NW Briefs | Falcons women edge Seawolves

Libby Magnuson made a pair of free throws with seven seconds left, and the sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific women's basketball team held on for a 58-55 victory over No. 7 Alaska Anchorage in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Saturday at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (13-0, 4-0 GNAC) took the lead for good on a tip-in by Melissa Reich with 4:57 remaining.

Jackie Hollands led SPU with 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting from three-point range. Magnuson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Men's basketball

Seattle University dominated the glass, outrebounding Northwest Nazarene 49-22 on the way to a 76-58 victory at the Connolly Center.

Michael Wright led the 17th-ranked Redhawks (9-3, 2-1 GNAC) with 15 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, and eight rebounds. Michael Knight scored 14 points and Chris Gweth had seven points and 10 rebounds.

• Ira Graham scored a career-high 33 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:02 to play, lifting Western Washington to an 84-80 victory over Western Oregon University in Bellingham.

Calin Schell added 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Vikings (9-4, 2-2 GNAC), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

• Jake Beitinger had 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead Central Washington (9-4, 3-1 GNAC) to an 84-71 victory over Saint Martin's (7-6, 2-2) in Ellensburg.

Other women's basketball

Laina Sobczak scored on a breakaway off a pass from Alysse Carlson with 41 seconds remaining, and Carlson made two free throws with 23 seconds left to give Seattle University a 54-51 victory over Central Washington at the Connolly Center.

The Redhawks (12-1, 3-1 GNAC) were led by Jackie Thomas' 14 points and four steals.

Kristina Klapperich led Central Washington (9-2, 1-2) with 14 points and four steals.

• Western Washington's Amanda Dunbar scored 12 of her team-high 22 points in the last three minutes, but the Vikings' rally from a 14-point deficit fell short in a 69-67 loss to host Montana State Billings. It was a school-record sixth straight loss for the Vikings (3-12, 0-3 GNAC).

Swimming

Washington picked up a pair of dual-meet victories, with the women downing Idaho 139-115, and the men defeating UC Davis 142-115 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

The Huskies' Petra Radovic set a personal record by more than 14 seconds in winning the 1,000 freestyle in a time of 10 minutes, 18.14 seconds. She later was victorious in the 500 free in 5:02.79.

For the Washington men, Scott Spansail had a pair of victories (200 free, 1:43.16; 500 free, 4:35.19), as did Evan Bernier (50 free, 20.84; 100 free, 45.95).

• The Seattle University men's team won seven of 11 events to defeat Whitworth 115-87, while the Redhawks women won four events but lost to the Pirates 119-86 in Spokane.

Jakub Jiracek became the fifth Redhawks swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Division II meet by setting a new school record in the men's 400 individual medley, winning the event in 4:3.38. He also won the 100 breaststroke in 57.51, and was part of the 200 medley relay that won in 1:38.83.

Gymnastics

Washington opened its season with a narrow loss to at 15th-ranked Denver, 194.900-190.475. The Huskies did get two event titles from Ashley Houghting, who won the vault (9.875) and floor exercise (9.850).

Note

• The reigning national champion Washington men's varsity eight, Huskies coach Bob Ernst and rowing legend Stan Pocock and the Pocock family were named Northwest crew, coach and contributors of the year at the annual Northwest Rowing Awards Dinner at Conibear Shellhouse.

Ernst and the Huskies were honored for an undefeated 2007 season. Pocock and his family were honored for a lifetime of service to the sport their commitment to mentor younger generations of champion rowers through the Lake Washington Rowing Club and George Pocock Rowing Foundation.

Compiled from sports-information reports and other sources.