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Falcons top Seawolves in defensive battle

Women's Basketball UAA Media Relations

Falcons top Seawolves in defensive battle

SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific guard Sydney Benson came off the bench to score 13 points Saturday, spearheading a three-point attack that led her team to a 57-42 victory over Alaska Anchorage in a battle of nationally and regionally ranked women's basketball teams at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

The Seawolves (14-3, 4-2 GNAC) were led by 13 points and three steals from reserve forward Kelsie Gourdin, but UAA could not find the bucket as a team, shooting 25 percent overall and 18 percent from three-point range.

The Falcons (14-3, 5-1) also got 11 points and five rebounds from point guard Jordan Harazin as they gained a small measure of revenge against the team that has defeated them in the last two NCAA Div. II West Regional title games here.

SPU entered the contest ranked No. 21 nationally and No. 3 in the initial West Region poll, released Wednesday. UAA came in No. 13 nationally and No. 6 in the region.

The Seawolves got a bucket from senior forward Nicci Miller (9 points, 7 rebounds) on their opening possession, but they would go cold from there, missing 16 of their next 17 shots and falling behind 19-10 after almost 19 minutes.

But another trey by Miller and a short jumper by Gourdin helped UAA close to within 19-15 at halftime and seemingly gave the Seawolves the momentum. Two free throws by junior guard Kaitlin McBride made it 22-19 at the 15-minute mark, but the visitors could get no closer.

Benson nailed one of her three three-pointers a couple minutes later, and the Falcons racked up eight total treys on their way to building a 41-24 cushion.

The Seawolves had one last response, however, getting five quick points from Leah Stepovich and several big plays from Gourdin to claw within 43-37 at the 3:49 mark.

The Falcons then took advantage of consecutive turnovers by UAA to push their advantage back to double digits and run its home record to 7-0 this year.

Despite its playoff success here, the Seawolves lost their 10th straight regular-season game to the Falcons at Brougham Pavilion.

UAA returns to the road for another showdown Saturday (3:15 p.m. AST) against regionally 4th-ranked Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. That game can be heard live on FM 93.7 KAFC or seen via live videostream at pennatlantic.com.


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Players Mentioned

Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

F
5' 10"
Junior
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

F
5' 10"
Junior
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

G
5' 7"
Senior
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

G
5' 7"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Kelsie Gourdin

#RS Kelsie Gourdin

5' 10"
Junior
F
Nicci Miller

#0 Nicci Miller

5' 10"
Junior
F
Leah Stepovich

#RS Leah Stepovich

5' 7"
Senior
G
Kaitlin McBride

#21 Kaitlin McBride

5' 7"
Junior
G