Women's Basketball | 2/17/2011 7:20:41 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - A 13-3 Seattle Pacific run over the final 4:41 gave the visitors a 78-70 victory over the Western Oregon women's basketball team in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game, Thursday.

Western Oregon (9-14, 7-8 GNAC) took a 67-65 lead on a triple from senior guard Sara Zahler (Newberg, Ore./Newberg) with 4:41 remaining. Seattle Pacific (16-7, 10-5 GNAC) responded by scoring 12 unanswered points to go up 78-67, sealing the victory. A WOU trey with 15 seconds left resulted in the final margin.

Zahler scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting. She made five of her ten three-point attempts. Freshman forward Melissa Fowler (Canby, Ore./Canby) recorded 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Sophomore guard Jamie Richardson (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) added ten points and two steals. Senior forward Danielle Bellando (Eugene, Ore./Willamette) tied her career high with four assists.

“I thought the girls played extremely hard,” WOU head coach Greg Bruce said. “I was really proud of our effort. Unfortunately, we didn't play a full 40 minutes, and against a good team like SPU, you have to do that.”

The Wolves connected on 43.9 percent of their shots, but SPU made 55.1 percent of theirs, including 61.5 percent in the first half.

The Falcons outscored Western 20-12 at the free throw line and took 11 more free throws, including a 17-4 free throw attempt differential in the second stanza.

SPU guard and Portland native Nyesha Sims led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. She grabbed ten boards to complete the double-double.

Seattle Pacific led 40-37 at halftime.

The game marked Zahler's 107th career game in a Western Oregon uniform, the most by any WOU player since the transition to NCAA Division II in 2000-01. She also recorded her 97th career start, another WOU DII record.

The Wolves will host Montana State Billings Saturday to wrap up the home portion of the 2010-11 season. WOU's three seniors, Zahler, Bellando, and Danielle Albus (Aumsville, Ore./Cascade) will be honored before the game.