Box score, play-by-play
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SEATTLE -- An offensive surge got it started, and some tenacious defense under the basket helped get it finished.
 
Katie Benson scored 17 points, Nyesha Sims posted her sixth double-double of the season, and Seattle Pacific blocked a season-high 11 shots on Saturday afternoon to secure a 72-58 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory against Northwest Nazarene.
 
The outcome in Brougham Pavilion put the Falcons (12-4, 6-2 GNAC) into sole possession of second place in the standings. They will retain that spot into the coming week as Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington, currently tied for first at 5-1, meet Saturday night in Bellingham. The loser of that game will drop into third behind SPU.
 
Sophomore forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) tied her career high for blocks, a total she had reached twice previously. She also had six rebounds.
 
“Defense definitely just sets the tone,” Benson said. “Our team is still trying to find our identity on defense, and we're still working on that. We've seen that we can play defense in certain areas, and if we pull a whole entire game together, the sky is the limit, so that's pretty exciting.”
 
Senior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) -- playing in her 100th SPU game -- logged 12 points and 10 rebounds. She now has 11 career double-doubles.
 
Senior forward Joani Reimer (Ferndale, Wash./Lynden Christian HS) had a career-high three blocks, bettering her previous mark of two, set in 2009. Sophomore guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) handed out a career-high seven assists, improving upon her previous single-game best of six, which she totaled twice.
 



Aside from the 11 blocked shots – which was just two shy of the team record set in 2004 and matched in 2005 – the Falcons put the defensive clamps on NNU guard Megan Hingston, who came into the game averaging a GNAC-leading 17.3 points. Hingston was limited to just six points on 2-of-13 shooting before fouling out with 2:44 left in the game. SPU also kept Crusaders forward Briaunna King in check with 12 points, four below her 16.4 average that ranked No. 5 in the conference.
 
“I'm really excited about what we did against Megan Hingston – we did a really great job on her,” Seattle Pacific head coach Julie Heisey said. “Looking at the stats, you see some good things defensively. We had some kids rotating over, and it was fun to see some of them get blocked shots. Any time you block shots, it gets into people's heads.”
 
The Falcons yielded the first basket of the game to Northwest Nazarene (9-6, 3-4 GNAC), then ran off the next 16 points. The only time the lead dropped into single digits after that was at 18-10.
 
NNU was making a run to close the first half, closing to 35-24 and gaining possession of the ball on a Seattle Pacific turnover with 1.4 seconds left. But the ensuing inbounds pass flew all the way out on the other side of the court, and the Falcons got the ball back, still with 1.4 on the clock.
 
Callen found sophomore guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) open in the right corner, whipped the inbounds to her, and Kingma launched a 3-pointer that snuggled in at the buzzer, pushing the lead to 38-24 at the break.
 
“When they're making a run, you need someone to step up and make that shot – it totally changes things,” Heisey said.”
                         
Chelsie Luke led NNU with 20 points and 13 rebounds. King had 11 boards to go with her 12 points.
 
The Falcons have a bye on Thursday, then return to action next Saturday in Brougham against Montana State Billings at 2:00 p.m. 
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 72, Northwest Nazarene 58
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (9-6, 3-4 GNAC)
Hingston 2-13 2-2 4, King 4-13 4-5 11, Dzhidzhiyeshvili 8-13 0-0 16, Adams 0-6 2-2 2, Luke 9-18 0-0 13, Schumann 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Schindler 1-4 0-0 2, Skokankova 0-0 0-0 0, Warwick 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-71 8-9 58.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-4, 6-2 GNAC)
Murray 2-5 5-8 9, Benson 8-19 0-1 17 Harazin 3-4 0-0 8 Callen 0-4 4-4 4, Sims 6-13 0-0 12, Gorman 1-4 0-0 3, Teng 0-0 0-0 0, Ohlsen 2-3 2-2 7, Thralls 0-0 0-0 0, Kingman 2-6 2-2 7, Reimer 2-3 1-2 5, Butler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 14-19 72.
 
Northwest Nazarene           24           34           -- 58
Seattle Pacific                      38           34           -- 72
 
3-point goals – NNU 2-11 (Hingston 0-1, Adams 0-5, Luke 2-5), SPU 6-16 (Murray 0-2, Benson 1-4, Harazin 2-2, Callen 0-1, Sims 0-2, Gorman 1-2, Ohlsen 1-2, Kingma 1-1). Fouled out – NNU: Hingston, Dzhidzhiyeshvili). Rebounds – NNU 42 (Luke 134, King 11), SPU 44 (Sims 10). Assists – NNU 7 (Adams 3), SPU 18 (Callen  7). Turnovers – NNU 17, SPU 19. Total fouls – NNU 18, SPU 13. Technical fouls – None .A – 248.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 12-4, 6-2 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene 9-6,3-4 GNAC.
 
Next game – Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Jan. 21, Brougham Pavilion, 2:00 p.m.