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ARCATA, Calif. – From the very first day of practice, coach Julie Heisey said that the only star on her Seattle Pacific women's basketball team was … the team.
 
On Friday night, the Falcons proved her right.
 
Jordan McPhee pumped in 17 points, one of four veterans to log career scoring highs, and SPU led from start to finish in rolling past Humboldt State at the season-opening West Region Challenge tournament, 82-58.
                               
Sophomore guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) beat her old high of 11 points, which she set against Humboldt in last season's NCAA Tournament.

 

Also setting new personal scoring standards were redshirt junior guard Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Shorecrest HS) with 16, senior center Molly Grager (Kirkland, Wash. / Juanita HS) with 14, and junior guard Stacey Lukasiewicz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with 11.
 
"It's early, and there are a lot of unknowns. But I know that we can defend, and I know that when we play as a team, we can do things very well," Heisey said. "I think that showed tonight – team defense, working together, getting a team shot."

 

Lukasiewicz also dished a career-best four assists. Sophomore guard Courtney Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to go along with six points. Grager collected eight boards.
 
"We did a really good job of getting inside-outside, and did some good things in transition," Heisey said. "With every sub, we got good production." (SPU"s reserves contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.)
 
Opening weekend concludes on Saturday when the Falcons face Fresno Pacific at 1:00 p.m. The Sunbirds were blown out by Western Washington in Friday's first tournament game, 97-51.
 
SPU (1-0) scored the first five points of the night against Humboldt (0-1) on its Lumberjack Arena home floor. The game was never tied. And once the Falcons went on a 10-0 run to extend a 7-5 advantage to 17-5, their lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
 
In their first official game using the new four-quarter system, they were up 29-15 at the end of one and 51-28 at halftime. Seattle Pacific had a 25-point bulge in the third quarter at 55-30 before Humboldt went on a 16-6 surge to get within 15 heading into the fourth at 61-46.
 
The Falcons responded by scoring the first six points of the quarter, extending it back to 21 at 67-46.

 

They effectively sealed it with a string of three makes from behind the 3-point arc. Junior guard Rachel Shim drained the first one. Then Lasconia – who was playing her first game since Feb. 15, 2014, when she went down with a knee injury that sidelined her for the rest of that year and all of last season – nailed two in a row. That made it 78-53 with less than three minutes remaining.
 
Last year, Seattle Pacific was the second-best shooting team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 44.5 percent. With a completely new starting lineup – Lukasiewicz, McPhee, Lasconia, Hollander, and Grager – the Falcons essentially picked up where they left off, hitting at a .471 clip (32 of 68). Grager led the way at 7 of 10, and Lasconia was 6 of 9, including 3 of 4 from downtown.
 
"It started with our defense. We were able to get some quick outlets and run," Heisey said. "In transition and even in the halfcourt offense, we did a good job."
 
That defense limited Humboldt State to 35.6 percent shooting (21 of 59, and just 1 of 11 behind the arc). Neika Puryear came off the bench to lead the Lumberjacks with 11 points. A'Jaee Foster, who averaged a team-high12.2 points in 2014-15, was limited to seven on 2-of-9 shooting.
 
SPU now has won 27 straight games against Humboldt State, prevailing twice last season: an overtime victory in Seattle, and a 77-62 first-round win in the NCAAs.
 
The Falcons now are 32-9 in season openers, have won four straight, and 15 of their last 16.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
West Region Challenge
Friday, Nov. 13, 2016
Lumberjack Arena / Arcata, Calif.
               
Seattle Pacific 82, Humboldt State 58
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-0)
Stacey Lukasiewicz 4-7 3-4 11, Rachel Shim 2-3 0-0 5, Jaylee Albert 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan McPhee 5-10 5-6 17, Julia Haining 3-3 0-0 6, Brianne Lasconia 6-9 1-1 16, Courtney Hollander 2-12 2-2 6, Lindsay Lee 0-3 0-0 0, Molly Grager 7-10 0-0 14, Hannah Rodrigues 2-5 0-0 5, Erica Pagano 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 32-68 11-15 82.
 
HUMBOLDT STATE (0-1)
Kindall Murie 0-1 0-0 0, Kiana Brown 2-4 0-0 5, Riann Thayer 0-0 0-0 0, Sophie Northern 0-1 0-0 0, Jessica Johnson 2-4 0-0 4, Amanda Kunst 3-4 4-5 10, Neika Puryear 4-10 3-4 11, A'Jaee Foster 2-9 3-5 7, Nyaa Davis 2-3 0-0 4, Kelci Haueter 2-8 1-1 5, Teylor McMiller 2-6 3-7 7, Julie De Leon 0-0 0-0 0, Sumayyah Wiggins 2-9 1-2 5. Totals 21-59 15-14 58.
 
Seattle Pacific     29           22           10           21           -- 82
Humboldt State   15           13           18           12           -- 58
 
3-point goals – SPU 7-21 (Lukasiewicz 0-2, Shim 1-2, Albert 0-2, McPHee 2-3, Lasconia 3-4, Hollander 0-2, Lee 0-1, Grager 0-1, Rodrigues 1-2, Pagano 0-2). HSU 1-11 (Murie 0-1, Brown 1-1, Northern 0-1, Johson 0-2, Puryear 0-4, Haueter 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 41 (Grager 8), HSU 38 (Kunst 7). Assists – SPU 16 (Lukasiewicz 4, Shim 4), HSU 11 (Johnson 3). Turnovers – SPU 12, HSU 12. Total fouls – SPU 21, HSU 17. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 218.
 
Next game --        Seattle Pacific vs. Fresno Pacific
                                Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
                                Lumberjack Arena / Arcata, Calif.