Box score, play-by-play
PHOTO GALLERY
SEATTLE -- Just like anyone else on the court, Jordan Harazin loves to score. But the Seattle Pacific sophomore guard never passes up a chance to pass the basketball.
Harazin handed out a career-best six assists, half of which factored into Sydney Benson's career-high 22 points, leading the 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific Falcons to an 86-44 rout of Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Homecoming Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
Senior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) easily eclipsed her previous career high of 16 points, which she set on Jan. 14 against Saint Martin's. She hit 10 of 11 from the floor on Saturday -- most of those from underneath after draining a career-high three shots from 3-point range in Thursday's 57-42 victory against Alaska Anchorage.
Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) topped her best assist total by one. She had dished out five assists on three previous occasions, most recently against Montana State Billings on Jan. 21 in Brougham.
Altogether, the Falcons (15-3, 6-1 GNAC) had assists on 28 of their 34 baskets. They came into Saturday's contest leading the GNAC at 17.8 assists per game, and ranked No. 15 among Division II schools nationally in that department.
“We were trying to be a little more humble with the ball and make the extra pass,” said Harazin, who also contributed seven points, six rebounds and had just one turnover. “We had a goal of 22 assists. I love to give my teammates the ball and watch them score.”
Seattle Pacific broke open the game with a 20-2 first-half scoring run, turning a 6-6 tie into a 26-8 lead. That was sparked by stretch of hot shooting when the Falcons hit 9 of 10 after starting the game 5 of 15.
Up 37-14 at halftime, SPU scored the first 19 points of the second half, as the Nanooks (1-17, 0-7 GNAC), who lost for the 17th straight time, didn't get onto the board after halftime until 14:26 remained in the game. Seattle Pacific's lead grew to as many as 53 points at 73-20 with 10:09 left in the game.
In short, there was no backing off after Thursday's hard-fought 57-42 homecourt victory against 13th-ranked Alaska Anchorage.
“This was a great week for us. Coming off a loss (the Falcons fell 54-40 at Western Washington last Saturday), your goal is to see what you're made of and if you can learn from it," SPU coach Julie van Beek said. "We had a big win on Thursday, and the hard part is coming back and not having an emotional letdown. We set eight goals before the game today, and we hit six of the eight. That tells me they were focused.”
Senior guard Daesha Henderson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) added 10 points for the Falcons.
Ronisha Edwards led Alaska Fairbanks with 10 points. She was coming off a 29-point performance in Thursday's 91-56 loss at Northwest Nazarene.
Seattle Pacific, after struggling offensively the past two games, hit 49.3 percent from the floor on Saturday (34 of 69), including 61.3 percent (19 of 31) during the second half. The Falcons limited Fairbanks to just 25.8 percent shooting (16 of 62).
The Falcons remain in sole possession of second place in the GNAC, trailing only Western Washington.
“We're in a good spot, but we're never going to settle for that,” Harazin said. “Every game is tough. You're going to have Western Washington one week, Alaska Anchorage the next week and Northwest Nazarene the next. But playing a hard schedule is going to be to our benefit at tournament time.”
One of those teams -- NNU -- shows up on Seattle Pacific's schedule next Saturday afternoon at Brougham Pavilion. But before that, the Falcons hit the road for next Thursday's 5:15 p.m. game at Central Washington in Ellensburg, which will bring them to the midpoint of the GNAC schedule.
“The big thing is we have to get through the first half conference play,” van Beek said. “I've liked our schedule because we've had one of the top teams every week, and that keeps you really sharp. But at the same time, you can't take anything for granted. We have to keep doing the little things right and find ways to keep improving.”
NCAA Women's Basketball
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
(No. 21) Seattle Pacific 86, Alaska Fairbanks 44
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (1-17, 0-7 GNAC)
Edwards,Ronisha 7-25 3-4 20; Harrison,Jessica 3-7 2-3 8; Hamsley,Caitlin 2-6
0-0 5; Levi,Lakeshia 1-4 3-4 5; Melonson,Alexandra 2-12 0-0 4;
Anderson,Britany 1-5 0-0 2; Savel,Christina 0-0 0-0 0; Benavides,Denise 0-3
0-0 0. Totals 16-62 8-11 44.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (15-3, 6-1 GNAC)
Benson,Sydney 10-11 2-2 22; Henderson,Daesha 3-9 2-4 10; Sims,Nyesha 4-6 0-0
9; Harazin,Jordan 3-4 0-0 7; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 3-7 0-0 6; Hoisington,Megan
3-8 0-0 6; Reimer,Joani 2-2 2-2 6; Murray,Rachel 1-1 3-4 5; Thralls,Katie
1-2 1-2 4; Maloney,Maddie 1-4 1-2 3; Smith,Chanel 1-3 0-0 3; Gorman,McKayla
1-4 0-0 3; Reich,Melissa 1-5 0-0 2; Teng,Michelle 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 34-69
11-16 86.
Alaska Fairbanks.............. 14 30 - 44
Seattle Pacific................... 37 49 - 86
3-point goals--Alaska Fairbanks 4-16 (Edwards,Ronisha 3-9; Hamsley,Caitlin
1-4; Melonson,Alexandra 0-2; Anderson,Britany 0-1), Seattle Pacific 7-19
(Henderson,Daesha 2-4; Smith,Chanel 1-2; Sims,Nyesha 1-2; Thralls,Katie 1-1;
Harazin,Jordan 1-2; Gorman,McKayla 1-3; Teng,Michelle 0-2; Maloney,Maddie
0-2; Hoisington,Megan 0-1). Fouled out--Alaska Fairbanks-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. Rebounds--Alaska Fairbanks 37 (Edwards,Ronisha 10), Seattle
Pacific 45 (Henderson,Daesha 6; Reich,Melissa 6). Assists--Alaska Fairbanks
5 (Edwards,Ronisha 2; Hamsley,Caitlin 2), Seattle Pacific 28 (Harazin,Jordan
6). Total fouls--Alaska Fairbanks 11, Seattle Pacific 16. Technical
fouls--Alaska Fairbanks-Edwards,Ronisha, Seattle Pacific-None. A-653.
