Box Score | Game Book

LAS VEGAS - Western Washington University senior forward Kiana Gandy tied her career high scoring 26 points, but the Vikings let a late lead slip away in a 69-68 loss against 7th-ranked Angelo State Saturday afternoon in the first game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena.

The Vikings (6-3 overall) fought through a back-and-forth 4th quarter to grab a 68-63 lead with just under 2 minutes remaining in the game. A three-pointer by Taylor Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) and a short-range jump shot by sophomore Nikki Corbett (Camas, WA) gave Western a 5-point lead with 1:51 remaining. The Belles, however, finished the game on a 6-0 run to pick up the victory remaining undefeated at 8-0 on the season. Junior guard Keanna Kelly hit a pair of free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 27-seconds remaining to give ASU the one-point lead and defended a pair of last-second shots, with WWU senior center Tia Briggs (Tacoma, WA/Wilson) getting blocked by senior post player Jasmine Prophet at the buzzer.

Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) matched her career high in points scored set in the season opener vs. Humboldt State. She was 10-for-16 from the field, going a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Gandy scored 18 of her 26 points in the first half.

Briggs recorded her second double-double of the season contributing 18 points and 13 rebounds. Corbett added 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field to record her third consecutive game in double-digits scoring. She also totaled a game-high 4 blocked shots.

Angelo State was led by a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double from junior forward Bria Frierson. Senior guard Taylor Dorsey (13 points) and Prophet (10 points) also scored in double-digits to keep the Belles undefeated on the season.

The Vikings will look to bounce back Monday facing Eastern New Mexico in their final game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic at 1:15 pm at the Doolittle Recreation Center in Las Vegas.

Game Notes: Taylor Peacocke was limited to a season-low 8 points (2-for-14 shooting) to have her streak of 37 consecutive games scoring in double-digits snapped...Peacocke now has 1,394 career points to climb to within 14 points of No. 7 on the WWU all-time scoring list (Lori deKubber, 1981-85, 1,408 points)...Hannah Stipanovich was 2-for-2 from the free throw line and is now 43-for-45 (95.6%) from the charity stripe this season...WWU held a 46-41 advantage in rebounds, but were out-scored 19-11 on second-chance points (ASU had 20 offensive rebounds)...the Vikings held a lead for 20:21 in the game and the game was tied for 8:32...the game featured 11 tie scores and 14 lead changes.