Box Score

        Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
SEATTLE – They took care of the business of coming from behind.
 
The Seattle Pacific Falcons just couldn't get back ahead.
 
SPU wiped out a 14-point second-half deficit on Saturday night, but a tie late in the third quarter ultimately was as close as it got before Wisconsin-Parkside forged back in front and hung on to win the final game of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic women's basketball tournament, 60-53.
 
The result in Brougham Pavilion halted a three-game winning streak for Seattle Pacific (5-4). The Rangers (7-3) won both of their tournament games, having beaten Concordia of Oregon on Friday, 65-43. They were the first ever team to win a Sodexo game against the host Falcons.
 
Junior forward / guard Hannah Rodrigues, making her first start of the year, scored a season-high 16 points, just one short of her career high. Rodrigues (Eugene, Ore.) also grabbed five rebounds and handed out two assists to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.

 

Sophomore guard Jordan McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) added 11 points, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots for the Falcons.
 
"We did not give up – we climbed that mountain so many times," head coach Julie Heisey said. "Our kids showed heart, and that you can't teach," she added. They played tough, they played together, and that's a confidence builder.
 
"But doggone it – we lost."
 
Jessica Prince put up a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds for Wisconsin-Parkside, and was named the Most Valuable Player.
 
With non-conference play now complete, the Falcons are off until the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule resumes on New Year's Eve afternoon with a 2:00 game against Central Washington in Ellensburg.
 
A DANDY DOZEN SPARKS RALLY
Seattle Pacific was down 31-17 at the outset of the third quarter after Prince scored the first basket coming out of halftime. It was still 14 at 35-21 with 8:09 left in the quarter when the Falcons went on a 12-0 run, cutting it to 35-33.
 
A putback by McPhee with 17 seconds left in the third finally tied the game at 40-40.
 
But in what might well be regarded as a game-changing play, Tara Knapstein drove through traffic from the left side for lay-in at the buzzer and was fouled. She hit the ensuing free throw, and the Rangers, instead of being in a tie game and on their heels, went into the final quarter with a 43-40 lead and stayed ahead the rest of the way.
 
Courtney Hollander buried a short turnaround shot to open the fourth, bringing SPU within 43-42. Parkside stretched it back out to eight, and the Falcons never got closer than three after that, the last time at 56-53 with 23 seconds left on a lay-in by McPhee. Brittney Fair clinched it for the Rangers with four straight free throws.
 
Rebounding was the decisive factor in Wisconsin-Parkside's favor, with a 43-30 advantage. That included 18 at the offensive end, resulting in 19 second-chance points. SPU had just six offensive boards for eight second-chance points.
 
"It was a frustrating game," Heisey said. "In the first half, we held a good team to 29 points, but we only had 17. We made adjustments, and the kids went with it. But they had the 18 offensive rebounds and shot the ball 16 more times than we did."
 
Just one night after hitting 9 of 15 from behind the 3-point arc against Eastern New Mexico, SPU shooters struggled from downtown on Saturday, sinking just 1 of 14.
 
"The good thing is, this isn't our last game of the season," Heisey said. "We're not going to shot 1 of 14 from 3-point range again. We only had 13 turnovers, which was great. I was proud of our bench – they gave us energy when we needed it. They were gritty. And Hannah was a game-changer."
 

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Wisconsin-Parkside 60, Seattle Pacific 53
 
WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE (7-3)
Tara Knapstein 4-10 1-3 10, Stephanie Furr 5-13 1-2 13, Jessica Prince 5-10 4-5 16, Taylor Stephen 1-6 0-2 2, Kristin Conniff 3-8 1-2 8, Rani Singh 0-1 0-0 0, Asiah Lawson 0-1 0-0 0, Brittney Fair 3-9 4-4 11, Bailey North0-0 0-0 0, Shelby Cheston 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 11-18 60.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-4)
Courtney Hollander 1-6 4-4 6, Hannah Rodrigues 5-9 5-5 16, Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-8 3-6 5, Jordan McPhee 3-7 5-6 11, Brianne Lasconia 3-8 2-2 8, Jaylee Albert 0-1 2-2 2, Lindsay Lee0-0 0-0 0, Julia Haining 1-1 0-0 2, Molly Grager 1-2 0-0 2, Erica Pagano 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 15-43 22-27 53.
 
Wisconsin-Parkside          17            12            14           17           -- 60
Seattle Pacific                       8              9            23           13           -- 53
 
3-point goals – UWP 5-23 (Knapstein 1-4, Furr 2-7, Stephen 0-2, Conniff 1-4, Lawson 0-1, Fair1-5), SPU 1-14 (Hollander 0-2, Rodrigues 1-4, Lukasiewicz 0-2, McPhee 0-1, Lasconia 0-3, Albert 0-1, Pagano 0-1). Fouled out – SPU: Rodrigues, McPhee. Rebounds – UWP 43 (Prince 12), SPU 30 (Rodrigues 5). Assists – UWP 10 (Stephen 4), SPU 4(Rodrigues 2). Turnovers – UWP 15, SPU 13. Total fouls – UWP 22, SPU 21. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 150.
 
 
Next game --        Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
                                Thursday, Dec. 31     2:00 p.m.
                                Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.


ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Jessica Prince (Wisconsin-Parkside)
Tara Knapstein (Wisconsin-Parkside)
Hannah Rodrigues (Seattle Pacific)
McKenna Daly (Concordia)
Mikaehla Connor (Eastern New Mexico)