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SEATTLE – It's not merely a winning streak anymore.
 
It's a double-digit winning streak.
 
Jordan McPhee scored a game-high 13 points and earned Most Valuable Player honors, and Erica Pagano added 12 points as the 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific Falcons kept their record perfect on Saturday night by routing Nova Southeastern in the SPU Classic women's basketball tournament, 75-50.
 
The victory in Brougham Pavilion boosted the Falcons' record to 10-0. The last time they won their first 10 games of the season was in 2007-08.
 
"I told our kids coming in, it's hard to win 10 games in a row," said SPU coach Julie Heisey, who logged her 400th career coaching victory with Friday's 76-64 decision against Concordia Irvine. "We've had some challenges – UC San Diego, Azusa Pacific, even Concordia on Friday. They caused us problems, but we've been able to adjust."
 
Saturday's game concluded the non-conference portion of the schedule. Seattle Pacific will be off for the Division II-mandated seven-day Christmas break, and then get into the heart of its Great Northwest Athletic Conference calendar beginning on Thursday, Dec. 29, when Central Washington visits Brougham at 7:00 p.m.
 




Junior guard McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) also set the SPU scoring pace on Friday with 18 points against Concordia Irvine.
 
While no one was predicting 10 straight wins to start the season, McPhee said none of the Falcons are surprised that it has happened.
 
"I think we all wanted it, From last year, we know how bad it feels to lose," she said in reference to a 12-15 season that included nine consecutive defeats at one point. "This year, we just want it that much more."

 

Junior forward Courtney Hollander (Lynden, Wash. / Lynden Christian HS) had just six points, but pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds, and joined McPhee on the all-tournament team.
 
SPU took charge of the game with a 19-1 run spanning the first and second quarters, turning a 9-4 deficit into a 23-10 lead. It started with 11 straight points in the first quarter.
 
Nova Southeastern (8-3), which made it to three straight NCAA Division II Elite Eights – 2013, 2014, and 2015 – and advanced to the regional semifinals last year, never got the margin below double-digits the rest of the night.
 
The Falcons had a 39-20 lead at halftime, then scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to cap a 16-0 run and push the lead to 31 points at 51-20. During that stretch from late in the second quarter to midway through the third, they kept the Sharks off the board for 8 minutes, 13 seconds, forcing them into 10 straight missed shots and six turnovers.

 

"We've been practicing hard, everyone is getting better, and we're achieving really good things because it's a team effort – I can't emphasize that enough," Heisey said.
 
Led by Hollander's nine, Seattle Pacific had a slight edge on the boards, 36-33. The Falcons racked up 21 assists on their 28 baskets, paced by the five of senior guard Rachel Shim. And, while forcing the Sharks into 20 turnovers, SPU had its second-lowest turnover tally of the season, committing just 11.
 
Of those 20 Nova turnovers, 10 were Falcon steals. That's the second straight game and the seventh time this season in double digits. SPU's intense, pressure defense limited the Sharks to just 30.8 percent shooting (16 of 52).
 
"Our defense was very good. I have to give credit to (assistant) coach (Mike) Simonson – he did a really good job of talking to people and finding out what the best way was to guard them, and our kids bought in," Heisey said.
 
Megan Piggott and Christen Prasse had 13 points apiece for Nova Southeastern, which was ranked in the first three Women's Basketball Coaches Association national polls of the season, climbing as high as No. 21. Piggott was named to the all-tournament team.
 
 
SPU CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP – Jordan McPhee, Seattle Pacific
Courtney Hollander, Seattle Pacific
Megan Piggott, Nova Southeastern
Danielle Hartzog, Concordia-Portland
Montana Walters, Concordia Irvine
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
SPU Classic
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(No. 14) Seattle Pacific 75, Nova Southeastern 50
 
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN (8-3)
Samantha Logan 2-8 0-0 5, Amanda Tivenius 2-5 1-4 5, Christen Prasse 5-12 2-5 13, Megan Piggott 4-14 3-4 13, Octavia Wilson 0-04 3-3 3, Cheray Saunders 1-3 2-4 5, Mary Hirt 1-1 0-0 2, Alexis Nunez 0-1 1-2 1, Kariss Keller 0-0 0-0 0, Maria Bardeeva 1-4 1-1 3. Totals 16-52 13-23 50.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-0)
Erica Pagano 6-9 0-0 12, Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-2 0-0 2, Rachel Shim 2-6 1-2 5, Jordan McPhee 4-11 5-5 13, Courtney Hollander 2-7 2-2 6, Riley Evans 0-2 0-0 0, Jaylee Albert 1-2 0-0 3, Madi Hingston 1-3 0-0 3, Madison Wright 1-1 3-4 6, Julia Haining 3-5 0-0 6, Brianne Lasconia 4-7 0-0 9, Lindsay Lee 2-2 0-0 5, Hannah Rodrigues 1-2 3-3 5, Jane Grisley 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Rataushk 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 14-16 75.
 
Nova Southeastern           10           10           8              22           -- 50
Seattle Pacific                     18           21           22           14           -- 75
 
3-point goals – NSU 5-17 (Logan 1-5, Prasse 1-3, Piggott 2-6, Wilson 0-1, Saunders 1-2), SPU 5-15 (Shim 0-2, McPhee 0-1, Hollander 0-3, Evans 0-2, Albert 1-1, Hingston 1-2, Wright 1-1, Lasconia 1-2, Lee 1-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – NSU 33 (Logan 12), SPU 36 (Hollander 9). Assists – NSU 6 (Logan 2, Prasse 2), SPU 21 (Shim 5). Turnovers – NSU 20, SPU 11. Total fouls – NSU 14, SPU 19. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 162.
 
 
Next game
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Dec. 29     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion