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SEATTLE – Trying to give Julie Heisey credit for 400 college basketball coaching victories might seem simple enough.
 
Except she'll just give that credit right back to everyone who helped her get there.

Doesn't matter whether it's the players who toiled through that inaugural 4-24 campaign 21 years ago at Trevecca Nazarene in Tennessee …
 
…or her current undefeated and nationally ranked crop of Seattle Pacific Falcons.

 

Jordan McPhee scored 18 points on Friday, and the SPU gave Heisey that 400th career win by beating Concordia Irvine on the first night of the SPU Classic women's basketball tournament, 76-64.
 
The result in Brougham Pavilion boosted the Falcons' season-opening record to 9-0. Now, the only better starts belong to the teams from 1997-98 (12-0), 2002-03 (29-0), 2003-04 (30-0) and Heisey's own 2007-08 squad (29-0).
 
All four of those teams ultimately went on to the NCAA West Region championship game, and two of them – 97-98 and 03-04 – advanced to the Elite Eight.
 
"What it means is I've been around a lot of great people," Heisey said of reaching 400 in the 'W' column. "I've had great players and great coaches to help me, and just people who believe in what we've done and they've bought in."
 




SPU seniors Brianne Lasconia, Stacey Lukasiewicz, Hannah Rodrigues, and Rachel Shim made a special presentation to Heisey after the game.
 
"I think back to my first year at Trevecca (1996-97) when we were 4-and-24. The next year, we were 15-and-14," Heisey recalled. "I think about those kids who believed in us.

"Coming to SPU, I came into a situation where (former coach) Gordy (Presnell) and the girls before I got here had established this as a great, great program. It was a privilege to come in and work with kids who loved to play and loved to compete and knew how to win."
 
The Classic – and the non-conference portion of the schedule – will conclude on Saturday when Seattle Pacific faces Nova Southeastern at 5:00 p.m. The Sharks, up in the Northwest from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won Friday's first game, beating Concordia-Portland, 60-51. The two Concordias – Portland and Irvine – meet at 3 p.m.
 
Junior forward Courtney Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) added 13 points for Seattle Pacific. Sophomore center Julia Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) came off the bench for seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Falcons used a 12-0 run – the last 10 points of the first quarter and the first basket of the second quarter – to snap a 10-10 tie, and stayed ahead the rest of the night. The closest Concordia Irvine (5-5) came after that was eight points at 27-19 with 5:06 left before halftime.
 
Seattle Pacific was up 37-24 at the break and never led by less than 10 during the second half.
 




SPU had a 35-33 edge on the boards, with nearly half those – 16 – coming at the offensive end, leading to 14 second-chance points. The Falcons had 21 assists on their 27 baskets, with Hollander, and senior guards Stacey Lukasiewicz and Brianne Lasconia earning four apiece.
 
Junior guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) had five boards and three steals to go along with her season-high 18 points.
 
The Falcons forced Irvine into 27 turnovers, which they converted into 31 points. Of those turnovers, 15 were SPU steals. McPhee led with three, but eight of the 14 players who saw action came up with at least one.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
SPU Classic
Friday, Dec. 16, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 14) Seattle Pacific 76, Concordia Irvine 64
 
CONCORDIA IRVINE (5-5)
Montana Walters 4-10 1-2 12, Judith Espinoza 2-4 3-4 7, Zoe Scott-Goss 3-6 0-0 6, Ugochi Anudokem 5-6 1-2 11, Annie Studdert 0-0 0-0 0, Sopavy Seng 2-3 0-0 4, Haley Brown 2-9 0-0 6, Madeline Sulka 2-4 0-0 5, Elizabeth Rudd 1-2 0-0 3, Alyssa Braun 0-2 0-0 0, Morgan Bryant 4-5 2-5 10, Portia Neale 0-1 0-00. Totals 25-52 7-13 64.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-0)
Erica Pagano 3-5 0-0 6, Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-6 2-2 4, Rachel Shim 3-10 0-0 7, Jordan McPhee 6-11 4-4 18, Courtney Hollander 5-10 1-3 13, Riley Evans 1-2 0-0 3, Jaylee Albert 1-3 0-0 3, Madi Hingston 0-0 0-0 0, Madison Wright 0-1 0-0 0, Julia Haining 3-5 1-2 7, Brianne Lasconia 1-6 0-0 3, Lindsay Lee 3-8 0-0 8, Hannah Rodrigues 0-1 0-0 0, Carly Rataushk 0-2 4-4 4. Totals 27-70 12-15 76.
 
Concordia Irvine                 10           14           14           26           -- 64
Seattle Pacific                     20           17           21           18           -- 76
 
3-point goals – CUI 7-15 (Walters 3-5, Brown 2-7, Sulka 1-1, Rudd 1-1, Neale 0-1), SPU 10-25 (Pagano 0-1, Lukasiewicz 0-2, Shim 1-3, McPhee 2-2, Hollander 2-4, Evans 1-2, Albert 1-2, Wright 0-1, Lasconia 1-2, Lee 2-6). Fouled out – CUI: Seng. Rebounds – CUI 33 (Anudokem 6), SPU 35 (Haining 7). Assists – CUI 13 (Walters 6), SPU 21 (Lukasiewicz 4, Hollander 4, Lasconia 4). Turnovers – CUI 27, SPU 16. Total fouls – CUI 18, SPU 23. Technical fouls – CUI: Coach Lacey Burns. Attendance – 182.
 
 
Next game
Nova Southeastern at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 5:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion