strong second half where they came back from a double-digit deficit. Both squads exchanged leads in the first minute of extra time, with SU holding a 69-68 advantage with 1:57 left in overtime. Over a minute later it was Portland who got back on the board to add four insurance points to hand SU their 15th loss of the season.
On the day, Ashley Brown led both teams with 24 points, setting a new career-high. She also added nine boards to lead SU on the day. Elle Kerfoot scored in double-digits for the sixth consecutive game with 19 points, and senior Cassidy Murillo rounded out the trio of top-scorers with 11 points and a team-leading five assists.