Nov. 26, 2015 Box Score
HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Junior forward Kiana Gandy scored a team-high 16 points to lead Western Washington University to a 61-53 victory over Chaminade Thursday evening in the O'ahu Women's Basketball Thanksgiving Classic. The Vikings improved to 2-3 overall with the win, snapping a three-game losing streak. Chaminade is 0-2 to open the 2015-16 season.
"We played with more passion and heart tonight," said 25th-year head coach Carmen Dolfo. "We are still turning the ball over too many times, which we are going to have to minimize moving forward." Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) led three Vikings to reach double-digits in scoring, joining junior point guard Taylor Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor/Sacramento State) with 14 points and senior center Kayla Bernsen (Moses Lake, WA) with 13 points. Freshman guard Amanda Lance (Buckley, WA/White River) contributed a career-high 7 points. Junior guard Aleisha Hathaway (Spokane, WA/Shadle Park) had a solid all-around game with team highs in assists (7) and rebounds (7), while adding a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to put Chaminade away and give WWU a 54-43 lead. Overall the Vikings shot 45.3% from the field (24-for-53), including 3-for-9 (33.3% from 3-point range).
Western led the Silverswords 28-24 at halftime, led by 12 points from Gandy. Following intermission, the Vikings went on a 14-5 run to open the second half and build a 13-point lead at 42-29.
The Silverswords were led by 13 points from junior forward Courtney Kaupu and junior forward Lilia Maio.
Dolfo is now one win away from tying the all-time coaching wins mark by a WWU coach with 517 victories (Brad Jackson - 518 wins).
The Vikings return to the court tomorrow in their final game of the O'ahu Thanksgiving Classic vs. Hawai'i Pacific (3 pm HT/5 pm PT). The game can be followed via LiveStats.
