Box score, play-by-play

NAMPA, Idaho – It all started off so well for Seattle Pacific: Sharp shooting from all over the court. Some solid defense. And a double-digit lead at one of the toughest places to play in the entire Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
However, it didn't finish so well for the Falcons.
                    
Nyesha Sims posted a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds on, but Northwest Nazarene closed the first half with a 16-2 scoring run and stayed in front throughout the second half for an 81-77 women's basketball victory on Thursday night in the Johnson Sports Center.
 
The Falcons (15-7, 9-5 GNAC), who led by 13 midway through the first half, were down by eight early in the second. They eventually climbed into a 59-59 tie, and were still within one at 66-65 with 5:58 to go. But NNU (14-7, 8-5 GNAC) rang up the next eight points to make it 74-65 at the 3:27 mark, and Seattle Pacific never came closer than three after that, the last time at 76-73 with 1:29 to go.
 
The Crusaders pulled away with two baskets and a free throw on their final three possessions.
 
“It's really disappointing, because unlike some of our other losses, our kids played hard tonight and laid it all out there,” SPU head coach Julie Heisey said. “I thought we worked really hard and did so many things well.
 
“But when push came to shove, we couldn't get that one-point lead back.”
 
Indeed, SPU shot 48.4 percent from the field (31 of 64), was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line, had a 36-32 rebounding advantage, and limited its turnovers to 17, one below its season average.
 
But Northwest Nazarene shot slightly better (49.1 percent, 28 of 57), drained 8 of 16 from downtown, and went to the foul line 14 more times (hitting 17 of 24).
 
What's more, the Crusaders had an answer whenever Seattle Pacific had a chance to get back on top.
 
“Hats off to them – they made their shots,” Heisey said. “We tied it at 59-59; a few times we were down by one … our kids never game up. But they kept going at us, and we fouled them. We did change defenses, but we just couldn't get over the hump.”
 
Seattle Pacific returns to action at Central Washington on Saturday night at 7.
 
The double-double for senior guard Sims (Portland, Ore.) was her 10^th of the season and 15^th of her career. She got 16 of her points during the first half.
 
Sophomore guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho) added 15 points for SPU, and senior guard Jordan Harazin (Colfax, Wash./Colfax HS) chipped in 10.
 
Briaunna King poured in 24 points to lead the Crusaders, who had lost nine in a row to the Falcons.
 
SPU got out in a hurry, hitting 16 of 25 through the first 13½ minutes to take a 33-20 lead with 6:37 left in the first half.
 
It was 36-25 when Northwest Nazarene drained four consecutive 3-pointers: one by King, two by Heather Adams, and one by Leslie Warwick. That gave the Crusaders a 37-36 edge with 2:29 remaining in the half, as the Falcons went nearly four minutes without a point.
 
Seattle Pacific went back on top one last time at 38-37 on a jumper by sophomore guard Betsy Kingma (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS). But NNU scored the final four points to take a 41-38 lead into the intermission.  
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Northwest Nazarene 81, Seattle Pacific 77
                              
SEATTLE PACIFIC (15-7, 9-5 GNAC)
Sims 10-19 0-0 21, Callen 7-12 0-0 15, Harazin 3-5 4-4 10, Murray 3-5 2-2 9, Benson 2-9 4-4 8, Ohlsen 2-6 0-0 5, Reimer 2-2 0-0 4, Gorman 1-3 0-0 3, Kingma 1-3 0-0 2, Teng 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 10-10 77.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (14-7, 8-5 GNAC)
King 9-17 5-5 24, Adams 6-11 1-2 17, Hingston 6-8 0-1 12, Warwick 2-3 4-4 9, Luke 3-9 0-1 8, Dzhidzhiyeshvili 2-9 3-7 7, Smith 0-0 4-4 4, Schumann 0-0 0-0 0, Skokankova 0-0 0-0 0, Schindler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 17-24 81.
 
Seattle Pacific                      38           39           -- 77
Northwest Nazarene           41           40           -- 81
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-15 (Murray 1-1, Ohlsen 1-3, Callen 1-5, Gorman 1-2, Sims 1-1, Benson 0-2, Harazin 0-1), NNU 8-16 (Adams 4-8, Luke 2-5, Warwick 1-1, King 1-2). Fouled out – SPU: Callen. NNU: Hingston. Rebounds – SPU 36 (Sims 13), NNU 32 (King 6). Assists – SPU  16 (Benson 3), NNU 11 (Dzhidzhiyeshvili 3, Smith 3). Turnovers – SPU 17, NNU 16. Technical fouls – NNU: King. Total fouls – SPU 22, NNU 16. A – 624.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 15-7, 9-5 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene 14-7, 8-5 GNAC.
 
Next game – Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.