Seattle Pacific women’s basketball was previously on a two-game losing streak, falling 87-73 to Simon Fraser University on Dec. 5 and 83-68 to Western Washington University on Dec. 7.
The Falcons bounced back to defeat the Stanislaus State University Warriors 81-65 on Saturday, Dec. 14, in Royal Brougham Pavilion.
Top scorers were fifth-year guard Hunter Beirne with 22 points and sophomore guard Layne Kearns with 17.
The Falcons entered the game hot, immediately leading 9-0. Stanislaus State closed in at 19-15 but fell back 29-21 at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors had a 13-5 scoring run in the first five minutes of the second quarter, leading to a 34-34 tie. Two three-pointers from Beirne gave the lead back to the Falcons, and they stayed ahead 42-39 at halftime.
Seattle Pacific regained the lead twice after the Warriors tied the score again 44-44 and 48-48 in the third quarter. The Falcons started the fourth quarter with a 54-51 lead but found momentum for a 16-8 scoring run to pull ahead 70-59. Stanislaus State tried to catch up but ultimately fell to the Falcons.
Interim head coach Karen Byers felt nervous when the team’s defense struggled against the Warriors. She highlighted sophomore wing Grace Leasure and sophomore guard Haylie-Ann Ohta for turning the tide.
“We weren’t rebounding very well, and our defense wasn’t very intense,” Byers said. “Stanislaw is aggressive, fast and athletic, and they gave us a run for our money. I kept telling them the stats of the rebounds and how if we didn’t start guarding, it would be a long game. Leisure and Ohta came out and turned on the defense for us and [the rest of the team followed].”
The Falcons’ overall record is now 3-9 and 0-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, ranking ninth. Their next game is against Pacific Lutheran University on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
“[Over] the next few days, we’ll take a rest and then hit it hard again on Tuesday,” Byers said. “I’m proud of the girls. I challenged them, and they didn’t crumble, they stepped up and got the win.”
