Box score, play-by-play (HTML)
 
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Chalk up another one for the road warriors.
 
Hailee Bennett came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points on Saturday night, leading Seattle Pacific to a 66-47 rout of Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game.
 
Redshirt freshman forward Bennett bettered her previous career high of 11, which she scored against Fairbanks in Seattle on Jan. 18. She hit 4 of 8 from the floor on Saturday (2 of 3 from behind the arc), added 3 of 4 from the foul line, three rebounds, and two assists.
 
The Falcons (19-6, 13-5 GNAC) have gone 11-5 away from Brougham Pavilion, including 9-4 in true road games. Of the five GNAC series that the Falcons swept, three of those sweeps were completed in the opposing gym – including Saturday's win at Fairbanks.
 
They had not prevailed in The Patty Center since 2015, having dropped two-point decisions in the final seconds the past two seasons.
 
"Part of that is our good seniors – we have a strong, mature team," head coach Julie Heisey said in discussing SPU's success when wearing the maroon jerseys. "When you go out on the road, you have to control the controllables, and for the most part, we've done a good job with rebounding and defense. Those are things you have to do to win on the road."
 
Bouncing back from Thursday's 73-47 loss at No. 4 Alaska Anchorage, Seattle Pacific never trailed and was tied just once, that at 2-2. Up 10-6 at the end of one, the Falcons rang up eight straight points to open the second quarter and push the lead to 18-6. It never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
 
SPU's 29-13 halftime lead tied for the fewest points allowed in a half this season. The Falcons limited Central Washington to that total in the first half of a 62-43 victory in Brougham Pavilion on Jan. 6.
 
Senior guard Jordan McPhee chipped in 11 points for the Falcons.
 
 "I was proud of our kids. Everybody in the country is tired right now, but I felt our effort was really good," Heisey said. "We were dialed in and focused. We defended and rebounded (a 41-33 advantage) and took care of the ball (just 12 turnovers) – and we won."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

--Senior center Julia Haining collected 12 rebounds for SPU. That was her fourth double-digit effort of the season on the boards.
--This was the fifth time the Falcons have kept an opponent below 50 points this season.
-- Seattle Pacific hit 80 percent at the foul line on Saturday (12 of 15). That made it back-to-games in the 80s for the first time since a streak of three such games in January. The team hit 87.5 percent (7 of 8) on Thursday at Anchorage.
-- After committing 22 turnovers at UAA, the Falcons got it back down to 13. They forced 21 Fairbanks turnovers, converting those into 28 points.
 
UP NEXT
SPU closes the regular season at home next week, hosting Western Oregon on Thursday and Concordia-Portland on Saturday, both at 5:15 p.m. as the first games of doubleheaders. Thursday's game will be the annual Play for Kay breast cancer awareness night, and Saturday will be Senior Night. 

 
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
 
Seattle Pacific 66, Alaska Fairbanks 47
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (19-6, 13-5 GNAC)
Jaylee Albert 2-7 0-0 6, Jordan McPhee 4-11 3-4 11, Julia Haining 2-6 3-4 7, Courtney Hollander 3-9 0-0 6, Lindsay Lee 2-4 0-0 4, Riley Evans 3-10 0-0 6, Hailee Bennett 4-8 3-4 13, Erica Pagano 2-5 0-0 4, Carly Rataushk 3-4 3-3 9. Totals 25-64 12-15 66.
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (4-20, 0-18 GNAC
Kylie Wallace 4-11 6-7 14, Josie Sewell 2-5 0-0 4, Lexi Carpenter 5-14 0-0 11, Emily Evans 3-5 0-0 9, Cassi Williams 0-6 0-0 0, Kaylyn Kelly 2-2 0-0 4, Ashlie Blackburn 0-0 0-0 0, Angela Murnion 0-0 1-2 1, Sabrina Ungaro 1-5 2-4 4, Sanni Salonen 0-0 0-0 0, Marian Wamsley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 9-14 47.
 
Seattle Pacific                     10           19           15           22           -- 66
Alaska Fairbanks                  6             7           15           19           -- 47
 
3-point goals – SPU 4-13 (Albert 2-4, Hollander 0-1, Lee 0-2, Evans 0-2, Bennett 2-3, Pagano 0-1), UAF 4-18 (Carpenter 1-7, Evans 3-4, Williams 0-6, Ungars 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – SPU 41 (Haining 12), UAF 33 (Sewell 10). Assists – SPU 11 (Albert 3), UAF 6 (Wallace 3). Turnovers – SPU 12, UAF 21. Total fouls – SPU 13, UAF 20. Technical fouls – None. Attendance – 245.
 
 
Next game
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 22     5:15 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion