Complete Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Ak. (Feb. 15) Last week, the Falcons were sitting atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 1.5-game lead and just seven left to play. Now Seattle Pacific finds itself in a tight battle for the league championship after Rebecca Kielpinski scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead host Alaska Anchorage to a second-half comeback and 64-61 victory over Seattle Pacific Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Falcons (8-3 GNAC, 15-7) trailed by six with 46 seconds left to play, but Beth Christensen (Jr., 5-5 Enumclaw, Wa.) hit two free throws with 23 seconds remaining. After a pair of UAA free throws, Jackie Hollands (Jr., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) buried a three pointer with 10 ticks left on SPU’s third shot of the possession.

The Falcons fouled again quickly, and after Anchorage’s Jayci Stone made just 1-of-2 from the line, the Falcons had the ball with nine seconds remaining and a chance to tie. Hollands’ number was called again, but this time her three-point effort rimmed out just before the final buzzer.

It was the second straight loss for Seattle Pacific, who fell into second place in the GNAC, a half game behind Western Washington, a 72-43 victor over Western Oregon tonight. The Seawolves (8-4, 19-4) moved to within a half game of SPU.

Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Falcons. She was the only SPU player to score in double figures.

Kielpinski shot 7-of-13 from the field to help Anchorage beat the Falcons at their own game. Anchorage outscored SPU 26-12 in the paint. Maria Nilsson added 16 points, and Stone finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.

Hill scored a basket with 25 seconds left in the first half to give the Falcons a seven-point lead, the largest of the game for either team. That was quickly erased, however, as Anchorage cut the deficit to two just 30 seconds into the second half and then captured the lead with eight minutes remaining. There were three ties and three lead changes the rest of the way and 10 of each for the entire game.

Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) added seven points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot in the loss. Libby Magnuson (Jr., 5-10, White Bear Lake, Mn.) led a strong SPU bench with nine points and seven rebounds. The SPU reserves outscored Anchorage 19-2.

The Falcons made 10-of-28 three-pointers, but dug themselves in a hole with poor free-throw shooting. Nationally ranked in the category, the Falcons went just 11-of-21 from the line while Anchorage went 17-for-23.

The Falcons finish a four-game road trip at Alaska Fairbanks in GNAC action Saturday at 3 p.m.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE 64, SEATTLE PACIFIC 61
SEATTLE PACIFIC (15-7, 8-3 GNAC) Hill,Kelsey 7-13 3-4 17; Magnuson,Libby 3-9 0-0 9; Christensen,Beth 1-5 5-6 8; Fielding,Autumn 2-9 1-2 7; Strand,Rachel 3-11 0-1 7; Henderson,Daesha 2-3 0-0 6; Christensen,Jessie 1-6 2-4 4; Hollands,Jackie 1-6 0-2 3; Hoisington,Megan 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 20-62 11-21 61.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (19-4, 8-4 GNAC) Kielpinski,Rebecca 7-13 7-9 21; Nilsson,Maria 4-11 5-6 16; Burnett,Tristan 2-8 3-5 9; Salazar,Jennifer 4-9 1-1 9; Stone,Jayci 2-8 1-2 7; Callahan,Mari 1-3 0-0 2; Lockard,Tenecia 0-1 0-0 0; Brooks,Keyona 0-2 0-0 0; Vaughan,Meghan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 17-23 64.

Seattle Pacific............... 39 22 - 61 
Alaska Anchorage.............. 32 32 - 64

Halftime-SPU 39, UAA 32. 3-point goals-Seattle Pacific 10-28 (Magnuson,Libby 3-6; Fielding,Autumn 2-7; Henderson,Daesha 2-3; Hollands,Jackie 1-4; Strand,Rachel 1-5; Christensen,Beth 1-3), Alaska Anchorage 7-27 (Nilsson,Maria 3-10; Burnett,Tristan 2-5; Stone,Jayci 2-8; Brooks,Keyona 0-1; Vaughan,Meghan 0-2; Callahan,Mari 0-1). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None, Alaska Anchorage-None. Rebounds-Seattle Pacific 45 (Strand,Rachel 12), Alaska Anchorage 40 (Stone,Jayci 10; Kielpinski,Rebecca 10). Assists-Seattle Pacific 18 (Christensen,Beth 6), Alaska Anchorage 13 (Salazar,Jennifer 5). Total fouls-Seattle Pacific 19, Alaska Anchorage 16. A-445.