• Final Statistics

SEATTLE – Nyesha Sims pulled 'em down. And Betsy Kingma put 'em in.
 
Sims grabbed an eye-popping 23 rebounds to tie the Great Northwest Athletic Conference single-game record, and Kingma scored a career-high 18 points on Saturday night, leading  Seattle Pacific to a 69-62 women's basketball victory against  Alaska Fairbanks at Brougham Pavilion.

Falcons senior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) eclipsed her previous career-best total of 19 rebounds, which she set against Fairbank on Jan. 5 in the Nanooks' gym. Her performance on Saturday matched  the GNAC record of 23 established on Dec. 13, 2009 by Kristin Hein of Northwest Nazarene. Sims, who also contributed 14 points, helped SPU dominate the boards by a 55-39 margin.
 
“I don't go out there thinking I'm going to get 23 rebounds. But I do go out there thinking I'm going to be a rebounding machine,” said Sims, whose double-double was her ninth of the season and the 14^th of her career. “We need everyone to box out and everyone to rebound. Most of the time, I'm guarding (the other team's) point guard, so it's easier for me to rebound and do my part. It's one of the biggest things I can do for the team.”

The Falcons (15-6) improved to 9-4 in conference play after completing a home sweep of the Alaska schools. They upset league-leading and eighth-ranked Anchorage 67-62 on Thursday, and now are all alone in third place after Montana State Billings fell to 8-5 with a 56-51 loss at home to Anchorage on Saturday.

Fairbanks (6-17) had its GNAC record fall to 2-11 with its 21st consecutive loss to SPU.
 





“The bottom line is we won. We came back and we found a way,” Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. “We had to dp some things differently, but the kids stepped up and we won. Now, we have to move forward. There' s not one easy game in the next five.”
 
That five-game stretch to conclude the regular season begins on Thursday night at Northwest Nazarene at 6 p.m. PST, followed by a trip to Central Washington next Saturday night at 7.
 
The 18 points by sophomore guard Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) erased her previous high of 15, set on Jan. 7 at Alaska Anchorage. Kingma hit 7 of 12, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
 
“I haven't shot as well as I would have liked the last couple games, so it was nice to come out and hit a couple,” Kingma said. “Aubree Callen came in at one point and told me I was shooting well, and she was going to look to get me the ball, and it's always nice to have that kind of backup from a teammate. And my (other) teammates, after I hit a couple, continued to look for me.”
 
Seattle Pacific broke a 33-33 tie with 10 unanswered points to surge ahead 43-33 with 12:27 left to play. Four different players contributed to the run, including senior guard McKayla Gorman (Parker, Colo.), who hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired. That made it 38-33. Kingma drained a trey for a 41-33 lead, and Sims hit a pair of free throws for the 10-point advantage.

Nicole Bozek scored 21 points to lead the Nanooks, including a three-point play that drew her team within 64-62 with 48.4 seconds left to play.

SPU converted 5 of 6 free throws inside the final 36 seconds to turn away the rally.

Nicole Hartzog scored 10 points for Fairbanks, which was limited to 28 percent shooting (20 of 71). The Falcons countered with 39-percent accuracy from the floor (25 of 64).

In the first half, the Nanooks got a pair of put-backs, from Jacqueline Lovato and Bozek, to claim a 24-20 lead with 4:52 on the clock.

Seattle Pacific answered with an 11-4 run to close the half with a 31-28 edge. Kingma capped the surge with a 3-pointer, followed by a traditional three-point play.


NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 69, Alaska Fairbanks 62

ALASKA FAIRBANKS (6-17, 2-11 GNAC)
Lovato 3-4 0-1 7, Bozek 6-20 9-11 21, Hartzog 1-12 8-8 10, Bulaya 1-4 2-2 4, Greene 3-10 0-1 7, Altenburg 4-13 0-1 9, Logue 2-8 0-0 4, Gabriel 0-0 0-0 0, Eime 0-0 0-0 0, Beans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-71 19-24 62.

SEATTLE PACIFIC  (15-6, 9-4 GNAC)
Reimer 1-3 2-3 4, Benson 2-10 4-4 8, Harazin 2-6 2-2 6, Callen 3-7 1-4 8, Sims 5-15 2-2 14, Kingma 7-12 1-1 18, Ohlsen 3-7 0-0 6, Gorman 2-3 0-0 5, Butler 0-1 0-0 0, Teng 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 12-16 69.

Alaska Fairbanks.........   28   34  -  62
Seattle Pacific...............   31   38  -  69

3-point goals--UAF 3-11 (Lovato 1-2, Altenburg 1-2, Greene 1-1, Hartzog 0-4, Bozek 0-2), SPU 7-25 (Kingma 3-6, Sims 2-5, Gorman 1-2, Callen 1-3, Harazin 0-4, Ohlsen 0-4, Benson 0-1). Fouled out--UAF-Hartzog , SPU-None. Rebounds--UAF 39 (Altenburg 9), SPU 55 (Sims 23). Assists--UAF 9 (Hartzog, Bulaya 2), SPU 14 (Sims 6). Turnovers--UAF 16, SPU 27. Total fouls--UAF 17, SPU 17. Technical fouls--UAF-None, SPU-None. A-163.


Next Game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:00 p.m. PST
Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho