BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University freshman forward Katrina Gimmaka scored a career-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the Vikings shot a season-low from the field in a 76-61 loss to in-state rival Central Washington Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings ended the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season with a 5-5 record and are 10-8 overall. Central Washington improved to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play.

The Vikings trailed 19-18 after the first quarter, but CWU out-scored WWU 45-27 in the second and third quarters to pull away for the 15-point victory. WWU shot a season-low 32.8% for the game (19-for-58). Seven of the 19 made shots from 3-point range to tie for the second-most made 3-pointers in a game this season. 

Gimmaka (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley) finished with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She also had 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 29 minutes.

Junior forward Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Christian) added 12 points and a team-high 8 rebounds and sophomore guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) had 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

Sophomore forward Kassidy Malcolm led Central with a game-high 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting, going 2-for-2 from 3-point range and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She also grabbed a game-high 9 points to fall just short of the double-double. Junior guard Alexis Pana added 14 points (4-for-7 FG) and senior guard Sadie Mensing had 12 points and 4 assists.

CWU shot 42.9% from the field for the game, including 17-for-36 (47.2%) in the second and third quarters where they pulled away from the Vikings.

Central Washington out-scored the Vikings 24-14 in the third quarter, extending its lead to 19 points at 64-15 heading into the final quarter. CWU was 9-for-19 from the field in the quarter, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. WWU was just 4-for-16 from the field (25.0%) and were led by the 5 points from Lexie Bland.

Central Washington used a 13-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 40-31 lead into halftime. After Katrina Gimmaka started the quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 21-19 lead, CWU scored the next 13 points over a three-minute stretch to grab an 11-point lead. Trailing 32-21, WWU went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to one possession at 32-29, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run of their own. WWU was limited to 4-for-18 shooting in the quarter (22.2%) while being out-scored 21-13.

WWU led for most of the first quarter, building a 5-point lead, but CWU hit a buzzer beater to take a 19-18 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. CWU used a 9-3 run late in the quarter to overcome the early lead by the Vikings. Katrina Gimmaka led the Vikings with 7 points on 3-for-4 shooting, with Anna Schwecke also contributing 4 points. The Wildcats were led by 8 points from guard Alexis Pana, including a pair of 3-pointers.

The Vikings remain at home next week, hosting the Alaska schools to open the second half of the GNAC schedule. WWU opens the week taking on nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and closes out the four-game homestand with Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday. Both games feature a 7 pm tip-off. 

Despite tonight's loss, WWU still leads the all-time series vs. CWU 94-13, including a 21-3 mark over the last 24 meetings in the series dating back to the 2008 season.

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 --