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BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For more than eight minutes on Saturday night, the Western Washington Vikings went on a binge of baskets – and Seattle Pacific couldn't come up with an answer
 
Western put together a 22-0 run bridging the second and third quarters on Saturday night, and the Falcons never were able to climb back into it as the Vikings went on to a 71-53 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's victory at Whatcom Community College.
 
The 14th-ranked Falcons (13-3, 5-3 GNAC) dropped their second straight, having also come up short at Simon Fraser on Thursday night, 71-61. A stretch of three straight games against the top teams in the GNAC concludes on Thursday when the Falcons play host to No. 7-ranked Alaska Anchorage at 7:00 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Senior guard Brianne Lasconia (Seattle / Roosevelt HS), making her first start of the season, led SPU with 10 points. But she was the only Falcon in double figures. Jordan McPhee added eight points.
 
The Falcons had just taken a six-point lead, their biggest of the night, at 23-17 on a 3-pointer from the left of the lane by junior guard Lindsay Lee with 3:46 left in the second quarter.
 
Western (13-3, 7-1 GNAC) scored the last 13 points of the half to take a 30-23 into the break. The Vikings then rang up the first nine points of the third quarter, pushing their lead to 39-23.
 
SPU finally got back on the board with 5:12 left in the third on a lay-in by Julia Haining, ending a drought of 8 minutes, 34 seconds and 11 straight misses from the field.
 
"When you're playing a really good team, there's always going to be runs on both sides," Falcons coach Julie Heisey said. "But we have to manage the runs and momentum.
 
"I felt like we were doing great," she added. "Then we closed the first half with turnovers and a missed shot, and they made lay-ups. So all of a sudden, instead of being ahead or tied, you're going in down by seven."
 
Seattle Pacific eventually whittled the deficit back down to single digits at 51-43 on a Lasconia lay-in with 6:26 left in the game before WWU stretched it out again.
 
"I think it was definitely a learning experience," Lasconia said. "(This week) was the first time this season we've had this much adversity. We just want to focus on coming together and stopping runs throughout the game and finding time to huddle and make sure we're all on the same page"
 
SPU limited Western's Taylor Peacocke, the leading scorer in NCAA Division II, to just 11 points, less than half of her 23.2 average. But Tia Briggs broke loose for 25, including 11 of 13 at the free throw line, and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds.
 
Sophomore center Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds, her second straight double-digit game and just two shy of the career-high 12 she had at Simon Fraser on Thursday.
 
SPU shot season-low 31.3 percent from the field (20 of 64), including just 12.5 percent (2 of 16) from 3-point range. Western Washington 42.1 percent (24 of 57), with 2 of 10 from downtown.
 
"For whatever reason, we couldn't score tonight. I thought we had a lot of good scoring opportunities," Heisey said. "So much of it is controlling momentum – trying to find a way to get an easy shot in the paint, trying to get to the free throw line. When you don't score, you have to find a way to score."
 
The Falcons had a 42-40 edge on the boards.

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
Whatcom CC Pavilion / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Western Washington 71, (No. 14) Seattle Pacific 53
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-3, 5-3 GNAC)
Brianne Lasconia 5-13 0-0 10, Courtney Hollander 1-12 5-6 7, Erica Pagano 2-5 0-0 4, Rachel Shim 1-4 2-2 4, Jordan McPhee 3-9 2-4 8, Stacey Lukasiewicz 2-4 2-2 6, Jaylee Albert 1-3 0-0 3, Madison Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Haining 2-7 0-0 4, Lindsay Lee 3-4 0-0 7, Hannah Rodrigues 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 11-14 53.
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (13-3, 7-1 GNAC)
Hannah Stipanovich 1-1 0-0 2, Kiana Gandy 3-11 6-6 13, Tia Briggs 7-13 11-13 25, Taylor Peacocke 5-18 0-3 11, Jessica Valley 3-4 2-4 8, Lexie Bland 0-2 0-0 0, Rachel Albert 3-4 2-2 8, Nikki Corbett 2-3 0-0 4, Aleisha Hathaway 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 21-28 71.
 
Seattle Pacific                     14           9              11           19           -- 53
Western Washington         12           18           15           26           -- 71
 
3-point goals – SPU 2-16 (Lasconia 0-4, Hollander 0-6, Shim 0-1, McPhee 0-2, Albert 1-1, Lee 1-2), WWU 2-10 (Gndy 1-2, Peacocke 1-6, Valley 0-1, Hathaway 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 42 (Haining 10), WWU 40 (Briggs 10). Assists – SPU 12 (Hollander 3), WWU 16 (Valley 6). Turnovers – SPU 15, WWU 11. Total fouls – SPU 24, WWU 14. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 463.
 
 
Next game
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 19     7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion