Talisa Rhea (Juneau, Alaska) hit a running layup with 17 seconds left, and Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) made a key steal and two late free throws to give Seattle University a 74-70 victory over Saint Francis Thursday afternoon on the first day of the Washington Dental Service Holiday Hoops Tournament at KeyArena.
Seattle U held an eight-point lead with 13:40 left in the second half before Saint Francis went on a 9-1 run, punctuated by back-to-back three-pointers from Alli Williams and Rhonda Watts, to pull into a 52-52 tie. A layup by Rhea and two free throws from Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) allowed the Redhawks to retake the lead, and a three-pointer by Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) with just over two minutes left gave Seattle U a 69-64 advantage.
A layup by Nickia Gibbs, a free throw from Williams, and a three-pointer by Watts allowed the Red Flash to pull ahead, 70-69, with 37 seconds left in regulation. Seattle U head coach Joan Bonvicini called timeout and drew up the play that led to Rhea getting the ball and driving to the basket, converting on the play for the final two of her season-high 21 points.
Saint Francis came back down the court, but a long pass from Gibbs was intercepted by Shephard, who was fouled and converted both free throw attempts. Gibbs was fouled, but missed both of her free throw attempts, and Sowell pulled down her 16th rebound of the game to finish off the contest.
"The thing that I liked tonight about our team was our fight," Bonvicini said. "Saint Francis came back in the second half and went up late, but we showed a lot of poise and Talisa hit a clutch jumper. We needed to win a close game like this."
Besides the 21 points, Rhea earned three rebounds, five assists, and four steals, while Sowell notched a double-double with 17 points to go along with her career-high 16 boards. Shephard finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) contributed 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Saint Francis (5-6) took an early 8-2 lead thanks to two three-pointers by Alexa Hayward, who answered a Talisa Rhea three-pointer with one of her own to maintain the six-point advantage for the Red Flash. Down by five after a three-pointer from Alli Williams, Seattle U went on a 14-1 run over the next seven minutes to pull ahead, 27-19.
A 7-1 scoring run for Saint Francis, punctuated by a three-pointer from Kelley Doogan, cut the Redhawk advantage to two at 30-28, but Seattle U scored five unanswered points on a three-pointer by Sylvia Shephard and two free throws from Amani Butler to extend its lead to seven at 35-28. Williams scored three points in the final two minutes to bring the Red Flash to within four at 35-31 at halftime.
Williams notched a double-double for the Red Flash with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Watts contributed 14 points off the bench. Seattle University won the rebounding battle, 48-37, and made 21-of-34 attempts from the free throw line, while Saint Francis was just 9-of-20 from the charity stripe.
In the first game of the WDS Holiday Hoops Tournament, Eastern Michigan defeated Saint Louis, 66-55, behind 19 points by Tavelyn James and 10 points, four rebounds, six assists, and seven steals from Desyree Thomas. Jacy Bradley led Saint Louis with 13 points, while two other Billiken players scored 12 points apiece.
Seattle University (7-6) will face Eastern Michigan in the championship game of the Washington Dental Service Holiday Hoops Tournament Friday, Dec. 30, at 3:15 p.m. at KeyArena.