In only their second meeting, Concordia and the Falcons fought to the final seconds in the PacWest vs. GNAC showdown Wednesday evening. With the Eagles and visiting Seattle Pacific battling on the boards and knocking down shots, all 40 minutes were filled with defensive intensity and execution on offense. Although the Eagles etched their way within four in the final quarter, the guests bested Concordia 74-67 for its fourth loss this year.
Wednesday's loss drops the Eagles to 5-4 and 3-2 in the PacWest conference. Seattle Pacific improved to 8-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Reigning PacWest Freshman of the Week,
Kennedy Fulcher, was one of four Eagles to post double-digits. Fulcher had 15 with three blocks, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Portia Neale netted 12 points, going 2-3 from the three-point range, with one steal and two rebounds.
Sopavy Seng and
Riley Friauf added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Julia Haining posted the first bucket of the game and Fulcher followed with a jumper on the assist from
Michaela Vanderklugt. Although Seattle Pacific was nailing shots and scoring offensive rebounds, offense from Fulcher and
Reilly Walsh helped the Eagles stay in the game. Down five,
Montana Walters' two consecutive three-pointers put Concordia within one. Friauf's layup gave Concordia a quick one-point lead, but the Falcons closed out the quarter with a 20-18 advantage.
Four Falcon points opened up the second before Neale's deep shot cut the deficit to three. Leading 34-29 with 4:50 to play, the Falcons set out on a 11-3 run, ultimately entering halftime with a 45-34 lead.
Jordan McPhee sunk two free throws to start the second, but Walters responded for the Eagles with her third three-pointer of the night. Buckets from Walsh, Neale and Vanderklugt helped Concordia pull within six of the Falcons with 3:43 remaining. Seattle Pacific pushed their lead back to eight twice, but Seng, Friauf and Neale sent the game into the final 10 minutes with a 57-51 score in the Falcons' favor.
After two made Seattle Pacific free throws,
Madeline Sulka fed a pass to Seng for three. Concordia clawed within four on a free throw from Friauf, but the Falcons extended the differential back to 10. With 1:19 to go, Seng drove for a layup to put the Eagles down four, but Seattle Pacific stabilized to finish the game on top.
The Eagles return to home Monday for a conference contest with the Dixie State Trailblazers. Saturday, Concordia travels to Cal State San Bernardino for a 5 p.m. game.
