MONMOUTH, Ore.—Jumping out to a 15-0 lead, No. 13-ranked Seattle Pacific University salvaged a weekend split to open GNAC play by defeating previously unbeaten Western Oregon University, 87-52, on Saturday afternoon.
Seattle Pacific (6-1, 1-1 GNAC) forced six turnovers while Western Oregon (5-1, 1-1 GNAC) missed its first seven shots to create the early deficit. The Wolves did not tally a point until 3:16 on the clock in the first quarter for a 16-2 score.
SPU's defense continued its strong play well into the second quarter by holding the home team to just 10 points through the first 15 minutes of action. The Falcons took a 45-18 lead at the break and led by as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter.
"SPU came out with great energy and flat out went to work," WOU head coach
Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "Good teams don't shoot poor two nights in a row, they bounce back, and that's what SPU did tonight. This was a good reality check as to how competitive the GNAC is."
The Falcons shot 48.3 percent (39-of-30) from the floor and got to the line on 26 occasions, converting 21 for an 80.8 percent exchange. The Wolves, meanwhile, made their way to line lines just four times.
SPU's Jordan McPhee led all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting while
Sydney Azorr and
Savannah Heugly tied for the WOU lead with 10 points each.
Seattle Pacific was upset by Concordia on Thursday while Western Oregon opened GNAC play with a win over Saint Martin's.
"We didn't have an answer for (Jordan) McPhee nor did we have a sense of urgency to find (Lindsay) Lee," Howard-Carpenter said. "We can't allow good teams to get off to great starts and we have to be able to rely on our defense when our shots aren't falling. On the offensive end, we have to work together better, make the right reads and find the open player. This group is resilient, we'll bounce back and grow from this."
WOU will play a pair of road games next week with matches at Oregon Tech (5-3) and Southern Oregon (7-0) on Dec. 11-12. Members of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Oregon Tech received votes in the NAIA DII national poll while Southern Oregon is ranked No. 12 nationally.
