Box Score Oct. 22, 2017 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University women's basketball team opened the preseason schedule with a 66-60 exhibition victory over Trinity Western Sunday afternoon on WECU Court at Carver Gym.
Senior forward Hannah Stipanovich (St. Louis, MO/Clayton/Metro State) scored a game-high 18 points, with 10 coming in the second half. Stipanovich was 9-for-15 from the field (60.0%) and also grabbed 6 rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) scored 13 points in her Western debut and junior guard Amanda Lance (Buckley, WA/White River) scored 11 points while going 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
Sophomore guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) led the Vikings with 8 assists, and scored 4 points. She was just 1-for-10 from the field, but hit WWU's biggest shot of the game with a 3-pointer with 58-seconds remaining in the game. Leading by two points at 62-60, Bland connected on a 3-pointer with an assist from Stipanovich to extend the lead to 65-60. Bland also hit a free throw with 17 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 66-60.
True freshmen Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) and Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) also saw action, scoring 8 and 4 points respectively.
Trinity Western guard Jessie Brown led the Spartans with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 3-pointers) and forward Tessa Ratzlaff scored 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
WWU led 42-26 at halftime, with Castaneda scoring 11 of her 13 points. TWU out-scored the Vikings 34-24 in the second half, including a 19-10 margin in the 4th quarter, but could not complete the comeback.
The Vikings will have one more exhibition game hosting Corban on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 7 pm at Carver Gym. The 2017-18 regular season begins Nov. 10-11 at the West Region Crossover Classic in Fresno, Calif., with the Vikings playing Fresno Pacific (Nov. 10, 7:30 pm) and Humboldt State (Nov. 11, 5:30 pm) in the tournament.
WWU's first official games on WECU Court at Carver Gym will be in the annual Lynda Goodrich Classic Nov. 24-25 hosting Valdosta State, Academy of Art and Saint Martin's for the two-day tournament. WWU takes on Valdosta State (5 pm) on Nov. 24 before playing Academy of Art at 7:30 pm on Nov. 25.
The 31st Annual Western Washington University Viking Jam, featuring the WWU men's and women's basketball teams in a high-energy evening of contests and scrimmages, is set to take place on Wednesday (Oct. 25) at 7 pm in Carver Gym. Doors open with the start of the pre-party festivities at 6 pm followed by the main event set to get underway at 7 pm.
The complete 2017-18 schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.
Note: All statistics and records from this game do not count towards the 2017-18 regular season standings and cumulative statistics.
