Seattle Pacific women’s basketball now has its first winning streak of the season.
The Falcons enter the holiday break with four straight wins. Their streak started with an 81-65 win against Stanislaus State University on Dec. 14, and then the Falcons returned to Royal Brougham Pavilion to find a 73-45 victory over Pacific Lutheran University.
Seattle Pacific rode the momentum into Salt Lake City, Utah, to defeat Westminster University 75-65 and Metropolitan State University of Denver 92-74.
Fifth-year guard Hunter Beirne led the team with 15 points against Pacific Lutheran on Tuesday, Dec. 17. Sophomore wing Grace Leasure grabbed a new career-high seven rebounds, topping her previous high of six against Stanislaus State.
Pacific Lutheran stayed on the heels of SPU in the first quarter but stuttered behind throughout the second quarter, resulting in the Falcons leading 30-21 at halftime. Seattle Pacific found enough steam near the end of the third quarter to balloon its lead to 54-30. Pacific Lutheran never came closer than 19 in the fourth quarter, giving another win to the Falcons.
The Falcons rode the momentum into their next game against Westminster in Salt Lake City, Utah, winning 75-65 on Friday, Dec. 20.
Sophomore guard Layne Kearns was the top scorer with 16 points, including the 300th of her career, totaling 314.
Seattle Pacific entered the first quarter trailing Westminster until a three-pointer from Beirne in the seventh minute gave SPU the lead. Westminster failed to narrow the margin further than five in the second quarter. The Falcons led 33-26 exiting halftime but found a brief double-digit gap at 48-32 in the 25th minute. Westminster was never out of reach but could not escape the loss.
The Falcons redeemed themselves against Metro State on Saturday, Dec. 21, from their previous 57-56 loss on Nov. 29. Furthermore, they broke the 90-point threshold for the first time since Jan. 23, 2018, when SPU won 94-76 against Saint Martin’s University.
Senior wing Lolo Weatherspoon led with 22 points. Redshirt-freshman guard Grace Turley scored a career-high 11 points in her first college start.
Metro State lost the lead late in the first quarter thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard Haylie-Anne Ohta. The Falcons grew their lead throughout the second quarter, entering halftime at 49-34. Seattle Pacific kept its foot on the gas the rest of the game, never letting Metro State any closer than 12 points.
Ohta brought the Falcons to 90 with 54 seconds remaining, and Beirne broke the threshold with two free throws, scoring the final points of SPU’s win.
The Falcons’ overall record is 6-9 and 0-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, ranking eighth. Their next game is in Billings, Montana, versus Montana State University Billings on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.
