BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior guard Lexie Bland did a little bit of everything in the Vikings 60-43 victory over Seattle Pacific on Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
Bland scored 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting, grabbed a career-high 9 rebounds, had 4 assists and recorded 4 steals to lead WWU to its fourth win in the last five games. The Vikings are now 14-10 overall and remain in 5th place in the GNAC standings at 9-7.
"Lexie was all over the place tonight and really got us going on both offense and defense," said head coach Carmen Dolfo. "I thought our guards played well, not just tonight, but in both wins this week. Overall I thought our defensive effort was really good the last two games."
Bland (Ellensburg, WA) was one of three Vikings reaching double-figures in scoring, with junior center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Springs) leading the way with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Sophomore guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) added 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
WWU was limited to 38.3% shooting in the game (18-for-47), but its defensive performance limited SPU to an even lower 30.8% (16-for-52). The Vikings lead the GNAC this season with opposing teams shooting just 38.2%.
Seattle Pacific (7-16, 6-10 GNAC) was led by 10 points from sophomore guard Kaprice Boston.
The Vikings nearly doubled the Falcons in rebounding, 42-23, including an 11-4 advantage in offensive rebounds…WWU was 18-for-20 at the free throw line (90.0%) and 6-for-18 (33.3%) from 3-point range.
PULLING AWAY IN THE SECOND HALF
The Vikings out-scored the Falcons 15-6 in the third quarter, with a 10-2 run to end the quarter giving the Vikings a 42-28 lead. WWU held the Falcons scoreless over a 6:17 stretch to build the lead to as high as 16 points at 42-26. Anna Schwecke and Lexie Bland each had 4 points to lead the Vikings in the third quarter. WWU finished off the victory with an 18-point 4th quarter, scoring its last 8 points at the free throw line for the 17-point victory.
The Vikings opened the quarter on a 7-0 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Lexie Bland. WWU held the SPU without points for the first five minutes of the quarter, but the Falcons went on 7-0 run to trim the lead to three points at 25-22. Anna Schwecke hit a last-second layup to bring the game to the halftime score of 27-22. Bland led Western with 6 points in the quarter, followed by 4 each from Schwecke and Emma Duff. WWU was 6-for-12 shooting in the quarter (50.0%), while holding SPU to 23.1% (3-for-13).
Seattle Pacific went on a late 7-2 run to pull even with the Vikings, after WWU had a pair of 7-point leads. Both teams started slow from the field with the two teams combining for five points in the first four minutes of the game. WWU pulled away going on a 8-2 run to build a 11-4 lead, but SPU climbed back into the game.
The Vikings are back on the road next week with games at Central Washington on Thursday (Feb. 21, 7 pm) and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (Feb. 23, 7 pm MT). WWU has four regular-season games remaining, with three on the road. The final home game, honoring senior Bobbie Westendorf, will be on Tuesday, Feb. 26 vs. Simon Fraser.
WWU earned the season split with the Falcons, after falling 61-59 in a tight game on Jan. 17 in Seattle…the Vikings lead the all-time series 62-33, with Saturday's win snapping a three-game losing streak vs. SPU…WWU is 10-6 vs. SPU dating back to the 2012 season.
|
WWU Box Score
|
FG
|
3-Pt
|
FT
|
Reb
|
|
|
##
|
Player
|
|
fgm-fga
|
fgm-fga
|
ftm-fta
|
off-def
|
tot
|
pf
|
tp
|
a
|
to
|
blk
|
stl
|
min
|
|
15
|
Rogers,Kelsey
|
f
|
0-2
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
1-6
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
22
|
|
44
|
Schwecke,Anna
|
c
|
6-11
|
0-0
|
4-4
|
4-5
|
9
|
2
|
16
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
31
|
|
1
|
Dykstra,Avery
|
g
|
1-3
|
1-3
|
2-2
|
0-5
|
5
|
1
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
37
|
|
3
|
Bland,Lexie
|
g
|
4-10
|
2-5
|
4-4
|
1-8
|
9
|
2
|
14
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
32
|
|
12
|
Duff,Emma
|
g
|
4-7
|
2-5
|
5-6
|
1-2
|
3
|
2
|
15
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
24
|
|
13
|
Fierke,Monique
|
-
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
1-2
|
0-0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
20
|
Gimmaka,Katrina
|
-
|
0-1
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
1-1
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
|
22
|
Castaneda,Gracie
|
-
|
2-6
|
1-2
|
2-2
|
2-2
|
4
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
17
|
|
32
|
Olson,Mollie
|
-
|
1-5
|
0-1
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
16
|
|
33
|
Westendorf,Bobbi
|
-
|
0-2
|
0-2
|
0-0
|
1-1
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
|
Team Totals……………………………
|
18-47
|
6-18
|
18-20
|
11-31
|
42
|
15
|
60
|
16
|
23
|
5
|
9
|
200
|
|
WWU Leader
|
38.3%
|
33.3%
|
90.0%
|
|
|
Score by Quarter
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Total
|
|
Seattle Pacific (7-16, 6-10)
|
13
|
9
|
6
|
15
|
43
|
|
Western Washington (14-10, 9-7)
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
18
|
60
|
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games completed on Saturday, with the Vikings in 5thplace…the top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held March 7-9 in Carver Gym.
|
GNAC STANDINGS
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage*
|
15-1
|
.937
|
23-1
|
.958
|
12-0
|
9-1
|
2-0
|
Won 16
|
|
2.
|
Northwest Nazarene*
|
14-1
|
.933
|
22-1
|
.957
|
11-0
|
9-1
|
2-0
|
Won 5
|
|
3.
|
Simon Fraser
|
12-4
|
.750
|
16-7
|
.696
|
7-3
|
7-1
|
2-3
|
Won 4
|
|
4.
|
Central Washington
|
10-5
|
.667
|
15-7
|
.682
|
7-4
|
6-3
|
2-0
|
Won 4
|
|
5.
|
Western Washington
|
9-7
|
.563
|
14-10
|
.583
|
9-6
|
4-3
|
1-1
|
Won 2
|
|
6.
|
Concordia
|
7-9
|
.438
|
12-12
|
.500
|
4-4
|
6-6
|
2-2
|
Won 1
|
|
7.
|
Montana State Billings
|
6-10
|
.375
|
10-12
|
.455
|
6-4
|
3-7
|
1-1
|
Lost 3
|
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
6-10
|
.375
|
7-16
|
.304
|
5-6
|
2-8
|
0-2
|
Lost 4
|
|
9.
|
Western Oregon
|
4-12
|
.250
|
7-15
|
.318
|
3-5
|
3-9
|
1-1
|
Lost 4
|
|
10.
|
Saint Martin's
|
3-13
|
.188
|
5-19
|
.208
|
2-7
|
3-9
|
0-3
|
Lost 5
|
|
11.
|
Alaska
|
1-15
|
.063
|
4-18
|
.182
|
1-9
|
1-8
|
2-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
* Qualified for GNAC Championships
|
Here are the scores from the four additional GNAC games played across the conference footprint on Saturday:
|
Around the GNAC (2/16/19)
|
|
Concordia
|
71
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
44
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
97
|
Western Oregon
|
52
|
|
Central Washington
|
82
|
Montana St. Billings
|
45
|
|
Western Washington
|
60
|
Seattle Pacific
|
43
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
77
|
Saint Martin's
|
57
|
|
Home team in bold
|
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. Tickets are now on sale for the GNAC Basketball Championships via GNACHoopTickets.com.
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 1,019 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 --
