Complete Box Score

NAMPA, Id. (Mar. 1) It was a bittersweet night for the Falcons, who captured at least a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, despite falling 65-63 to host Northwest Nazarene on a pair of free throws by Danielle Dwello with one second remaining.

The Falcons (11-4 GNAC, 18-8) lost for the first time in four games, but clinched their fourth GNAC championship in the past five years. SPU would win the outright title and an automatic berth into the NCAA II tournament with a victory Saturday night, or with a loss by second-place Alaska Anchorage, who would receive the automatic berth if the teams ended up in a tie.

After the Falcons trailed for the entire second half and came back from as many as 15 points down, Dwello drained two free throws after being fouled just before the buzzer. That snapped a 63-63 tie and put a damper on SPU’s comeback hopes and GNAC title celebration.

Jackie Hollands (Jr., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) scored a game-high 16 points and hit 4-of-7 three pointers to lead the Falcons. Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) had 11 points and five rebounds, and Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) and Libby Magnusson (Jr., 5-10, White Bear Lake, Mn.) scored 10 points apiece.

The Falcons scored the first six points of the contest and jumped out to a 12-3 lead just four minutes into the game. The Crusaders, however, finished the half on a 15-7 run to pull ahead by three at the break.

After a Northwest Nazarene basket to open the second half, SPU got two straight baskets to pull within one, but things unraveled from there. The Crusaders went on an 18-4 run to capture a 15-point lead with 12 minutes remaining.

The Falcons fought valiantly, holding the Crusaders scoreless for four straight minutes down the stretch and to just one field goal total in the final 5:16, eventually tying the game up on a Magnusson hoop with 20 second left.

Dwello finished with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The game-winners were her only free-throw attempts of the contest. Mallory Whipple led NNU with 12 points to along with five rebounds and seven assists. Kristin Hein and Paige Knudson each had 10 points in reserve roles.

The Falcons shot 47 percent and held NNU to just 36 percent but were beat at their own game as the Crusaders scored 24 points off 22 SPU turnovers. The Falcons also made just 9-of-15 free throws.

The Falcons wrap up regular season play and can clinch the outright GNAC title at Seattle University on Saturday at 7 p.m.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE 65, SEATTLE PACIFIC 63
SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-4, 18-8) Hollands,Jackie 5-8 2-2 16; Strand,Rachel 5-5 0-0 11; Hill,Kelsey 4-8 2-4 10; Magnuson,Libby 3-6 4-4 10; Menkens,Jessie 2-8 0-0 6; Henderson,Daesha 2-9 0-1 5; Hoisington,Megan 2-2 0-0 4; Christensen,Beth 0-3 1-2 1; Christensen,Jessie 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 23-49 9-15 63.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (10-6, 16-11) Whipple,Mallory 5-9 0-0 12; Dwello,Danielle 4-10 2-2 11; Hein,Kristin 4-10 2-2 10; Knudson,Paige 4-8 0-0 10; Brady,Lindsay 3-13 0-0 9; Schutte,Nichole 2-4 0-1 4; Roggenkamp,Brittney 2-7 0-0 4; Thomas,Ahlee 1-5 1-2 3; Oliver,Krista 1-5 0-1 2; Olds,Janee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-72 5-8 65.

Seattle Pacific............... 30 33 - 63 
Northwest Nazarene............ 33 32 - 65

Halftime-NNU 33, SPU 30. 3-point goals-Seattle Pacific 8-21 (Hollands,Jackie 4-7; Menkens,Jessie 2-7; Strand,Rachel 1-1; Henderson,Daesha 1-4; Christensen,Beth 0-1; Magnuson,Libby 0-1), Northwest Nazarene 8-22 (Brady,Lindsay 3-4; Knudson,Paige 2-4; Whipple,Mallory 2-4; Dwello,Danielle 1-2; Thomas,Ahlee 0-1; Oliver,Krista 0-4; Olds,Janee 0-1; Roggenkamp,Brittney 0-1; Hein,Kristin 0-1). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None, Northwest Nazarene-None. Rebounds-Seattle Pacific 38 (Hill,Kelsey 6; Henderson,Daesha 6), Northwest Nazarene 40 (Dwello,Danielle 8). Assists-Seattle Pacific 18 (Christensen,Beth 8), Northwest Nazarene 17 (Whipple,Mallory 7). Total fouls-Seattle Pacific 14, Northwest Nazarene 12. A-587.