Seattle Pacific women’s basketball marked its first win of the season against California State University, San Marcos 72-48 on Friday, Nov. 15.
The Falcons defeated Cal State San Marcos on the first day of the West Region Crossover and lost 90-70 to Azusa Pacific University on the second day of the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 16.
The Cal State San Marcos Broncos were strong defensively, but the Falcons made enough use of their opportunities to gain the lead in the first quarter. Entering the second quarter, the Broncos upped their offensive speed and defensive pressure to move within two points of SPU. The Falcons adapted well to the Broncos and held out for the win.
Fifth-year point guard Hunter Beirne was the team’s top scorer with 23 points.
The Falcons’ first win of the season was also Karen Byers’ first win as the interim head coach for Seattle Pacific women’s basketball.
“We’ve been working really hard towards this point, and we were hungry for it,” Byers said. “I’m really proud of the team. We’ve had some hard games, and they didn’t let that beat them down. They took it as a challenge, and tonight, we saw the team that they could be every night.”
The Falcons carried the same energy into Saturday’s match against the Azusa Pacific Cougars. Seattle Pacific spent the first quarter behind Azusa Pacific but gained a 45-40 lead at halftime. The Cougars regained the lead in the third quarter, and SPU was unable to recover.
Junior post Emilia Bishop led scoring for the Falcons with 14 points.
Beirne shared her thoughts on the team’s challenges during the tournament.
“Cal State [San Marcos] really upped the defensive press, especially at the end,” Beirne said. “We saw a lot of that last weekend as well, and it’s good practice for GNACs. We talked about taking runs and not letting them get us down.”
Seattle Pacific is ninth in the overall Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 1-6 record. The Falcons challenge the Metropolitan State University of Denver and Colorado Christian University next in the SPU Thanksgiving Tournament from Friday, Nov. 29, to Saturday, Nov. 30, in Royal Brougham Pavilion.
