ARCATA, Calif. – Junior guard Dani Iwami sank a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining to lead the Western Washington University women's basketball team to a season-opening 86-82 victory over Fresno Pacific on Friday at the West Region Crossover Classic in Lumberjack Arena.
 
Iwami, who returned to the court after a redshirt season last year, led the Vikings with 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. She also went 4-for-4 from the free throw line with all of her attempts coming in the final 22-seconds of the game.
 
The Vikings took control early and looked to be cruising to an easy opening game victory as they had a very balanced opening half attack that saw eight Vikings score to take a 42-32 halftime lead. They pushed the advantage to a 54-39 lead on an Iwami 3-pointer with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Fresno Pacific fought their way back behind seven second half 3-pointers, going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. They cut the WWU lead to five points at 76-71 with 3:03 to play in the game. Senior guard Lexie Bland showed her senior leadership and hit consecutive buckets (a 3 pointer from the corner and layup in the lane) to push the lead back to 10 points at 81-71 with 0:48 to play.
 
But Fresno Pacific wasn't done. They connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the final 47 second and pulled to within two points at 84-82 with 0:11 to play. Iwami was clutch on both of her free throw attempts to seal the four-point victory 86-82. 
 
Iwami led four Vikings in double-digit scoring, with sophomore forward Katrina Gimmaka adding 16 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and a team-high 8 rebounds. Bland added 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting and junior forward Kelsey Rogers scored 12 points in 18 minutes. Senior center Anna Schweckewas 4-for-6 from the field scoring 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. 
 
WWU out-rebounded FPU (0-1) 35-29 and shot 52.3% (34-for-65) in the contest.
 
The Sunbirds were led by a game-high 20 points by Cassie Pisik on 8-for-15 shooting and 17 points by Jessica Malazarte. FPU shot 40.5% from the field (30-for-74) and were 10-for-26 (38.5%) from 3-point range.
  The Vikings (1-0) return to action on Saturday facing tournament host Humboldt State at 7 pm in Lumberjack Arena. Fans can follow a live pay-per-view webcast ($10) viaWWUVikings.com/WBB_Watch. Humboldt State opened its season with a 70-54 win over Seattle Pacific on Friday.
  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.