Taylor Sparks No. 2 SPU Women to Comeback win at Western
January 27, 2005

Season and Game Stats

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Jan. 27) -- Amy Taylor hit a three-pointer to give No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University the lead with just over 3 minutes remaining and the Falcons proceeded to take over sole possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 65-58 win over No. 17 Western Washington Thursday night at Carver Gym.

Seattle Pacific (8-0, 16-1) trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but then battled back and finished on a 15-5 run over the final four minutes to clinch its 50th consecutive GNAC victory and 15th in a row overall.

Taylor (Sr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) scored seven of her game-high 19 points in the final four minutes, stroking a trey which gave SPU its first lead at 57-55, and then adding a mid-range jumper to make it 59-55 with 95 seconds left.

Western closed to within one, 59-58, on a 3-pointer by Tina Donahue, but failed to score again, and Seattle Pacific was perfect on six free throws in the last 13 seconds for the final margin.

The Vikings (7-1, 15-2) had their 15-game win streak snapped. Jodi Gerald led Western with 18 points.

Mandy Wood (Jr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) had 13 points, four assists and four steals for SPU, and Carli Smith (Jr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Smith scored four of eight unanswered points as SPU cut the 10-point halftime deficit to 49-48 with 6:19 left.

The Falcons were held to a season-low 33.8 percent (23-of-68) field goal shooting, including 28.1 percent (9-of-28) in the first half.

The score was tied at 10-10 seven minutes into the game, but Western, which never trailed in the opening half, held Seattle Pacific to just four points in the next 11 minutes, opening up a 28-14 lead with 1:46 left in the period. The Vikings led 32-22 at halftime.

Seattle Pacific plays at Seattle University Saturday at 5.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 65, WESTERN WASHINGTON 58
SEATTLE PACIFIC (16-1,8-0) Taylor,Amy 7-16 2-2 19; Wood,Mandy 4-10 3-3 13; Smith,Carli 4-11 2-2 10; Kroon,Brittney 4-9 1-1 9; Poe,Jenny 2-6 2-2 7; Beaumont,Michelle 1-6 2-2 4; Strand,Rachel 1-4 0-0 2; Fielding,Autumn 0-2 1-2 1; Brewe,Quinn 0-3 0-1 0; Hermanson,Trisha 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-68 13-15 65.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (15-2,7-1) Gerald,Jodi 8-16 0-0 18; Clapp,Courtney 5-9 0-0 10; Donahue,Tina 2-12 2-2 7; Dressel,Stephanie 2-3 2-4 6; Robinson,Krystal 3-7 0-0 6; Hubbard,Samantha 3-7 0-0 6; Dykstra,Devin 1-4 0-0 3; White,Arielle 1-5 0-0 2; Burt,Angela 0-0 0-0 0; McCarrell,Liz 0-1 0-0 0; Hartman,Elyse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 4-6 58.
Halftime-WWU 32, SPU 22. 3-point goals-SPU 6-20 (Taylor,Amy 3-6; Wood,Mandy 2-7; Poe,Jenny 1-2; Beaumont,Michelle 0-3; Fielding,Autumn 0-1; Hermanson,Trisha 0-1), WWU 4-11 (Gerald,Jodi 2-5; Dykstra,Devin 1-1; Donahue,Tina 1-2; Hubbard,Samantha 0-3). Fouled out- WWU-Hubbard,Samantha. Rebounds-SPU 46 (Smith,Carli 12), WWU 38 (Donahue,Tina 11). Assists-SPU14 (Poe,Jenny 4; Wood,Mandy 4), WWU 18 (Hubbard, Samantha 5). Total fouls-SPU 7, WWU 19. A-1284.