Jan. 9, 2016 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University Vikings suffered its first conference loss of the season in a 67-56 setback against Central Washington University Saturday evening in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Whatcom Pavilion.
Losing for only the second time in the last 10 games, the Vikings fall to 9-5 overall and 5-1 in GNAC play. Central Washington improved to 10-4 overall and evened its conference mark at 3-3.
Senior center Kayla Bernsen (Moses Lake, WA) led the Vikings scoring 15 points, with 11 coming in the second half. She added a game-high 8 rebounds. Junior guard Taylor Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor/Sacramento State) added 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting, extending her streak of scoring in double-digits in all 14 games this season.
Four Vikings finished with double digits in points, with junior guard Aleisha Hathaway (Spokane, WA/Shadle Park) adding 12 points and junior forward Kiana Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) contributing 10 points. Bernsen, Peacocke, Hathaway and Gandy combined for 51 of the Vikings 56 points, which tied a season low for points in a game.
Sophomore guard Jasmin Edwards led the Vikings scoring 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting, including 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Senior center Jasmine Parker added 15 points and 7 rebounds, and freshman guard Mandy Steward scored 14 points, all in the second half.
The Vikings finished the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. Bernsen and Peacocke each scored 4 points to lead WWU. Edwards led the Wildcats with 6 points, going 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
CWU came back with a strong second quarter out-scoring the Vikings 17-10 to take a 29-23 lead. Edwards again led the Wildcats scoring 10 of her 16 first-half points in the quarter. Gandy led WWU with 6 points and Peacocke scored 4 points.
The Wildcats didn't let down in the second half, growing their lead with a 38-33 advantage. Steward scored all 14 of her points in the second half to lead CWU. Bernsen led the Vikings with 11 second-half points and Hathaway scored 9 points.
The Vikings (9-5, 5-1 GNAC) return to action with a pair of road games next week. WWU travels to Lacey for an 8 pm game at Saint Martin's on Wednesday in a game that will be televised by ROOT Sports and then plays Saturday at Seattle Pacific (7:30 pm).
