Dec. 1, 2012
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Forward Sarah Hill (Jr., Richmond, VA) came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points, nine during a decisive opening-game run, as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Saint Martin's University, 75-51, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
The Vikings, ranked No.8 in this week's USA Today Sports/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, remained unbeaten at 6-0 overall, sweeping its season-opening six-game home stand, and improved to 2-0 in GNAC action.
The contest was WWU's 500th at Carver Gym where it has a 428-72 record, a winning percentage of 85.6.
Saint Martin's, which had a three-game winning streak end at Simon Fraser on Thursday, fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Saints got 12 points from Brooke Paulson and 11 from Ciara Pedroni.
WWU center Britt Harris (Sr., Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck) had a game-high 14 points and guard Trishi Williams (Sr., Mabton) contributed 13 points on 6-of-6 floor accuracy, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
WWU held the Saints to 16.1 percent (5-of-31) floor accuracy in the first half and 26.3 percent (15-of-57) overall.
Hill hit four straight shots, one a 3-pointer, to highlight a 20-5 run during the first 9:28. The Vikings, with Harris scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting, led 39-16 at halftime.
WWU's biggest lead was 28 points, 51-23, with 15:23 remaining, and Saint Martin's never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.
The win was WWU's 10th straight over the Saints and improved its series advantage to 58-10.
WWU goes on the road next week to compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association/GNAC Challenge Classic at Chico, Calif. The Vikings meet host Chico State on Friday (7:30 p.m.), Dec. 7, and Sonoma State on Saturday (5:30 p.m.), Dec. 8.
