BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior center Anna Schwecke led the Vikings to a 62-41 non-conference victory over University of Colorado Colorado Springs Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
Schwecke, who began her collegiate career at UCCS, carried the Vikings registering a 19-point, 13-rebound on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. This was Schwecke's first double-double on the season, after recording six a year ago.
It was another stifling defensive effort for the Vikings who reached double digits in steals for the second consecutive night. The Vikings, who deployed a full-court-press from the opening tip, held UCCS to just a 28.8% shooting percentage.
The Vikings, who led for all but 44 seconds in the contest, pulled away in the second half, using a 15-4 run to push their lead to 17 points with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. WWU heated up in the second half shooting 48% (12-for-25) over the final two quarters of the game and out-scored UCCS 16-6 in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings were able to dominate inside, with 36 of their 62 points coming inside the paint while holding UCCS to just 18 points inside. Western also managed to out-rebound the Mountain Lions 49-26.
Sophomore guard Mollie Olson filled up the stat sheet for the Vikings with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in a team-high 34 minutes played. Junior guard Dani Iwami also had a strong performance with 11 points and 4 assists.
"I thought Anna (Schwecke) and Mollie (Olson) had really great performances tonight, but it was our defense that got things started. We really got our defense going and that led to great things on both ends of the court. It was a good team performance as we head into conference play," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo, who is now six wins short of 600 in her 29-year coaching career.
Madi Gaibler led the Mountain Lions with 12 points and 6 rebounds and Chelsea Pearson also chipped in with 7 points and 3 steals.
The Vikings will take the Thanksgiving holiday off from games and will next be in action on Tuesday, December 3 with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC. Tip-off vs. SFU is set for 5:15 pm with the WWU men playing SFU in the second game of the GNAC doubleheader at 7:30 pm in West Gym.
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 1,026 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.
