Box Score | Game Book | Photo Gallery

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Senior forward Kiana Gandy scored a team-high 19 points to lead a balanced offense with five Vikings in double figures scoring and the Western Washington University women's basketball team pulled away late to top visiting Alaska Fairbanks 78-71 on Senior Day Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Whatcom Pavilion.

Saturday's contest marked the final regular season game for 16th-ranked WWU (24-4, 18-2 GNAC). The Vikings will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament and have secured a first-round bye. Alaska Fairbanks dropped to 13-14 overall and 9-11 in GNAC play with the loss.

Gandy (Des Moines, WA/Mount Rainier) scored her 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, hitting 2-of-3 3-pointers and going 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Senior guard Taylor Peacocke (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) added 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting to break the WWU single-season scoring record with 646 points during the 2016-17 campaign. Her total breaks the previous record of 630 points held by Jo Metzger (1980-81).

Senior guard Jessica Valley (Lafayette, IN/Nova Southeastern) scored 15 points (4-of-6 FG, 7-of-8 FT) to go along with a game-high 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Senior center Tia Briggs (Tacoma, WA/Wilson) added 12 points (6-of-10 FG) and 5 rebounds while senior forward Rachel Albert (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) finished with 10 points (4-of-6 FG) and a team-high 6 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds.

WWU held off UAF late in the game, responding to an early fourth-quarter deficit with a run to open a 6-point lead midway through the quarter. The Vikings pulled away with a late 6-0 spurt after the Nanooks had cut the WWU lead to 3 points for a second time in the quarter with fewer than 3 minutes to play. The back-and-forth game featured 12 lead changes and 9 ties.

The Nanooks took a 59-58 lead with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter before the Vikings went on a key 11-4 over the next 3:42 to lead 69-63 with 5:03 remaining. Valley capped the run with a 3-point play and Albert aided the stretch with a pair of offensive rebounds leading to the final 4 points of the spurt for WWU.

UAF answered WWU's run and cut the lead to 3 points twice with fewer than 4 minutes to play, the second occasion coming at 71-68 with 2:38 left. But the Nanooks could not further reduce the lead as Albert drained a midrange shot with 2:11 to play after grabbing another offensive rebound. Valley followed with a jumper on the next possession to put WWU up 75-68 with 1:14 to go and a pair of free throws from Gandy completed the 6-0 run to put WWU up 77-68 with 36 seconds left.

After grabbing the offensive rebound and hitting the shot for a 5-point lead, Albert also played a key role on the defensive end of the court during the stretch with a steal followed by a block on consecutive UAF possessions.

The Vikings trailed 21-19 after the first quarter and 37-35 at halftime before outscoring the Nanooks 23-17 in the third quarter and 20-17 in the fourth quarter. WWU built a quick 10-4 lead to open the game and then used a 6-0 spurt to pull ahead 16-7 before UAF responded with a 14-0 run to lead 21-16 with under a minute to play in the opening quarter. Valley was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws to end the run and close the UAF lead to 21-19 at the end of the period.

The second quarter alone featured six lead changes and three ties, with the largest lead of the period being a 37-33 advantage for the Nanooks. UAF closed the quarter with an 8-4 run to lead 37-35 at the half. Peacocke and Gandy paced WWU in the first and second quarters with 11 points apiece.

UAF was led by the double-double performance of Kaillee Skjold, who had game-high totals of 21 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Jordan Wilson added 13 points and Jaylee Mays finished with 10 points.

WWU finished 28-of-56 from the field (50.0%), hitting 4-of-11 3-pointers (36.4%). The Vikings were also 18-for 21 (85.7%) at the free throw line.

The Nanooks shot 23-for-55 (41.8%) from the field, including 7-for-18 (38.9%) from long range. UAF was 18-for-22 (81.8%) at the free throw line.

WWU's six seniors were honored prior to the game with a short pregame ceremony.

The GNAC Tournament will be held March 2-4 at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Wash. The Vikings will face the winner of Simon Frasier (No. 3 seed) and Central Washington (No. 6 seed) on Friday, March 3, at noon.

GAME NOTES: Saturday was Senior Day for Rachel Albert, Tia Briggs, Kiana Gandy, Aleisha Hathaway, Taylor Peacocke and Jessica Valley...WWU finished the regular season 24-4 overall and 18-2 in GNAC play for the best regular season conference record by the program since the 2013 season (17-1 in GNAC play)...Peacocke has 646 points during the 2016-17 season to set the all-time single-season program record, passing Jo Metzger (1980-81) with 630 points...Peacocke has 1,841 career points, 2nd in program history behind Metzger at 1,990 points (1977-81)...Briggs has scored in double figures in 13 of her last 14 games.