Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho â€" Western Washington junior point guard Taylor Peacocke scored a career-high 32 points, including 20 in the 4th quarter, to lead the Vikings to a 97-90 victory over Northwest Nazarene Saturday evening in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game at the Johnson Sports Center.

Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor/Sacramento State) bettered her previous single-game career-high of 27 points (11/21/14 vs. Azusa Pacific) and recorded the 14th-most points (tied) in a single-game in WWU history. Her 24 second-half points were one off the WWU record for most points in a half (25) set by Gina Sampson in 1995 (twice). Peacocke was 9-for-17 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

The Vikings improved to 16-6 overall and 12-2 in GNAC play to maintain sole possession of 2nd place in the conference. Northwest Nazarene falls to 8-12 overall and 6-8 in league play.

The Vikings trailed by one point at 63-62 heading into the final quarter when Peacocke took over the game. WWU went on a 14-2 run to take a 9-point lead at 76-67 lead and finished off the Crusaders on the free throw line hitting 17-of-19 attempts in the final quarter. Peacocke scored 20 of her 32 points in the 4th quarter (5-for-6 FG, 10-for-10 FT).

For the game the Vikings were 23-for-26 from the charity stripe, to go along with a 52.3 field goal percentage from the field (34-for-65).

Junior forward Kiana Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) added 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field (3-for-4 3-pointers), and contributed 7 assists. Senior center Kayla Bernsen (Moses Lake, WA) added 19 points and a career-high 7 blocked shots.

NNU sophomore guard Ellie Logan scored 24 points and senior guard Taylor Simmons added 20 points for the Crusaders.

Western held a 21-20 lead after the first quarter scoring on 9 of its 17 possessions. Gandy led all players with 10 points, going 3-for-5 from the field and hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the second quarter with WWU holding a two-point 41-39 lead at halftime. Bernsen scored 8 of her 10 first-half points in the second quarter.

The Vikings trailed by three points 65-62 early in the fourth quarter before rattling off a 14-2 run to take a 9-point lead at 76-67. Peacocke scored the Vikings final 8 points, all from the free throw line, to clinch the win and give Western its 15th win in the last 18 games.

Western played without starting junior forward Tia Briggs (Tacoma, WA/Wilson) due to illness for the fourth consecutive game.

The Vikings (16-6, 12-2 GNAC) returns to Bellingham for a pair of games next week vs. Seattle Pacific (Thursday, 2/11) and Saint Martin's (Saturday, 2/13). Both games will be played at Whatcom Pavilion at 7 pm. Saturday's game vs. SMU will be senior night as Kayla Bernsen will be recognized for her outstanding accomplishments in her five years in the program.