SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team got off to a scorching start holding a 23-6 lead after the first quarter over Seattle Pacific, but couldn't hold off the Falcons down the stretch falling 61-59 in a tight Great Northwest Athletic Conference match-up Thursday night in Royal Brougham Pavilion.
WWU recorded its third loss in the last four games to drop to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in GNAC play. Seattle Pacific snapped its three-game losing streak to improve to 5-9 overall and is tied with WWU and Simon Fraser for fourth place in the conference with a 4-3 mark in league play.
Sophomore forward Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) led three Vikings in double figures scoring with 14 points. She added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Junior guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) added 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting and sophomore guard Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) had 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting.
WWU led 23-6 allowing just two field goals in the first quarter, but SPU out-scored the Vikings 24-11 in the second quarter to chip away at what was as many as an 18-point lead by the Vikings. The Falcons pulled ahead early in the third quarter, held off an early fourth-quarter lead by Western, and rallied down the stretch for the victory.
Bland tied the game at 59-59 with just over 30-seconds remaining in regulation, but Carly Rataushk hit the game-winning layup on SPU's last possession with seven seconds on the clock. Rogers game-tying attempt at the buzzer was no good giving the Falcons the narrow victory.
The Falcons had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by 17 points from guard Hailee Bennett on 5-for-14 shooting. Jaylee Albert added 11 points and Jade Skidmore had 10 points off the bench.
The Vikings shot 37.9% from the field, including 30.0% in the second half (9-for-30)…WWU won the rebounding battle 40-28, including an 11-4 in offensive rebounds…both teams had 22 points in the paint and SPU held an edge 20-16 in points off turnovers…SPU shot 38.5% for the game (20-for-52), but were 18-for-40 (45.0%) in the second, third and fourth quarters…Kelsey Rogers reached double-digits in scoring for the 10thconsecutive game and 13th time in 15 games this season (leads team averaging 15.6 points per game)…WWU led for 23:21, SPU held a lead for 14:28 and the game was tied for 2:11.
WWU continues its trip down I-5 on Saturday facing Saint Martin's (3-12, 1-6) in Marcus Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 pm with a live webcast and live statistical updates available via GNAC.tv.
|
WWU Box Score
|
FG
|
3-Pt
|
FT
|
Reb
|
|
|
##
|
Player
|
|
fgm-fga
|
fgm-fga
|
ftm-fta
|
off-def
|
tot
|
pf
|
tp
|
a
|
to
|
blk
|
stl
|
min
|
|
15
|
Rogers,Kelsey
|
f
|
7-16
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
1-9
|
10
|
2
|
14
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
35
|
|
44
|
Schwecke,Anna
|
c
|
1-7
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
3-3
|
6
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
27
|
|
03
|
Bland,Lexie
|
g
|
5-9
|
2-5
|
1-2
|
0-3
|
3
|
1
|
13
|
3
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
30
|
|
12
|
Duff,Emma
|
g
|
2-11
|
0-2
|
3-3
|
2-1
|
3
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
28
|
|
22
|
Castaneda,Gracie
|
g
|
3-5
|
2-4
|
3-4
|
0-1
|
1
|
3
|
11
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
31
|
|
01
|
Dykstra,Avery
|
-
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
1-0
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
10
|
|
13
|
Fierke,Monique
|
-
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
20
|
Gimmaka,Katrina
|
-
|
1-2
|
0-0
|
2-2
|
1-3
|
4
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
16
|
|
32
|
Olson,Mollie
|
-
|
3-8
|
1-6
|
1-2
|
0-2
|
2
|
1
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
|
33
|
Westendorf,Bobbi
|
-
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
Team Totals……………………………
|
22-58
|
5-17
|
10-13
|
11-29
|
40
|
19
|
59
|
10
|
18
|
6
|
7
|
200
|
|
WWU Leader
|
37.9%
|
29.4%
|
76.9%
|
|
|
Score by Quarter
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Total
|
|
Western Washington (9-6, 4-3)
|
23
|
11
|
10
|
15
|
59
|
|
Seattle Pacific (5-9, 4-3)
|
6
|
24
|
16
|
15
|
61
|
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games completed on Thursday:
|
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
7-0
|
1.000
|
15-0
|
1.000
|
8-0
|
5-0
|
2-0
|
Won 15
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
6-1
|
.857
|
14-1
|
.933
|
8-0
|
4-1
|
2-0
|
Won 7
|
|
Central Washington
|
6-2
|
.750
|
11-4
|
.733
|
7-2
|
2-2
|
2-0
|
Won 1
|
|
Western Washington
|
4-3
|
.571
|
9-6
|
.600
|
6-3
|
2-2
|
1-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-3
|
.571
|
8-6
|
.571
|
2-2
|
4-1
|
2-3
|
Won 2
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
4-3
|
.571
|
5-9
|
.357
|
4-2
|
1-5
|
0-2
|
Won 1
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
3-4
|
.429
|
7-6
|
.538
|
4-0
|
2-5
|
1-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
Concordia
|
2-5
|
.286
|
7-8
|
.467
|
2-2
|
3-4
|
2-2
|
Won 1
|
|
Western Oregon
|
2-5
|
.286
|
5-8
|
.385
|
2-3
|
2-4
|
1-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-6
|
.143
|
3-12
|
.200
|
2-3
|
1-6
|
0-3
|
Lost 6
|
|
Alaska
|
0-7
|
.000
|
3-10
|
.231
|
0-5
|
1-4
|
2-1
|
Lost 10
|
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 --
