BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team overcame a nine-point deficit in the final quarter to defeat the University of Mary 73-72 on Friday evening in the opening game of the Lynda Goodrich Classic on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

WWU improved to 3-2 on the season while recording its third come-from-behind victory of the season. In WWU's three wins, WWU has two one-point victories and a win over nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific by three points.

The Vikings trailed 59-68 with 4:34 remaining in the contest, but rallied with an 11-2 run with junior forward Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Colorado-Colorado Springs) tying the game 70-70 on a layup with 48 seconds on the clock.

After a steal in the backcourt on the ensuing UMary possession by sophomore guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills), junior guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Hawai'i Pacific) drove the lane and scooped in a layup with 20.8 seconds to give the Vikings the 72-70 lead. Iwami hit one-of-two free throws after being fouled with seven seconds remaining, and Mary opted for a two-point basket on its final possession to seal the one-point victory for the Vikings.

W🏀 | The drive and the scoop by Dani Iwami to give the Vikings a 72-70 lead over the University of Mary with 20.8 seconds remaining in regulation. 

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"Outside of the second quarter, I was really happy with our defensive performance tonight," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo. "I thought we showed good poise and made good offensive decisions down the stretch, and our full court pressure really got us back in the game."

Iwami led the Vikings with 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, and had 5 assists and 4 steals. Schwecke added 15 points on 6-for-12 from the floor and neared double-double territory with a team-high 9 rebounds.

"We just need to keep building off our performances, playing together and showing composure, which I think is what we've these last few games," said Iwami after the game. "We pulled together at the end and played great defense which got us going. I am always up for the challenge at the end of the game, but each one of us had a part in that comeback victory."

Duff added 11 points (5-for-11 FG) and 6 rebounds and freshman Katrina Gimmaka (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley) scored a career-high 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting.

The Vikings trailed 44-35 at the half after being outscored 28-12 in the second quarter, but put together a strong third quarter performance with a 20-11 advantage in the quarter to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. Iwami tied the game at 55-55 with a last-second drive and layup to help overcome the 9-point halftime deficit.

Mary outscored the Vikings 11-4 in the first six minutes of the final quarter to build a 9-point lead at 68-59. WWU immediately cut into the deficit going on a 8-0 run ignited by a three-pointer by Iwami. 

Junior forward Cassie Askvig led Mary (1-10 with a game-high 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including 4-for-4 from three-point range. Junior forward Gabbie Bohl nearly recorded a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

The Lynda Goodrich Classic concludes Saturday with the Vikings playing Minnesota Crookston at 5 pm and the Saint Martin's vs. University of Mary game following at 7:30 pm. Tickets for all games are $4 with free parking offered in the C and 12A lots on south campus. A free shuttle will deliver fans to the front door of Carver Gym with pickup in the 12A lot.

WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 

If you can't make it to Carver Gym to watch the home games in person, you can tune in to VikingsTV to catch all the action…all GNAC matches, home and road, will stream live and feature live stats at GNAC.tv, with home games also streamed live on YouTube…in addition to being available online, all conference matches are available via the GNAC channel on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV…live links can be accessed through WWUVikings.com/Live.

More information on the 2018-19 season, including a details schedule, roster and quick facts can be found online at WWUVikings.com/WBB and via social media on Twitter (@WWUBasketball), Instagram (@wwu.basketball) and Facebook (@WWUwomensbball).

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in seven of the last nine seasons, and 34 times in the 47-year history of the program. WWU has 20 seasons of 20 or more wins under head coach Carmen Dolfo, who is the winningest coach of any sport at WWU and ranks among Division II active and all-time coaching leaders in wins, win percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 16 of 20 seasons at the Division II level with two trips to the Final Four. The program has 1,005 all-time wins in the 47-year history of the program, and according to available records, is the 15th women's college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the milestone.

-- @WWUWBB --