Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play
 
SEATTLE – Bring on the postseason – and the Seattle Pacific Falcons are going into it with some momentum.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen scored 17 points and dished four assists on Saturday night, and Betsy Kingma chipped in 14 points, with 12 of those from downtown, as SPU closed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season with a 69-56 victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Senior Night in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (18-8, 11-7 GNAC), who trailed by 10 in the first half before rallying, clinched the No. 5 seed to next week's GNAC tournament and will open play on Wednesday against No. 4 seed Simon Fraser. That game tips off at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Martin's in Lacey. It will be preceded by No. 3 Alaska Anchorage vs. No. 6 Saint Martin's at 5:15 p.m.
 




Simon Fraser beat Seattle Pacific both times during conference play, 63-60 and 77-68. With that contest looming, SPU head coach Julie Heisey said a game such as Saturday's was just what her team needed.
 
"I'm glad it was a close game. I think we learned a lot because of the situation tonight," she said. "We were down by 10, we didn't shoot the ball well, and they never went away. Those are situations that come into play in tournaments.
                                   
"It shows us that defense and rebounding and taking care of the ball and hitting free throws are big. We have to keep building on that."
 
Seattle Pacific was effective in all four categories on Saturday. It limited Fairbanks (9-17, 3-15 GNAC) to just 35 percent shooting, and kept the Nanooks 15 points below their 71.5 average. UAF freshman Jordan Wilson, who came in averaging 15.3 points and shooting a GNAC-leading 55.3 percent, was limited to just five shots (hitting two). She wound up with eight points.
 
The Falcons grabbed 42 rebounds, 18 of those at the offensive end that led to 10 second-chance points. They had just 10 turnovers after committing 18 in Thursday's 76-65 loss to Alaska Anchorage, and drained 18 of 23 at the free throw line. That included 4 of 4 by junior guard Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS), who extended her streak to 37 in a row.
 
Up just 54-51 with seven minutes left in, SPU went on an 11-2 scoring run to take command. Ohlsen started that with a 3-pointer from the right corner. Jordan Wilson answered with a shot turnaround shot for Fairbanks, making it 57-53.
 
Junior guard Kingma (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS) then bombed in back-to-back treys, and senior center Riley Butler (Kent, Wash. / Kentlake HS) got a lay-in for a 65-53 lead at the 2:22 mark.
 
Senior forward Katie Benson (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) had 11 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Mechela Barnes (Tacoma, Wash. / Bellarmine Prep HS) added 10 points, her second double-figure performance in the last three games. She also had five boards. Freshman forward / guard Hannah Rodrigues (Eugene, Ore.) collected a career-high nine rebounds. That was her second straight career high, as she grabbed eight against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday.
 
"Betsy and Sue hit some big shots, Sue had four steals, and Mechela got a big steal, and those were momentum changers," Heisey said. "And Hannah with nine rebounds, Katie with eight, and three others with five – that was huge.
 
The Nanooks (9-17, 3-15 GNAC) were led by the 12 points of Kaillee Skjold.
 
Fairbanks went on an early 10-0 run to take a 14-6 lead, which it eventually extended to 23-13 with 8:58 left in the first half. SPU then strung together nine straight points on two straight baskets by Barnes, a lay-up by Ohlsen, and a 3-pointer by Rodrigues to get within 23-22.
 
"We just kind of talked and regrouped about valuing each possession and playing defense, and that really brought us back pretty much," Barnes said.
 
Seattle Pacific had a 35-33 lead at halftime. Then, down 37-35 at the outset of the second half, the Falcons forged another 9-0 run, with Ohlsen contributing a pair of 3-pointers, to take a 46-37 lead and never trailed again.
 
 



NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 69, Alaska Fairbanks 56
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (9-17, 3-15 GNAC)
Jordan Wilson 2-5 4-4 8, Kaillee Skjold 5-11 2-2 12, Benissa Bulaya 1-8 1-2 3, Kelly Logue 4-6 0-0 8, Autumn Childers 2-5 0-0 6, Victoria Milton 1-2 5-5 7, Brianna Kirk 0-0 0-0 0, Candace Prestwich 1-7 0-0 3, Samantha Thorngon 1-7 3-4 5, Ruth O'Neal 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 19-53 15-17 56.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (18-8, 11-7 GNAC)
Hannah Rodrigues 2-6 2-2 7, Katie Benson 4-18 3-4 11, Maddey Pflaumer 1-4 1-2 3, Suzanna Ohlsen 5-11 4-4 17, Betsy Kingma 5-11 0-014, Stacey Lukasiewicz 0-3 1-2 1, Rachel Shim 0-1 0-0 0, Caitlin Heinly 0-2 0-0 0, Molly Grager 0-1 0-0 0, Mechela Barnes 3-7 3-4 10, Riley Butler 1-2 4-5 6. Totals 21-66 18-23 69.
 
Alaska Fairbanks                 33           23           -- 56
Seattle Pacific                      35           34           -- 69
 
3-point goals – UAF 3-14 (Skjold 0-1, Bulaya 0-1, Logue 0-1, Childers 2-4, Prestwich 1-6, Thornton 0-1), SPU 9-23 (Rodrigues 1-2, Benson 0-4, Ohlsen 3-4, Kingma 4-7, Lukasiewicz 0-1, Heinly 0-2, Barnes 1-3). Fouled out – UAF: Childers. Rebounds – UAF 42 (Skjold 9), SPU 42 (Rodrigues 9). Assists – UAF 11 (Bulaya 6), SPU 14 (Benson 4,Ohlsen 4). Turnovers – UAF 20, SPU 10. Total fouls – UAF 19, SPU 16. Technical fouls – None. A – 366.
 
Next game – SPU vs. Simon Fraser in GNAC Tournament
                         Wednesday, March 5 at Saint Martin's (Lacey), 7:30 p.m.