Box score, play-by-play
 
SEATTLE – Always nice to win a conference opener – even nicer when it's against an undefeated opponent.
 
Katie Benson pumped in 18 points on Thursday night and was one of four Seattle Pacific players in double figures as the Falcons opened the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball schedule by beating Northwest Nazarene in Brougham Pavilion, 76-69.
                      
The Falcons (4-1, 1-0 GNAC) have won 11 of their 12 all-time GNAC openers, the only glitch being last year's 79-74 loss at Simon Fraser. Northwest Nazarene (5-1, 0-1 GNAC) absorbed its first setback after winning five straight in non-conference play.
 
“We beat a good team – they had won five games and three in a row that were very close, so they came in here very confident,” coach Julie Heisey said. “Our kids found a way to win when we really weren't playing great. NNU had 71 shots to our 54, and they had 12 offensive rebounds to our 11. To win a game against a good team when they have 17 more shots – that's a big deal.”
 
Junior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) also grabbed seven rebounds and had two blocked shots.
 
Junior guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS) saw her first action of the season after missing the initial four games with an injury, and came off the bench for 15 points. Senior guard Rachel Murray (Eglington, Australia) had 12 points and seven rebounds, and junior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) chipped in11 points and four assists.
 




The Falcons play host to Central Washington Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific went on a 10-0 early-game run to turn a 10-5 deficit into a 15-10 lead, and never trailed again. But the Crusaders stayed within striking distance all night. Six times, the Falcons forged  a double-digit lead, the last one at 61-51 with 7:52 left. Six times, NNU got it back down to single digits, finally closing to 72-69 with 19.4 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Megan Hingston.
 
But Kingma hit two free throws to make it 74-69 at 18.3 seconds. The Crusaders missed back-to-back 3-point tries, and Callen rebounded the second one. She was fouled immediately, and swished both free throws with 1.5 seconds showing.
 
“NNU plays hard, and they put a lot of pressure on us and forced us out of what we wanted to do,” Heisey said. “But just like the Azusa Pacific game (a 76-74 SPU overtime victory on Nov. 17), I'm really proud of how we played the last four minutes. We executed at both ends of the floor, and we looked like the team that I see in practice.”
 
Kingma's return gave Seattle Pacific an added boost. She hit her first three shots of the game, two from downtown, and wound up 5 of 9, with 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc in 28 minutes.
 
“Coach (Michelle) Skyles said to me before I checked in just to get into the flow of the game because it had been so long since I played. I felt like that really helped to get out there and get my feet under me,” Kingma said. “I felt comfortable pretty quick.”
 
Despite getting off way fewer shots than NNU, the Falcons had their second-most accurate night of the season at 48.1 percent (26 of 54), including 50 percent (14 of 28) after halftime. They shot a season-best 50 percent from 3-point range (6 of 12). NNU hit just 36.6 percent overall (26 of 71), and 21.1 percent on treys (4 of 19).
 
SPU dominated the boards, 46-34. Of the 10 Falcons who played, nine grabbed at least one rebound.
 
Hingston, the GNAC's No. 2 scorer at 16.0 points per game, tallied a game-high 19. Chelsie Luke, the No. 4 scorer at 15.6, added 10. 
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 76, Northwest Nazarene 69
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (5-1, 0-1 GNAC)
Ferrenburg 3-8 2-2 8, Adams 3-9 2-4 9, Schierman 2-5 0-0 4, Hingston 7-18 4-6 19, Luke 4-16 0-0 10, Simmons 2-7 3-4 7, White 1-1 2-2 4, Skokankova 3-4 0-0 6, Swanson 1-2 0-0 2, Warwick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 13-18 69.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-1, 1-0 GNAC)
Benson 6-13 4-6 18, Ohlsen 4-6 0-0 9, Callen 3-5 5-7 11, Murray 3-8 6-7 12, Barnes 1-5 0-0 2, Bowen 2-4 1-3 5, Teng 0-0 0-0 0, Kingman 5-9 2-2 15, Pflaumer 2-3 0-0 4, Butler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 18-25 76.
 
Northwest Nazarene         29           40           -- 69
Seattle Pacific                     37           39           -- 76
 
3-point goals – NNU 4-19 (Adams 1-5, Schierman 0-3, Hingston 1-3, Luke 2-6, Simmons 0-2), SPU 6-12 (Benson 2-3, Ohlsen 1-1, Murray 0-1, Barnes 0-2, Bowen 0-1, Kingma 3-4). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – NNU 34 (Luke 7), SPU 46 (Benson 7, Murray 7).  Assists – NNU 10 (Luke 3), SPU 15 (Ohlsen 5). Turnovers – NNU 11, SPU 24. Technical fouls – None. Total fouls – NNU 21, SPU 18. Attendance – 202.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-1, 1-0 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene 5-1, 0-1 GNAC.
 
Next game – Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 7:00 p.m.