Box Score Box score, play-by-play (HTML) SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were right in the game on Saturday …
… until the Central Washington Wildcats shot them right out of it.
Central went on a 12-0 scoring run spanning the second and third quarters to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead, shot a stratospheric 78 3 percent from the field during the second half, and pulled away to beat SPU in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest, 67-46.
Sophomore forward
Courtney Hollander had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Falcons (6-13, 3-9 GNAC).
Erica Pagano, another sophomore forward added a career-high 11 points.
Seattle Pacific, which led for most of the first half on Homecoming Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, had a 21-18 edge late in the second quarter before Central Washington (15-5, 8-4 GNAC) scored the last four points to go into halftime up 22-21.
The Wildcats then scored the first eight points of the third quarter, part of a decisive 28-7 run that left them in command by the end of that period, 46-28. They hit 18 of 23 through the final 20 minutes, with 5 of 6 from downtown.
"After halftime, we came out a little flat. Some of being flat is fatigue," SPU head coach
Julie Heisey said. "We came out and just weren't as aggressive as they were. Their posts killed us, got physical, and got good position. And we made some mistakes by leaving their shooters open."
The Falcons will try to halt a nine-game skid on Tuesday when Saint Martin's visits Brougham at 7:00 p.m.
Mandy Steward came off the bench to lead Central with 20 points, draining 4 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc and 7 of 11 overall for the day.
But for as much as the Wildcats took charge in the second half, the first half belong mostly to Seattle Pacific. The Falcons led for the entire opening quarter, once by as many as seven, and were up for most of the second quarter, as well. They dominated the boards in the first 20 minutes (24-15), and limited Central to just 28 percent shooting (8 of 28).
"I was really proud of our first half," Heisey said. "We came out and our defensive effort was very good. Offensively, we did a lot of things well. We didn't have a turnover until six minutes had passed in the first quarter. They caught up, but even going into halftime, I thought we did a good job."
Erica PaganoPagano (Happy Valley, Ore.), in addition to setting a career scoring high, also grabbed a career-high six rebounds. It was the second time in the past two weeks that Pagano has established a career high for points, her previous having been eight at Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 21. Her old rebounding high was five, which she had three times, most recently at Anchorage.
On Saturday, Pagano hit 5 of 9, including a 3-pointer, and added an assist and two steals.
"Erica came in and did really well, and gave us some shots when we needed it," Heisey said. "That was really good."
Central Washington wound up shooting 51 percent for the game (26 of 51) and 63.6 percent on treys (7 of 11). SPU hit 34.5 percent (20 of 58), but was just 2 of 15 from long range (13.3 percent).
The Falcons had a 34-32 edge on the boards.
Seattle Pacific and Central split the season series, each winning on the other's home court. SPU prevailed on Dec. 31 in Ellensburg, 52-49.
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 30, 2016Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash. Central Washington 67, Seattle Pacific 46 CENTRAL WASHINGTON (15-5, 8-4 GNAC)Alexis Berrysmith 7-11 1-5 15, Jasmine Parker 4-10 1-1 9, Jasmin Edwards 2-5 2-2 7, Sadie Mensing 0-1 0-0 0, Melanie Valdez 0-0 0-0 0, JonNae Richardson 0-0 1-4 1, Rachel Lorentson 2-3 0-0 6, Beverly Verduin 1-2 0-0 2, McKenzie Day 0-1 0-0 0, Mandy Steward 7-11 2-2 20, India Matheson 3-7 1-1 7. Totals 26-51 8-15 67.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-13, 3-9 GNAC)Hannah Rodrigues 1-2 2-2 4,
Molly Grager 3-6 0-0 6,
Stacey Lukasiewicz 3-6 1-2 7,
Brianne Lasconia 0-7 0-0 0,
Courtney Hollander 7-16 1-2 16,
Riley Evans 0-1 0-0 0,
Jaylee Albert 0-4 0-0 0,
Lindsay Lee 1-4 0-0 2,
Erica Pagano 5-9 0-0 11,
Carly Rataushk 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 4-6 46.
Central Washington 13 9 24 21 -- 67Seattle Pacific 14 7 7 18 -- 46 3-point goals – CWU 7-11 (Edwards 1-1, Lorentson 2-3, Verduin 0-1, Steward 4-6), SPU 2-15 (Lukasiewicz 0-1, Lasconia 0-4, Hollander 1-4, Albert 0-1, Lee 0-2, Pagano 1-3).
Fouled out – None.
Rebounds – CWU 32 (Berrysmith 5, Parker 5), SPU 34 (Hollander 9).
Assists – CWU 11 (Edwards 4), SPU 12 (Lasconia 4).
Turnovers – CWU 11, SPU 15.
Total fouls – CWU 9, SPU 18.
Technical fouls – None.
Attendance – 760.
Next game -- Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Tuesday, Feb. 2 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion
