Falcons race past Lumberjackets, into regional semis
ANCHORAGE – Senior guard Aubree Callen had 16 points and nine assists Friday as 6th-seeded Seattle Pacific used a huge first-half run to earn a 77-62 victory over 3rd-seeded Humboldt State in the first round of the NCAA Div. II West Regional Women’s Basketball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Falcons (22-6) also got 13 points, four assists, no turnovers and three steals from senior guard Betsy Kingma as they outshot the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season co-champions .419 to .260.
The Lumberjacks (23-6) were led by 12 points and five steals from Danielle Gaumer, plus 10 points, and seven assists from fellow senior guard Kersey Wilcox.
Humboldt State – which lost an 83-74 overtime against SPU back in November in Seattle – came out hot at the start, hitting four of its first seven shots and taking a 10-6 lead.
But the Lumberjacks went cold and the Falcons heated up, with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season runners-up posting a 21-3 run over the next seven minutes. Callen led the way with 11 points and seven assist in the first half, staking the Falcons to a 45-24 advantage at the break.
SPU pushed its lead as high as 69-43 with 6:43 remaining, getting eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks from reserve forward Molly Grager as well.
The Falcons advance to Saturday’s 5 p.m. ADT regional semifinal against the winner of the next quarterfinal between 7th-seeded Cal Poly Pomona and 2nd-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills.
