Box score, play-by-play

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – A shot by Nyesha Sims to tie the game never even made it to the rim.

Her shot to win the game hit nothing but net.

Sims drained a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left on Saturday night, capping a comeback from an 11-point deficit as the Seattle Pacific women knocked off 17th-ranked Chico State in the CCAA-GNAC Challenge tournament, 57-56.

That was the first lead for the Falcons (4-2) since 3:14 remained in the first half of the game in The Wolves' Den at Sonoma State University.

“I saw the shot going down, and I knew it was going to go in,” said junior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.), who finished with a game-high 16 points and was named to the all-tournament team. “I just felt bad for missing that last lay-up.

“It's like I said before: Trust your next shot.”

For the second straight night, senior forward Caitlyn Rohrbach (Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale HS) scored a career high, finishing with 15 points -- and that helped her win tournament MVP honors. Rohrbach had 14 in Friday's 64-49 tourney victory against Sonoma State. She also grabbed eight rebounds on Saturday.

Seattle Pacific was down 54-43 with 7:01 to go after Chico State, thanks to five straight makes from 3-point range, completed a 17-6 run that snapped a 37-37 tie.

But the Wildcats scored just two more points the rest of the way – and nothing in the final 3:42 -- as SPU finished the game with a 14-2 run. 

That started with a 9-0 spurt in just two minutes, cutting the Falcons' deficit to 54-52 with 4:58 remaining.

Sims had a chance to tie it on a fast break with 26 seconds to play. But a Wildcats defender knocked the ball away from her underneath the basket. The ensuing scramble was whistled a jump ball, with the possession arrow favoring Chico State.

“She jumped up and she ended up with the ball,” Sims said.

That left Chico with the ball, a 56-54 lead, and the shot clock off.

The Falcons immediately fouled Courtney Harrison, who missed the front end of the ensuing one-and-one with 22 seconds left. But the Wildcats secured the offensive rebound, and Harrison was fouled again, sending her back to the line for another one-and-one. Again, the first one missed, and Sims grabbed her eighth rebound of the night.

SPU had one timeout remaining, but brought the ball upcourt instead. Sims got it to junior point guard Jordan Harazin, who called the play the Falcons had set up during the previous timeout. That play didn't develop properly, so Harazin fired a pass to Sims, who set up and, with multiple defenders on her, launched one from downtown that nestled into the net.

.”We were hoping for the lay-up. Instead, Nyesha got the 3. (And) she had three people on her,” Falcons coach Julie van Beek Heisey said.

A long try by Chico State at the buzzer fell short.

“This was a very, very good team (that we beat),” Heisey said of the Wildcats, who rallied from 12 down on Friday to hand 14th-ranked Western Washington its first loss of the season, 65-62 in overtime. “It was a real good win and a real good confidence builder after losing two last weekend. … We were down 11 and we showed a lot of poise. Different people stepped up in the game.”

Senior center Melissa Reich (Bothell, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons, who won the boards, 39-30 (keeping Chico State 12 below its CCAA-leading average of 42). It was Reich who scored the first four points of the 9-0 run as SPU cut its deficit from 54-43 to 54-42.

Guards Maddie Maloney (Issaquah, Wash./Skyline HS) and Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) each had six points and five assists. Maloney also collected five boards.

“Our seniors were stellar,” Heisey said of Reich, Rohrbach and Maloney. “Caitlyn gave us two huge spurts with rebounds and lay-ups. Maddie had five offensive rebounds, five assists and just one turnover. And Melissa – they were double-teaming her, and she was still 6 for 12 (from the field).”

Chico State (7-1) was led by the 15 points of Taylor Lydon, all of them from 3-point range as she buried 5 of 6 from behind the arc. For the game, the Wildcats hit as many treys as they did twos, and shot better from downtown (10 of 18 for 55.6 percent) than from closer to the hoop (10 of 25 for 40 percent).

Seattle Pacific hit 39.7 percent for the game (25 of 63). And, for the fourth straight game, the Falcons kept their turnovers below 20, committing just 17 and forcing 19 by Chico State.

The Falcons are off until next Saturday when they open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at Simon Fraser. The tip-off in Burnaby, B.C., is at 5:15 p.m.



NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CCAA-GNAC Challenge
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Wolves' Den at Sonoma State/Rohnert Park, Calif.

Seattle Pacific 57, (No. 17) Chico State 56

CHICO STATE (7-1)
Lydon, Taylor 5-7 0-0 15; Girten, Katie 4-6 0-0 12; Ferrall, Pauline 3-6 3-6
9; Harrison, Courtney 2-9 1-4 6; Marquardt, Kristin 3-5 0-0 6; Collins,
Molly 3-6 0-0 6; Hamilton, Courtney 0-1 2-2 2; Riezebos, Analise 0-0 0-0 0;
Miller, Jazmine 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-43 6-12 56. 

SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-2)
Sims,Nyesha 6-12 3-3 16; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 7-15 0-0 15; Reich,Melissa 6-12
0-2 12; Maloney,Maddie 3-8 0-1 6; Harazin,Jordan 2-4 0-2 6; Benson,Katie 1-5
0-0 2; Murray,Rachel 0-6 0-0 0; Callen,Aubree 0-0 0-0 0; Thralls,Katie 0-0
0-0 0; Gorman,McKayla 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 3-8 57. 

Chico State..................... 30 26 - 56
Seattle Pacific............... 26 31 - 57 

3-point goals--Chico State 10-18 (Lydon, Taylor 5-6; Girten, Katie 4-6;
Harrison, Courtney 1-3; Collins, Molly 0-2; Miller, Jazmine 0-1), Seattle
Pacific 4-17 (Harazin,Jordan 2-4; Rohrbach,Caitlyn 1-3; Sims,Nyesha 1-4;
Benson,Katie 0-1; Murray,Rachel 0-3; Gorman,McKayla 0-1; Maloney,Maddie
0-1). Fouled out--Chico State-None, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds--Chico
State 30 (Collins, Molly 9), Seattle Pacific 39 (Sims,Nyesha 8;
Rohrbach,Caitlyn 8). Assists--Chico State 17 (Hamilton, Courtney 5), Seattle
Pacific 17 (Maloney,Maddie 5; Harazin,Jordan 5). Total fouls--Chico State
15, Seattle Pacific 10. Technical fouls--Chico State-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-187.