BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University freshman guard Mollie Olson scored a career-high 16 points to help lead the Vikings to a come-from-behind 73-61 victory over Western Oregon University on Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

WWU used a 15-0 run over a four-minute stretch at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter to turn a 5-point deficit into a 10-point lead. The Viking gained their first lead of the game on the first career 3-pointer by sophomore forward Kelsey Rogers with 6-seconds left in the third quarter and out-scored the Wolves 26-16 in the final quarter for the 12-point victory.

 

The Vikings snapped a mini two-game losing streak to improve to 9-5 overall and are in 4^th place in the GNAC standings with a 4-2 conference record. WOU dropped to 5-7 overall and 2-4 in league play.

 

Olson (Napavine, WA) was 3-for-6 from the floor, with all of her damage coming from beyond the arc going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. The true freshman was also 7-for-10 from the free throw line.

 

"I was focused on catching the ball and ready to shoot, which I've been working on a lot in practice," said Olson following the game. "I thought on offense we were attacking hard and moving the ball well, and on defense we were getting out on shooters a lot better." 

 

Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) overcame a slow shooting start to the game to finish with 16 points to tie for the team high. The sophomore was 2-for-8 shooting in the first half, before settling in and connecting on 5 of 8 shots in the second half to finish 7-for-16 from the floor. 

 

Junior center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Springs) came off the bench for the first time this season and nearly totaled a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds in 24 minutes of action.

 

Sophomore guards Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) and Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) both had 9 points for the Vikings.

 

Western Oregon was led by 16 points from Natalie DeLonge, and 11 apiece from Keyonna Jones and Ronnie Harris.

 

WWU was out-rebounded 38-37, just the third time this season WWU has not won the rebounding battle…the Vikings were 12-for-22 from the free throw line, including 6-for-10 in the fourth quarter…WWU dominated the inside game, out-scoring WOU 42-24 in the paint…the Vikings bench out-scored WOU's reserves 40-7…freshman guard Avery Dykstra recorded a team and career-high 6 assists…freshman forward Katrina Gimmaka started her first career game.

 

WWU gained its first lead of the game at 47-45 following a 3-pointer by Kelsey Rogers with 6 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The 3-pointer was part of a 15-0 WWU run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.

 

WWU again trailed by as many as 7 points in the second quarter at 34-27 with 1:59 remaining in the half. The Vikings closed the gap to a two-point deficit heading into the break by going on a 7-2 run, capped by a Lexie Bland layup with 10 seconds remaining in the half. Emma Duff led the Vikings with 5 points in the quarter. WWU shot 43.3 percent in the first half (13-for-30), while WOU was at 50.0 percent (14-for-28).

 

The Vikings trailed early 16-9, but erased the 7-point deficit by going on a 7-0 run. WOU pulled ahead with a short jump shot with 32-seconds remaining in the quarter to take the 18-16 lead. Mollie Olson and Anna Schwecke both scored 5 points to lead the Vikings, while WOU's Keyonna Jones led all players with 8 points on 3-for-6 shooting.

 

The Vikings lead the all-time series 52-10, including a 20-1 mark over the last 21 meetings dating back to the 2008-09 season.

 

WWU returns to the road next week with road contests at Seattle Pacific (4-9, 3-3) on Thursday in Royal Brougham Pavilion and Saint Martin's (4-11, 1-5) on Saturday in Marcus Pavilion. Both games will tip-off at 7 pm with a live webcast and live statistical updates available via GNAC.tv.

 

 

 

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games completed on Saturday:

 

 

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 1,014 all-time wins in the 48-year history of the program, and according to available records, is one of just 16 women's college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the milestone.

 

-- @WWUWBB --