ARCATA, Calif. – Sophomore forward Katrina Gimmaka scored a team high 14 points and made four free throws in the final 21-seconds of the game to lead the Western Washington University women's basketball team to a 76-73 win over Humboldt State on Saturday at the West Region Crossover Classic in Lumberjack Arena.
WWU is 2-0 to open the season, following Friday's season-opening 86-82 win over Fresno Pacific.
"It was a great team effort this weekend on both ends of the court," said 29th-year WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo, who is eight wins short of 600 for her career. "Our depth helped us with back-to-back games against teams who play at such a fast pace."
The Vikings again used a total team effort on both ends of the court in the first half as they shot 51.7% (15-for-29) from the field and held Humboldt State to 38.4% (10-for-26) while out rebounding them 19-10 to take a 41-31 lead at break. The Lumberjacks battled back in the 3rd quarter however, cutting the lead to just two points at 54-52 by the end of the quarter.
The game would remain tight the rest of the way with the Lumberjacks taking their first lead at 63-62 with 4:06 remaining. The Vikings immediately took the lead back on a pair of free throws from Gimmaka and looked to be in command for good when Gimmaka put in another one from the line to make it a 73-67 game with 21 seconds remaining.
Humboldt State score five unanswered points in 5 seconds, forcing the Vikings to call a timeout up 73-72 with 16 seconds remaining. After yet another pair of free throws by Gimmaka, the Lumberjacks were fouled on a game-tying 3-point attempt and went to the line with a chance to tie it up. After making one of the first two attempts, Sandin Kidder was called for a line violation on the third attempt trying to get a quick rebound off the intentional miss. Gimmaka would go to the line again for the Vikings, hit one of two and the final half court attempt for the Lumberjacks would sail wide giving the Vikings the 76-73 win.
Gimmaka led four Vikings in double-digit scoring, with senior center Anna Schwecke going 6-for-10 from the field scoring 13 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Junior forward Kelsey Rogers scored 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and junior guard Dani Iwami added points and 6 assists. Junior guard Emma Duff added 8 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in 18 minutes.
WWU out-rebounded HSU (1-1) 37-28 including 15 on the offensive glass.
The Lumberjacks were led by a game-high 23 points by Alexia Thrower on 7-for-14 shooting and going 9-for-10 from the line. Molly Dixon added 17 points going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Overall HSU shot 42.6% from the field (23-for-54) and were 8-for-18 (44.4%) from 3-point range..
The Vikings (2-0) return to California next week for a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents at another West Region Crossover Classic in Azusa, California. WWU will take on No. 6 UC San Diego on Friday at 5:30 pm at the Felix Event Center and No. 4 Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 8 pm. The home opener will be Friday, November 22 vs. Western Colorado.
IWAMI AND GIMMAKA NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Junior guard Dani Iwami was named the West Region Crossover Classic MVP and sophomore forward Katrina Gimmaka was also selected to the six-player all-tournament team. Iwami averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 assists per game, while Gimmaka also averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
More information on WWU Basketball 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 11 seasons, and 34 times in the 48-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 21 seasons at the Division II level with two trips to the Final Four. The program has 1,022 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.
