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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Just when the Seattle Pacific Falcons needed a bounce to go their way …
 
… it went the other way.
 
Jordan Wilson hit two free throws with seven seconds left on Thursday night, lifting Alaska Fairbanks past SPU in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game at The Patty Center, 63-61.
 
Fairbanks used a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to turn a 49-45 deficit into a 55-49 lead. The Falcons, down 61-58, tied it at 61-61 with 15.5 seconds left on a 3-pointer from the right of the lane by sophomore center Carly Rataushk.
 
The Nanooks called timeout to set up a play, but never even took a shot before Wilson was fouled. The fifth-leading scorer in NCAA Division II sank both free throws for the last of her game-high 20 points.
 
With Seattle Pacific out of timeouts, Jaylee Albert took the ball downcourt and into the lane. She got underneath the hoop for a lay-in attempt, but the shot bounced off both sides of the rim before falling away as the final buzzer sounded.
 
The Falcons (17-8, 9-8 GNAC) dropped their third straight. They played without starting forward Courtney Hollander, the team's leading scorer (12.2) and rebounder (7.1), and starting point guard Rachel Shim. Both missed the game because of injuries. Senior Hannah Rodrigues (Eugene, Ore.) replaced Hollander, and sophomore Albert (Hamilton, Mont.) took over for Shim.
 
Jordan McPhee (Normandy Park, Wash. / Mount Rainier HS) led Seattle Pacific with 18 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 28 seconds left. Rataushk (Kirkland, Wash. / Lake Washington HS) had career highs of 14 points – her first time ever in double-figure scoring – and seven rebounds.
 
"Hannah and Jaylee stepped in and did a great job," coach Julie Heisey said. "Carly came off the bench and gave us a lot, and Jordan had a really consistent game and did a super job as far as getting to the line."
 
SPU, still seeking to clinch a spot in the conference tournament, plays at No. 2-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. With their 9-8 GNAC record, the Falcons are still in fourth place, but now are just one game ahead of Fairbanks and Northwest Nazarene (both 8-9) and are two up on Concordia (7-10) with three games left.
 
The Nanooks (8-9, 12-12) kept alive their hopes of making the GNAC Tournament for the first time.
 
Seattle Pacific led for a good portion of the game, though never by more than seven. It closed the second quarter with a 10-2 burst, going from 24-22 down to 32-26 ahead by halftime.
 
Another offensive surge, this one 9-4, gave the Falcons a 44-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It was still four at 49-45 with after a lay-in by Erica Pagano with 6:38 left. That's when the Nanooks went on their 10-point run, the first six of which came on back-to-back treys by Lexi Carpenter. She finished with 14 points off the bench, 12 of those from downtown.
 
SPU was back within two at 57-55 when Fairbanks' Victoria Milton was fouled as she drove toward the lane. Her ensuing shot went in, but was waved off by one official. The call was overturned, the basket counted, and Milton had a chance for a three-point play, which she was not able to convert, leaving it at 59-55 and 2:19 on the clock.
 
Rataushk's game-tying 3-pointer, along with another trey she hit earlier in the fourth quarter, were the first times in her two years at SPU that she had even attempted a shot from behind the arc. Overall, Rataushk hit 6 of 9 for the game.
 
The Falcons shot 42.3 percent for the game (22 of 52). Fairbanks, which swept the season series (winning 72-59 in Seattle last month) hit 41 percent (25 of 61).

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
 
Alaska Fairbanks 63, Seattle Pacific 61
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-8, 9-8 GNAC)
Stacey Lukasiewicz 1-5 2-2 5, Jaylee Albert 2-6 0-0 5, Jordan McPhee 5-15 7-10 18, Brianne Lasconia 1-2 0-0 2, Lindsay Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Rodrigues 2-5 3-4 7, Erica Pagano 5-9 0-0 10, Carly Rataushk 6-9 0-0 14. Totals 22-52 12-16 61.
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (12-12, 8-9 GNAC)
Victoria Milton 5-10 4-5 14, Gabriela Jimenez 0-2 0-0 0, Kylie Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylee Mays 1-6 0-0 3, Alex Derifield 0-0 0-0 0, Sami Salonen 0-0 0-0 0, Lexi Carpetner 5-8 0-0 14, Jordan Wilson 9-14 4-6 20, Autumn Childers 0-4 0-0 0, Kaillee Skjold 5-14 0-0 10, Marian Wamsley 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 8-11 63.
 
Seattle Pacific                    13           19           12           17           -- 61
Alaska Fairbanks                 8           18           14           23           -- 63
 
3-point goals – SPU 5-13 (Lukasiewicz 1-1, Albert 1-3, McPhee 1-3, Lasconia 0-1, Lee 0-1, Pagano 0-2, Rataushk 2-2), UAF 5-15 (Jimenez 0-1, Mays 1-6, Carpenter 4-7, Childers 0-1). Rebounds – SPU 39 (McPhee 9), UAF 32 (Mays 6). Assists – SPU 8 (McPhee 3, Lee 3), UAF 11 (Milton 4). Turnovers – SPU 18, UAF 12. Attendance – NA.
 
 
Next game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, 6:00 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska