Women's Basketball | 2/22/2014 3:44:00 PM

Box Score
POSTGAME QUOTES

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team used a second half run to pull away from upset-minded Western Oregon University Saturday, 76-64.

The Falcons (17-7, 10-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) clinched a berth in the GNAC tournament with the victory. A key 18-5 run midway through the second half was the clincher for the NCAA Div. II West Region's fourth-ranked team. SPU made 50 percent of its shots from the field, and had a 35-25 edge in rebounds.

Katie Benson led the Falcons with her eighth double-double of the season and 18th in her career. Her 26 points and 12 rebounds were both game-highs. The senior recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds in SPU's 72-56 win earlier this season in Seattle. Saturday, Benson made 11 of her 14 shots from the field. Her made field goals and points were season-highs for a WOU opponent this season. She also made two steals.

Betsy Kingma and Suzanna Ohlsen both added 12 points, while Mechela Barnes had 11. Ohlsen threw five of SPU's 18 assists. Seattle Pacific made 8-of-21 from behind-the-arc and 12-of-18 from the free throw line. The Falcons turned 15 offensive rebounds into 14 points.

The lead changed six times in the game and the score was tied eight times. The margin was never larger than five points in the first half. The visiting Falcons took an early 7-2 lead, but Kelsey Henry's jumper inside the paint gave WOU its first lead of the game, 17-15, with 10:01 left in the first half. The Wolves closed the half by scoring four points in the last two seconds. After a pair of Chantel Divilbiss free throws, Elise Miller stole the SPU inbound pass and heaved in a three as time expired. Western Oregon had a 31-29 advantage at halftime.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Dana Goularte early in the second half gave the Wolves their largest lead of the game, 40-34. An 8-2 run by the Falcons tied the score, and the final tie of the game came with 13:59 remaining in regulation, 45-45. Seattle Pacific then scored 18 of the next 23 points to pull away from WOU. Benson completed the run with a lay-in and free throw to give SPU a 63-50 advantage. The Wolves went on a 6-0 run, but would come no closer than seven points the rest of the game.

Western Oregon (6-18, 3-13 GNAC) finished 44 percent from the field. Its 6-of-11 shooting from behind-the-arc was one of the best of the season. The Wolves were also 16-of-19 from the free throw line. WOU committed 16 turnovers, while it forced 15.

Goularte finished with 24 points, making eight of her 14 shots from the field. She made all six of her free throw attempts, and dished out three assists. Henry and Jordan Mottershaw contributed 13 and 11 points. Melissa Fowler led Western Oregon with seven rebounds.

Seattle Pacific won the 39th meeting between the programs. The Falcons are 34-5 against WOU all-time, including 15-1 in Monmouth.

The Wolves honored Divilbiss and Fowler which played in their games on the WOU campus. Divilbiss has amassed 438 points in her two seasons at Western Oregon. The outside shooting threat has made 36 of her 60 total three-pointers this season. She has started in 40 of the 49 games as a Wolf. Fowler has been a staple to Western Oregon basketball for four years. She has played in 104 games for the Wolves, and will finish in the top five all-time in minutes played at WOU in over 3,000. Her 718 total career points have come on 45 percent shooting from the field.

Western Oregon travels Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) for its final two games of the regular season. The Wolves are at CWU (6-17, 1-14) Thursday. WOU won the first meeting in Monmouth, 71-63 in overtime. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Live video and stats will be on WOUWolves.com.

Seattle Pacific vs Western Oregon
02/22/14 2 p.m. at Monmouth, OR (New P.E. Building)
At Monmouth, OR (New P.E. Building)
SEATTLE PACIFIC 76, WESTERN OREGON 64
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-7, 10-6 GNAC)
Benson,Katie 11-14 3-4 26; Ohlsen,Suzanna 4-12 2-2 12; Kingma,Betsy 4-13 0-0
12; Barnes,Mechela 3-3 4-6 11; Pflaumer,Maddey 3-6 1-2 7; Rodrigues,Hannah
2-5 2-4 6; Grager,Molly 1-1 0-0 2; Butler,Riley 0-0 0-0 0; Shim,Rachel 0-1
0-0 0; Lukasiewicz,Stacey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 12-18 76.
WESTERN OREGON (6-18, 3-13 GNAC)
Goularte,Dana 8-14 6-6 24; Henry,Kelsey 5-7 2-2 13; Mottershaw,Jordan 3-6
3-4 11; Divilbiss,Chantel 3-9 3-4 9; Miller,Elise 2-5 0-0 5; Titus,Angie 0-1
2-2 2; Nicklason,Leah 0-0 0-0 0; Reade,Amber 0-0 0-0 0; Fowler,Melissa 0-4
0-1 0; Steiger,Jackie 0-0 0-0 0; Akins,Shyla 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 16-19
64.
Seattle Pacific...............   29   47  -   76
Western Oregon................   31   33  -   64
3-point goals--Seattle Pacific 8-21 (Kingma,Betsy 4-11; Ohlsen,Suzanna 2-5;
Barnes,Mechela 1-1; Benson,Katie 1-1; Rodrigues,Hannah 0-3), Western Oregon
6-11 (Mottershaw,Jordan 2-4; Goularte,Dana 2-2; Henry,Kelsey 1-1;
Miller,Elise 1-1; Divilbiss,Chantel 0-3). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None,
Western Oregon-None. Rebounds--Seattle Pacific 35 (Benson,Katie 12), Western
Oregon 25 (Fowler,Melissa 7). Assists--Seattle Pacific 18 (Ohlsen,Suzanna
5), Western Oregon 10 (Divilbiss,Chantel 3; Goularte,Dana 3). Total
fouls--Seattle Pacific 14, Western Oregon 15. Technical fouls--Seattle
Pacific-None, Western Oregon-None. A-327
Great Northwest Ath