LACEY, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team overcame a slow start and foul trouble from its top two leading scorers to earn a hard-fought 75-67 road victory over Saint Martin's University on Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in Marcus Pavilion.

 

WWU battled back from a 14-point deficit early in the second quarter to earn the 8-point victory, improving to 10-6 overall and 5-3 in GNAC play. After scoring only 11 points in the opening quarter, WWU scored 64 points over the final 30 minute of the game to record the fourth-most points in a game this season. The Vikings are now 7-1 this season when scoring 70-or-more points in a game.

 

Junior center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Springs) scored 15 of 17 points in the second half, battling through foul trouble to lead four Vikings in double-figure scoring. Schwecke was 7-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. 

 

Freshman guard Mollie Olson (Napavine, WA) added 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting (2-for-4 3FG) and junior guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) had 10 points and a career-high-tying 6 assists.

 

Despite being limited to 14 minutes of action due to foul trouble, GNAC leading scorer Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) still reached double-digits with 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Rogers has now scored 10-or-more points in 14 of 16 games, including 11 consecutive.

 

Senior guard Bobbi Westendorf (Auburn, WA/Kentridge/Tacoma CC) played a key role in the comeback with Rogers and Schwecke in foul trouble, nearing a double-double with 9 points (3-for-8 FG) and a career-high 12 rebounds. She also led the team with 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.

 

Saint Martin's dropped to 3-13 overall and 1-7 in GNAC play with its seventh consecutive loss. Freshman forward Claire Dingus led the Saints with a game-high 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting, but WWU did not allow her to score in the final quarter. Junior guard Makenna Schultz added 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to pull the Saints to within one possession with 7 minutes remaining in regulation.

 

The Vikings shot 43.5% from the field (27-for-62) and were 5-for-17 (29.4%) from 3-point range…after shooting 26.3% in the first quarter (5-for-19), WWU was 22-for-43 (51.2%) over the final three quarters…Saint Martin's shot 40.0% (22-for-55) and were limited to 3-for-17 from 3-point range (17.6%)…the game featured 51 total fouls, with WWU called for a season-high 28 fouls…freshman Monique Fierke scored her first collegiate points, a go-ahead 3-pointer during WWU's 31-point second quarter…the Vikings out-rebounded SMU 36-34…WWU had 9 steals, led by 4 from Bobbie Westendorf, tied for second-most in a game this season (14 vs. University of Mary)…WWU is 5-0 when having four or more players score 10+ points…the Vikings were 16-for-19 from the free throw line and are 72.9% (207-for-284) for the season to rank 5^th in the GNAC.

 

WWU grew its lead to as many as 11 points at 51-40 midway through the third quarter, but Saint Martin's went on a 12-2 run, including a 10-0 spurt, to cut the Vikings lead to one point at 53-52 with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter. Anna Schwecke scored five consecutive points to help the Vikings to a 67-54 lead heading into the final quarter.

 

Bobbi Westendorf hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter to cushion the lead to 6 points at 60-54, but a pair of 3-pointers cut Western's lead two points at 65-63. Back-to-back layups by Schwecke gave the Vikings a six-point lead at 69-63 and WWU finished the game on a 10-4 run for the eight-point victory. Schwecke was clutch down the stretch, scoring 9 of her team-high 17 points in the final quarter on 4-for-4 shooting from the field.

 

The Vikings stormed back out-scoring the Saints 31-11 in the second quarter, erasing a 14-point deficit after the first possession of the quarter. WWU used a 22-5 run to erase the deficit, capped by a 3-pointer by freshman Monique Fierke for her first collegiate points. The Vikings stormed back without leading scorersKelsey Rogers or Anna Schwecke seeing any time on the court in the 10-minute quarter as both recorded 2 fouls in the first quarter. After taking the lead on Fierke's deep 3-pointer, Saint Martin's closed to within one point at 35-34 before the Vikings ended the quarter on a 7-0 run. Lexie Bland and Mollie Olson both scored 8 points in the second quarter to fuel the comeback, as the Vikings shot 66.7% (10-for-15 FG, 9-for-11 FT).

 

Saint Martin's ended the first quarter scoring 10 consecutive points, and held the Vikings without a field goal over the final 4:26 of the quarter to take a 12-point lead at 23-11. SMU went on a 13-2 run over the final 5:09 in the quarter to build its lead to 12 points. WWU was hurt with 8 fouls being called on the team, with two each on leading scorers Kelsey Rogers and Anna Schwecke, and the Vikings did not go to the free throw line in the quarter. Emma Duff led the Vikings with 5 points in the quarter.

 

The Vikings return home for the next four games, beginning by hosting nationally-ranked Northwest Nazarene (Thursday, 5:15 pm) and Central Washington (Saturday, 7 pm) next week in Carver Gym.

 

WWU extended its winning streak over Saint Martin's to 23 consecutive games (dating back to 2/21/08) and lead the all-time series 71-11…since 1998 when WWU joined the NCAA Division II ranks, the Vikings are 42-1 vs. the Saints.

 

 

 

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games completed on Saturday…the Vikings are tied for 4^th place in the standings with a 5-3 conference record and will play their next four games at home in Carver Gym.

 

 

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 1,015 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 --