Box Score
        Box score, play-by-play
 
NAMPA, Idaho – Some nights, they've gotten it done with defense. Others, with determination.
 
On Saturday afternoon, the Seattle Pacific Falcons did it from downtown.
 
Suzanna Ohlsen scored 20 points, and Betsy Kingma drained five shots from behind the arc on the way to 18 points as SPU hit a season-high 13 shots from long range to beat Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game, 85-79.
 
The victory for the18^th-ranked SPU (19-3, 11-3 GNAC) clinched a spot in the conference tournament, which has places for the top six finishers. It also reduced to three the magic number for securing at least second place in the standings and a first-round bye.
 
Seattle Pacific's 13 makes from 3-point territory was three more than its previous season high of 10. The Falcons hit that many twice, both in a span of five days during December against Northwest University and Holy Names.
 
In addition to Kingma's sharpshooting on Saturday, Aubree Callen was 3 for 5, Jordan McPhee hit 2 of 3, Stacey Lukasiewicz hit her only try, as did Courtney Hollander.

 

"I was glad we shot the ball well," Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. "Jordan McPhee came in and hit big 3s for us. We didn't shoot very well in the first half, and I think some of that was we were just really tired."
 
The 19 wins are the most for the Falcons since 2010-11, when they finished at 20-9. Since then, they have gone 17-10, 17-11, and 18-9. They have four regular-season contests plus the postseason to reach 20 wins for the 18^th time in school history.
 
Seattle Pacific plays its final two home games of the regular season next week, hosting Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and Western Oregon on Senior Night Saturday at 5:30.
 
In a series that typically features tight games, especially on NNU's home court at the Johnson Sports Center, the score was tied seven times, and the lead changed hands 15 times.
 
"NNU played very, very well," Heisey said. "We had a hard stopping anyone in the first half and gave up 42 points. We had to change some things up."

 

Down 61-59 with 9:11 left, Seattle Pacific went on a 7-0 run to go in front for good. Redshirt senior guard Aubree Callen (Jerome, Idaho), playing her final competitive game in her home state, started it – appropriately enough – with a 3-pointer for a 62-61 lead. Senior point guard Ohlsen (Monroe, Wash. / Monroe HS) drained two free throws, then junior center Molly Grager (Kirkland, Wash. / Juanita HS) buried a jump shot to make it 66-59.
 
Northwest Nazarene (6-18, 4-11 GNAC) got as close as 66-64 before SPU stretched it out to 12 at 80-68 with 3:14 to go. The Crusaders weren't finished yet, however, closing to 80-76 with 46 seconds to go. The Falcons put it out of reach with four straight free throws – two by Ohlsen and two by Kingma.
 
The Falcons got a huge boost from the reserves, as they accounted for 27 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots, and three steals.
 
"I can't say enough about our bench. It was a huge turning point in the second half when we able to put Rachel Shim and Jordan McPhee and Courtney Hollander and Molly Grager out there (at various times) with Aubree and Betsy and Sue," Heisey said.

 

Ohlsen had seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to go with her 20 points. Kingma shot 50 percent from downtown (5 of 10), and the Falcons did likewise as a team from long range (13 of 26). Callen had 15 points, six rebounds, and a team-leading seven assists. Freshman guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) chipped in 10 points (tying her career high) and six rebounds.
 
Elie Logan led Northwest Nazarene with 23 points.
 
With a berth secured for the GNAC Tournament, which takes place March 4, 6, and 7 at Montana State Billings, the Falcons will get a clearer idea of their further postseason possibilities this coming Wednesday. That's when the first of three sets of NCAA West Region rankings will be released, with other sets to come on the following two Wednesdays.
 
The three conference tourney champions from the West (GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association, and Pacific West) will earn automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament. After that, the five highest teams in the final set of rankings will fill out the regional field. 
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
(No. 18) Seattle Pacific 85, Northwest Nazarene 79
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (19-3, 11-3 GNAC)
Suzanna Ohlsen 5-11 9-10 20, Betsy Kingma 5-10 3-4 18, Aubree Callen 5-12 2-2 15, Jordan McPhee 3-5 2-3 10, Molly Grager 3-5 1-2 7, Courtney Hollander 2-3 0-0 5, Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-2 0-0 3, Hannah Rodrigues 1-6 1-2 3, Maddey Pflaumer 1-6 0-0 2, Rachel Shim 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-61 18-23 85.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (6-18, 4-11 GNAC)
Ellie Logan 9-25 5-6 23, CoCo Gall 3-11 7-7 14, Taylor Simmons 4-7 4-4 12, Kate Cryderman 3-7 2-2 9, Lexi Tubbs 4-14 0-0 9, Cierra White 2-2 3-3 7, Katie Swanson 2-2 1-2 5, Ellen Ferrenburg 0-0 0-0 0, KaitlynMerritt 0-1 0-0 0, Kayla Schumann 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-71 22-24 79.
 
Seattle Pacific                     39           46           -- 85
Northwest Nazarene         42           37           -- 79
 
3-point goals – SPU 13-26 (Kingma 5-10, Callen 3-5, McPhee 2-3, Hollander 1-1, Lukasiewic 1-1, Ohlsen 1-5, Rodrigues 0-1), NNU 3-9 (Tubbs 1-6, Gall 1-2, Cryderman 1-1). Fouled out – NNU: White. Rebounds – SPU 45 (Ohlsen 7), NNU 37 (Tubbs 7, Logan 7). Assists – SPU 20 (Callen 7), NNU 13 (Simmons 4). Turnovers – SPU 19, NNU 10. Total fouls – SPU 21, NNU 17. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 213.
 
 
Next game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 19, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion