Complete Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wa. (Jan. 24) A showdown between the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s top scoring teams in league play turned into a defensive battle in favor of the home squad. India Soo’s layup with five seconds left to play broke a 58-58 tie, and Western Washington handed Seattle Pacific its first conference loss in GNAC action Wednesday night at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Jessie Menkens (Sr., 5-10, Battle Ground, Wa./Prairie) hit a pair of free throws to put the Falcons (5-1 GNAC, 11-5) up 54-52 with 4:18 left to play. The Vikings (5-2, 12-5), then, responded with four straight points to pull ahead by two with 2:28 remaining.

SPU’s Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) evened the score with 1:40 remaining. The teams traded baskets over the next minute before Soo hit the winning basket in the dying moments.

In a game that had 11 ties and 10 lead changes, Seattle Pacific jumped out to a nine-point lead early in the first half. Western, however, responded with a 10-2 run to pull within one and evened the score at halftime. Neither team led by more than four in the second half as two of the GNAC’s top teams lived up to the billing.

Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) led the Falcons with 14 points. Hill finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Mollie Stelmack had a game-high 18 points and six rebounds for Western. Claire Pallansch added 11 points and six rebounds in the victory.

Menkens had eight points in 18 minutes off the bench on the loss.

The Falcons shot just 38 percent for the game while Western knocked down 43 percent of its shots.

The Falcons next host Dixie State on Saturday at 3 pm before returning to GNAC play for the remainder of the season.