Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – First, the Seattle Pacific Falcons took care of business.
 
Now, they'll get down to business.
 
National-caliber business.
 
Katie Benson had a double-double by halftime, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds on Thursday night to lead No. 9-ranked SPU past South Dakota School of Mines in a non-conference women's basketball game, 78-41.
                        




The double-double for senior forward Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) was her fifth of the season and the 15^th of her career. She had 10 of her points and 11 of her boards through the first 20 minutes in Brougham Pavilion as Seattle Pacific took a 39-21 lead into the locker room.
 
It's not likely to be that easy on Saturday when the Falcons tip off against No. 10-ranked West Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. in Brougham.
 
It will be the first time since the NCAA West Region final in 2009 that the Falcons will be in an all-top 10 match-up. (Alaska Anchorage, ranked No. 2 at the time, won that '09 contest against then-No. 5 SPU, 54-43.)
 
"Since I've been playing here, we haven't had a match-up like that," Benson said. "Those are the kind of games we really want to play. You want those intense, down-to-the-wire type games. They're a really tough opponent, and it's going to be a good game."
 
Added SPU coach Julie Heisey, "It's a great opportunity. It's December, and this is the time of the year where you want to see where you're at. It's iron sharpening iron. To go into Christmas break with a hard team, a good team, a well-coached team – we need that right before we play Western Washington and Simon Fraser (immediately following the break)."
 
Thursday's game was far from close and intense. The Falcons (8-1) scored the first 11 points. South Dakota Mines (3-8) got as close as 16-12 before SPU ran off another 11 in a row to make it 27-12. The Hardrockers never got it below double digits the rest of the night.
 
Junior guard Suzanna Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) added 10 points and three assists for SPU, which got all 11 players who were suited up into the game. Freshman guard Stacey Lukasiewicz tallied a career-high nine points as Seattle Pacific got 33 points and 12 rebounds from its reserves.
 
"The second half, I was pleased with our effort," Heisey said. "The first half, we had too many lulls, but the second half was more consistent. I was super proud of our subs. Riley Butler (6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals) was so good, and Stacey did very well. And Katie was Katie again."
 
Benson came into the game ranking 20th in NCAA Division II scoring (21.4) and tied for 27th in rebounding (10.5). She leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference on the boards and is second in scoring.
 
Jessica Shull led South Dakota Mines with 13 points.
 
SPU shot 50 percent from the field (28 of 56) and limited the Hardrockers to just 29.8 percent (14 of 47). The Falcons dominated the boards, 41-27.
 
West Texas A&M got the feel of playing in Brougham Pavilion earlier Thursday with a come-from-behind 77-73 victory against SPU's Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Simon Fraser. The Clan had a 69-65 lead with 3:16 to play, but the Lady Buffs (8-1) finished the game on a 12-4 scoring run, including a decisive 6-0 spurt to go in front for good.
 
Devin Griffin, a 5-foot-10 senior forward who is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game, set the scoring pace for the Lady Buffs with 20.
 
"You come off of the Anchorage game (a 77-65 loss in Alaska on Dec. 7, SPU's only defeat of the season), and you want to learn things," Heisey said. "But you really need a test to know if you've learned things. Their styles (A&M's and Anchorage's) are somewhat similar in that they're very athletic, and they're both going to full-court press back into a zone, and you don't see that very often.
 
"We're excited for the challenge."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 9) Seattle Pacific 78, S. Dakota School of Mines 41
 
SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES (3-8)
Jordan Needens 3-6 0-0 6, Devyn Asche 1-4 0-0 2, Renae Waters 0-3 1-2 1, Jessica Shull 3-10 7-8 13, Alexis Long 1-3 0-0 3, Briana Huggins 2-6 0-0 5, Anne Soenneker 0-5 1-2 1, Krista Showalter 3-6 0-0 6, Megan Rohrer 1-4 1-2 3, Mackenzie Kenney 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 14-47 11-16 41.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-1)
Hannah Rodrigues 2-3 0-0 5, Katie Benson 6-15 6-6 19, Molly Grager 1-1 2-2 4, Suzanna Ohlsen 3-8 3-4 10, Betsy Kingma 3-5 0-2 7, Stacey Lukasiewicz 4-6 1-2 9, Rachel Shim 2-5 0-0 4, Caitlin Heinly 1-3 2-2 5, Brianne Lasconia 2-5 1-2 6, Mechela Barnes 1-2 1-2 3, Riley Butler 3-3 0-1 6. Totals 28-56 16-23 78.
 
South Dakota Mines           21           20           -- 41
Seattle Pacific                      39           39           -- 78
 
3-point goals – SDSM 2-14 (Asche 0-1, Shull 0-5, Long 1-2, Huggins 1-4, Soenneker 0-1, Showalter 0-1), SPU 6-17 (Rodrigues 1-2, Benson 1-3, Ohlsen 1-3, Kingma 1-3, Shim 0-1, Heinly 1-2, Lasconia 1-2, Barnes 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SDSM 27 (Needens 4), SPU 41 (Benson 14). Assists – SDSM 8 (Shull 4), SPU 11 (Ohlsen 3). Turnovers – SDSM 19, SPU 14. Total fouls –SDSM 17, SPU 16.  Technical fouls – SDSM: Coach Ryan Larsen. A – 297.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 8-1, 1-1 GNAC. South Dakota School of Mines 3-8.
 
Next game – West Texas A&M at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 2:30 p.m.