Box score, play-by-play
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Senior forward Megan Hoisington scored 11 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, and the 20th-ranked Seattle Pacific women scored the first 14 points of the game, then fended off Grand Canyon on the final night of the Triton Holiday Classic, 58-53.
The Falcons (8-2) bounced back from Monday's 82-80 double-overtime loss to host UC San Diego in RIMAC Arena.
Senior forward Sydney Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added 10 points and six rebounds for SPU. Junior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) pulled down eight rebounds.
Hoisington (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) passed her previous career high of 11 rebounds when she collected her 12th with 1:37 left in the first half. She was named to the all-tournament team, the only Falcon to earn that honor. It was Hoisington's third all-tourney team of the season. She previously was named among the top five players in SPU's Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Novenmber and the GNAC-Pac West Classic in early December.
The Falcons turned the tables on Grand Canyon (5-5), which scored a 69-55 victory against Seattle Pacific at the GNAC-Pac West Classic on Dec. 4 in Nampa, Idaho.
SPU built a 14-0 lead by hitting five of its first nine shots while the Antelopes missed their first nine on Tuesday night. Grand Canyon didn't get on the board until Shareka Purnell converted a steal into a lay-in with 12:46 left in the first half.
Down 27-17 at halftime, the Antelopes opened the second half on a 17-7 scoring run to climb into a 34-34 tie. But the Falcons scored the next seven points -- a 3-pointer by junior guard Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) and back-to-back lay-ins by Benson to take a 41-34 lead.
SPU built it all the way to a 15-point advantage at 58-43 with 2:09 left before Grand Canyon scored the final 10 points of the game.
High-scoring Antelope guard Samantha Murphy, who came into the game averaging 23.1 points and who went for 26 last time against Seattle Pacific, was limited to a season-low 11 on 2-of-14 shooting. She didn't get onto the board until she drained a 3-pointer with 4:29 left in the first half.
The Falcons pulled down a season-high 49 rebounds, 18 more than Grand Canyon. SPU hit 42 percent from the field (21 of 50), a 13-point improvement from its first game against the Antelopes. Grand Canyon hit just 30.6 percent (19 of 62).
UC San Diego went on to win the tournament, defeating Western Washington in Tuesday's other game, 89-82. The Vikings edged Grand Canyon in Monday's opening game, 81-78.
Seattle Pacific concludes its three-game California road trip and its nonconference on Thursday at 2 p.m. at Azusa Pacific.
NCAA Women's Basketball
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
RIMAC Arena/La Jolla, Calif.
(No. 20) Seattle Pacific 58, Grand Canyon 53
GRAND CANYON (5-5)
Purnell, Shareka 6-13 2-4 14; Gibson, Kia 5-6 2-3 12; Murphy, Samantha 2-14
5-6 11; Hardin, Ashley 4-12 1-2 9; Johnson, Katie 2-4 0-0 4; Graham, Katrina
0-4 3-7 3; Haddow, Stacy 0-4 0-0 0; Fisher, Kayla 0-2 0-0 0; Iverson, Dana
0-0 0-0 0; Liscum, Steffani 0-3 0-0 0; Girdley, Kristi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
19-62 13-22 53.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-2)
Hoisington,Megan 5-10 1-2 11; Benson,Sydney 4-6 2-2 10; Henderson,Daesha 2-6
3-4 8; Maloney,Maddie 2-6 0-0 6; Sims,Nyesha 3-5 0-0 6; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 2-6
1-2 5; Gorman,McKayla 1-5 2-4 4; Harazin,Jordan 1-2 0-0 3; Murray,Rachel 0-0
3-5 3; Reich,Melissa 1-4 0-0 2; Thralls,Katie 0-0 0-0 0; Smith,Chanel 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 21-50 12-19 58.
Grand Canyon.................. 17 36 - 53
Seattle Pacific.................. 27 31 - 58
3-point goals--Grand Canyon 2-17 (Murphy, Samantha 2-8; Hardin, Ashley 0-2;
Haddow, Stacy 0-3; Fisher, Kayla 0-1; Liscum, Steffani 0-1; Purnell, Shareka
0-2), Seattle Pacific 4-18 (Maloney,Maddie 2-4; Harazin,Jordan 1-1;
Henderson,Daesha 1-5; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 0-1; Gorman,McKayla 0-3; Sims,Nyesha
0-2; Hoisington,Megan 0-2). Fouled out--Grand Canyon-None, Seattle
Pacific-Murray,Rachel. Rebounds--Grand Canyon 31 (Hardin, Ashley 6), Seattle
Pacific 49 (Hoisington,Megan 16). Assists--Grand Canyon 10 (Purnell, Shareka
5), Seattle Pacific 16 (Henderson,Daesha 4). Total fouls--Grand Canyon 16,
Seattle Pacific 20. Technical fouls--Grand Canyon-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-56.
