Box Score

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BILLINGS, Mont. – A hot start ended in a cold finish for the Seattle Pacific Falcons.
 
SPU raced to a 15-point first quarter lead, but Montana State Billings came back to get close by halftime, then dominated the fourth quarter on the way to a 61-50 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball victory on Saturday night.
                                                    
Sophomore guard Jordan McPhee and sophomore forward Courtney Hollander scored 10 points apiece for the Falcons (6-7, 3-3 GNAC), who lost their third straight game.
 
Seattle Pacific hit nearly everything it put up through the opening 10 minutes in Alterowitz Gymnasium, going 10 of 14 from the field and building leads of 8-0, 17-2, and 19-4.
 
It was still a 14-point bulge at 28-14 early midway through the second quarter, even though the Falcons missed their first seven shots of that period before McPhee made a lay-in on a fast break.
 
But the Yellowjackets (9-5, 5-1 GNAC), who by then had made a change on defense, started to climb back. They kept SPU off the scoreboard for the final 5 minutes, 26 seconds of the quarter and ran off 11 straight points to get within 28-25 by halftime.
 
"In the first quarter, we got the shots we wanted, and we hit them," head coach Julie Heisey said. "Then they switched from a man to a zone, and we just didn't adjust very well. Even though we had some good shots, we didn't get second shots."
 
Billings then scored the first four points coming out of the break to complete a 15-0 run and took its lead of the night at 29-28 as the Falcons went another 2:25 without scoring to start the second half. The lead changed hands nine more times during the third, which ended in a 43-43 tie.
 
The first six Falcon shots of the fourth quarter missed the mark, and the Yellowjackets put up seven straight points to cap a 10-0 run and take the lead for good at 50-43. SPU had just one field goal and seven points through the final 10 minutes.
 
The Falcons shot 31.6 percent for the game (18 of 57, just 8 of 43 in the final three quarters). Montana State Billings hit 39.6 percent (21 of 53).

"We just didn't have rhythm, and I think we got on our heels," Heisey said. "We were doing a really good job defensively, but when we made a mistake, they usually got a lay-up or an offensive board."
 
Seattle Pacific's two scoring droughts – the first one bridging the second and third quarters, the other bridging the third and fourth – totaled nearly 14 minutes, during which Billings rang up 25 points.
 
"They were putting in some stuff that's just hard to guard, and we had to figure a little bit of that out. But when we're not scoring, they were making a run," Heisey said.

 

McPhee and junior forward Hannah Rodrigues grabbed six rebounds apiece for the Falcons. Rodrigues moved past 300 boards for her career, now at 305.
 
Monica Grimsrud scored a career-high 18 points for the Jackets, and Alisha Breen added 13.
 
After four straight on the road, SPU is back in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday to take on Simon Fraser at 5:15 p.m. Heisey is looking forward to being back home, where her team has played just four of its 13 games so far.
 
"We just have to learn from our mistakes and move forward," she said. "There's a lot of season left, we're young, and we're going to grow. – I know that. We just have to keep moving forward."
                      
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
                     
Montana State Billings 61, Seattle Pacific 50
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-7, 3-3 GNAC)
Stacey Lukasiewicz 2-8 1-2 5, Jordan McPHee 4-12 2-2 10, Brianne Lasconia 2-7 3-4 8, Courtney Hollander 4-9 2-2 10, Molly Grager 1-2 0-0 2, Jalee Albert 0-4 0-0 0, Lindsay Lee 2-4 0-0 5, Hannah Rodrigues 1-5 2-4 5, Erica Pagano 2-6 1-2 1. Totals 18-57 11-16 50.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (9-5, 5-1 GNAC)
Alisha Breen 6-14 1-5 13, Janiel Olson 0-5 3-4 3, Rylee Kane 1-6 4-6 6, Monica Grimsrud 6-13 5-6 18, Marissa Van Atta 3-8 1-2 3, Taylor Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Vanessa Stavish 4-6 1-1 11, Lexi Prevost 0-0 0-0 0, Tiana Hanson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-53 15-24 61.
 
Seattle Pacific                     23             5            15             7            -- 50
Montana State Billings        8            17           18           18           -- 61
 
3-point goals – SPU 3-18 (McPhee 0-2, Lasconia 1-5, Hollander 0-2, Albert 0-3, Lee 1-3, Rodrigues 1-3), MSUB 4-16 (Breen 0-2, Olson 0-2, Kane 0-2, Grimsrud 1-5, Van Atta 1-2, Stavish 2-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 38 (McPhee 6, Rodrigues 6), MSUB 38 (Olson 14). Assists – SPU 11 (Albert 3), MSUB 15 (Grimsrud 6). Turnovers – SPU 18, MSUB 17. Total fouls – SPU 21, MSUB 15. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 323.
 
 
Next game –        Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
                           Thursday, Jan. 14        5:15 p.m.
                           Brougham Pavilion