Box Score | Game Book

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington University senior guard Taylor Peacocke scored 19 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to lead the No. 15 Vikings to a come-from-behind 64-55 victory at Concordia Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at LCEF Court.

The Vikings, ranked No. 15 in the D2SIDA Media Poll and received votes in the coaches poll, overcame a 5-point halftime deficit by out-scoring the Cavaliers 38-24 in the second half to record the 11th consecutive victory. WWU improves to 17-3 overall and remains in 2nd place in the GNAC with an 11-1 league mark. Concordia falls to 7-13 overall and 4-8 in GNAC play.

"We had a rough first half, but Concordia really came to play," said head coach Carmen Dolfo. "Taylor (Peacocke) and Tia (Briggs) got us going on offense in the third quarter and we really stepped up our defense."

Trailing 31-26 at the half, Peacocke took over in the third quarter scoring 15 of her 29 points in the third quarter, going 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. WWU closed out the third quarter on an 8-0 run turning a 46-40 deficit into a 48-46 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Vikings defense then limited CU to just 9 fourth-quarter points, and used an extended 24-9 run to close out the 9-point victory.

Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) increased her NCAA Division II scoring average to 23.25 points per game with her 10th game of 25-or-more points this season. After being limited to 9 points Thursday at Western Oregon, the reigning GNAC and NCAA DII Player of the Week went 11-for-21 from the field and also tallied team highs with 5 assists and 6 rebounds.

Her 29-point performance also moved her into 3rd place in the WWU record books with 1,660 career points, passing Amanda Dunbar (1,654, 2007-11) and Celeste Hill (1,658, 1996-2000). She also moved up to 5th place amongst GNAC all-time scoring leaders.

The Vikings had only 5 players score points in the victory, with Peacocke (29 points), senior center Tia Briggs (15 points) and senior forward Rachel Albert (10 points) combining for 54 of the 64 points. Briggs (Tacoma, WA/Wilson) was 7-for-13 from the field and Albert was 4-for-5 to score in double-digits for the second consecutive game. Senior forward Kiana Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) finished with 8 points and senior guard Jessica Valley (Lafayette, IN/Nova Southeastern) rounded out the scoring with 2 points.

"Rachel Albert hit some key shots and gave us quality minutes," added Dolfo on her senior forward. "She had a great weekend and has really started to play the best basketball of her career."

Concordia had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by Jordyn Peacock with 13 points (6-12 FG) and 11 points and 3 blocks from Bailey Cartwright.

The Vikings trailed 15-6 late in the first quarter, but battled back from the 9-point deficit going on a 5-0 run to end the quarter to trail 15-11. WWU recorded 6 turnovers in the opening quarter and was just 4-for-11 (36.4%) from the field. Peacocke scored 7 of Western's 11 points, going 3-for-4 from the field. CU was 7-for-16 from the field (43.8%) and was led by 6 points from Peacock (3-3 FG).

The Cavaliers again built a 9-point lead at 31-22 late in the second quarter, but the Vikings scored the final 4 points of the quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 31-26. Albert scored 6 points in the quarter to lead WWU.

The momentum shifted late in the third quarter when the Vikings started their decisive run after trailing 46-40 with 1:53 left in the quarter. Peacocke converted all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer attempt to tie the game at 46-46 and then gave WWU its first lead of the game at 48-46 with a mid-range jump shot with 41-seconds left in the quarter. Western shot 61.5% (8-13) in the quarter, while holding the Cavaliers to 35.7% (5-14) from the floor.

Leading 52-50 with 8:25 remaining, the Vikings all but put the game away going on an 8-0 run to build a 10-point lead at 60-50. WWU's defense held the Cavaliers to just 9 points on 2-for-10 shooting in the final quarter to seal the 11th straight win.

WWU returns to Bellingham next week with a pair of home games against rival Central Washington on Thursday (Feb. 2) and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (Feb. 4). Both games will start at 7 pm at Whatcom Community College.

GAME NOTES: The 11-game win streak is the longest since a 12-game streak in from Feb. 14-March 26, 2013...the school record is a 21-game win streak during the 2005-06 season...this is the 24th winning streak of at least 10 games in program history...Taylor Peacocke jumped two spots on the WWU career points list moving into 3rd place with 1,660 career points...she continues to lead NCAA Division II this season averaging 23.25 points/game...Rachel Albert finished the Oregon road trip averaging 11.0 points/game and 5.0 rebounds/game...Tia Briggs has scored in double-digits in 6 consecutive games (14.7 points/game)...WWU shot 57.1% (16-for-28) in the second half, compared to 41.7% (10-for-24) in the first half.