Box Score

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SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were able to respond to one scoring run.
 
But the second one proved to be too much.
 
Alaska Fairbanks racked up 16 of the final 21 points on Saturday afternoon – including the last 10 of the game – and went on to beat SPU in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest in Brougham Pavilion, 72-59.
 
The short-handed Falcons (13-5, 5-5 GNAC) were hit with their fourth loss in a row, and are part of a three-way tie for fourth with the Nanooks (9-8, 5-5 GNAC) and Northwest Nazarene (7-9, 5-5 GNAC). Seattle Pacific visits NNU this coming Thursday at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time, the first of four straight road games.
 
Junior guard Jordan McPhee led SPU with 14 points, getting nine of those during the fourth quarter – and was the only Falcon to score during the final 10 minutes of the game. Junior forward Erica Pagano  and sophomore center Julia Haining added nine points apiece.
 
Seattle Pacific was missing leading scorer and rebounder Courtney Hollander, who was out with an injury, and starting point guard Rachel Shim, sidelined for the day with an illness.
 
The Nanooks raced to a 12-0 lead in the first 4¼ minutes of the game, as the Falcons turned the ball over five times before getting off their first shot.
 
"Fairbanks came in here, and they wanted to win," SPU head coach Julie Heisey said. "The bottom line is we got away from the things that have made us successful. We weren't ready, we didn't start well, and we played in spurts. We were down two starters, so we needed everything to be tight and make the extra effort."
 
Seattle Pacific plays its next four games on the road, starting this coming Thursday with a 4:15 p.m. Pacific time tip-off at Northwest Nazarene.
 
GETTING BACK INTO IT
Trailing by 26-14 to open the second quarter, SPU got the deficit all the way down to three by halftime, 37-34. That momentum carried over into the third quarter, and the Falcons took their first lead of the day, 43-42, on a lay-in by Haining with 6:12 left in the period.
 
The Nanooks used a 7-0 run to snap a 49-49 tie, and took a 56-50 advantage into the final quarter. Back-to-back driving lay-ins by McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) brought Seattle Pacific within 56-54 and 9:12 still on the clock.
 
But down by just three at 62-59 following a McPhee free throw, the Falcons went scoreless for the final 3 minutes, 26 seconds while Fairbanks was putting 10 on the board.
 
"Boxing out, loose balls, all of that stuff – we've got to get back and be one of the hardest-working teams in the conference and take pride in the little things," Heisey said. "We have to take pride in our defense, we have to take pride in valuing the possessions, we have to play together and have a sense of urgency."
 
Kaillee Skjold led the Nanooks with 19 points, and made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. Jordan Wilson, the second-leading scorer in NCAA Division II at 22.6 points per game, added 17, with 15 of those during the first half. She spent much of the second half on the bench after picking up her fourth foul at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter.
 
Haining (Lynnwood, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for SPU.
 
The Falcons shot 40 percent for the game (22 of 55), but hit just 28.6 percent (8 of 28) during the second half. Fairbanks finished at 46 percent (23 of 50).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Fairbanks 72, Seattle Pacific 59
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (9-8, 5-5 GNAC)
Jordan Wilson 7-10 3-4 17, Kaillee Skjold 6-12 7-8 19, Victoria Milton 2-3 6-8 10, Jaylee Mays 4-12 1-2 13, Autumn Childers 0-2 0-0 0, Gabriela Jimenez 0-2 0-0 0, Kylie Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Sanni Salonen 0-0 0-0 0, Lexi Carpenter 3-8 2-2 11, Marian Wamsley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-50 19-24 72.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-5, 5-5 GNAC)
Hannah Rodrigues 3-5 0-0 6, Erica Pagano 4-12 1-1 9, Jaylee Albert 1-3 1-2 4, Jordan McPhee 4-12 6-8 14, Brianne Lasconia 2-6 0-0 5, Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-4 3-6 5, Madison Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Haining 4-6 1-2 9, Lindsay Lee 2-5 0-0 5, Carly Rataushk 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-55 12-19 59.
 
Alaska Fairbanks               26           11           19           16           -- 72
Seattle Pacific                     14           20           16             9           -- 59
 
3-point goals – UAF 7-21 (Mills 0-1, Mays 4-11, Chiulders 0-2, Jimenez 0-1, Carpenter 3-6), SPU 3-11 (Pagano 0-2, Albert 1-3, McPhee 0-2, Lasconia 1-1, Lee 1-3). Fouled out – SPU: Lasconia. Rebounds – UAF 33 (Skjold 12), SPU 29 (Haining 8). Assists – UAF 16 (Skjold 7), SPU 14 (Lukasiewicz 4). Turnovers – UAF 18, SPU 20. Total fouls – UAF 17, SPU 22. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 297.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Thursday, Jan. 26     4:15 p.m. PST
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho