WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: 

The Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team began the week of competition as they traveled to Bellingham, Washington to play against the Western Washington University Vikings on Tuesday, Feb. 15. This game was a make-up game from Jan. 8, which was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols and regulations.

Despite the momentum that the Falcons gained from their two wins on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and Thursday, Feb. 10, the women were not able to achieve a victory over the Vikings. SPU lost the game by 21 points. 

The tone of the game was quickly set by Western Washington as they scored the first four points of the game within the first minute of play. The Vikings did not hold the lead for very long before Falcon senior guard Kaprice Boston scored two free throws and put the Falcons on the board. 

Twenty-eight seconds later, senior point guard Abril Rexach Roure scored a good jumper and tied the score, 4-4. The Falcons tied the score with the Vikings two more times during the first quarter, but were unable to stop their opponents from capturing a substantial lead. 

By the end of the first half, the Vikings gained a 19 point lead over the Falcons. Despite SPU’s best efforts, they were never able to close the gap and lost the game, 75-54.

The top scorer for SPU was senior Natalie Hoff, who scored a total of 10 points during the game. She was closely followed by Boston, who was the second-highest scorer with seven points.

Following the loss against the Vikings, The Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets traveled to the Evergreen State to play the Falcons on their senior night.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, their night of honor did not end in a triumphant fashion. SPU lost their second game of the week in an extremely close game. The Falcons only lost by three points and ended the game with a score of 56-53. 

For the entirety of the first half, the Falcons trailed the Yellowjackets. As soon as Montana State Billings scored the first two points of the game off a layup from Taryn Shelley, the game swayed in their favor. The Yellowjackets held onto the lead going into the second half and ended with a score of 27-24. 

The second half of the game did not go much better for the Falcons. SPU was unable to take the lead at any point in the game. SPU had to continuously play a game of catchup with Montana State Billings. This strategy never worked in their favor and allowed for the Yellowjackets to take the decisive victory. 

Although the Falcons did not come out with a win, senior guard and forward Ashley Alter made certain that her senior night did not go to waste. Alter was the highest scorer for the game against the Yellowjackets and accounted for 15 of the points scored during the game. Fellow senior and forward Natalie Hoff scored the second-most points at 13. 

Following these losses, The Falcons now hold an overall season record of 10-15 and a conference record of 6-9. 

The Falcons’ next game will be a make-up game from Jan. 15. It will be played on Monday, Feb. 21 against the Western Oregon University Wolves in Monmouth, Oregon. 

MEN’S BASKETBALL:

On Thursday, Feb.17, the SPU men’s basketball team awaited the arrival of Simon Fraser University before engaging in an intense competitive game with them on the Falcons’ home court. 

The Falcons were the first to score off of a three-pointer from senior guard Harry Cavell. The game was tied seven times in the first half and the lead changed hands four times. After the fourth lead change was captured by the Falcons with only five minutes left in the game, SPU held tight to the lead and began to widen the gap between their score and their opponents.

The final score for the half was 44-33, in favor of the Falcons. 

In the second half of the game, the Falcons held tight to their lead and did not allow Simon Fraser to gain the upper hand. Simon Fraser tried to close the gap and was very close to achieving this goal, but it would not be enough in the end. The Falcons’ defensive strength halted Simon Fraser and allowed them to take the 87-79 win. 

Senior guard Divant’e Moffitt was the highest scorer for the game and accounted for an impressive 32 points. 

On Saturday, Feb. 19, the men’s basketball team hoped to wave the green flag of victory once again, but their efforts fell one point short as they lost the game against Western Washington University, 79-78. 

SPU began the game with the lead as Cavell scored the first basket of the game in the first 25 seconds. The Vikings scored alongside the Falcons but were unable to capture the lead until Western Washington’s Kai Johnson scored a good pull-up jumper to tie the game, 26-26. 

The Falcons tried to take back control of the game as they tied the score two minutes later, 28-28, but were unsuccessful. Western Washington kept the lead for the rest of the first half and went into the second part of the game with a 38-36 lead. 

The second half of the game was an intense battle of control between the Vikings and the Falcons. SPU tried their hardest to pull ahead of Western Washington, but their efforts proved to not be enough. The Falcons tied the score four times in the second half, but the Vikings always pulled ahead. 

With only 46 seconds left on the clock, Moffitt scored a good layup and turned the tide. The Falcons pulled ahead for the first time in the second half and brought the score to 77-76. In an attempt to strengthen their lead, Moffitt went for a free throw and successfully made the basket. The score was now 78-76 with only 19 seconds to go. 

The Falcons and the celebrating seniors could feel the win closing in as the clock counted down the last seconds of the game, but the green light suddenly went red. With only two seconds left in the game, Western Washington’s Lucas Holden shot an incredible three-pointer and ended the Falcons’ dream of a glorious victory on senior night. 

Moffitt was the top scorer for SPU for the second game in a row. He scored 20 additional points for this game and ended the week with a total of 52 points. 

He still currently holds the team’s season record for overall points scored at 424. He is 103 points ahead of the second-highest scorer on the team, junior forward Shaw Anderson, who has scored a total of 321 points this season. 

The team’s next game will be on Monday, Feb. 21 against the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This was a makeup game from Jan.1.