BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team got off to a quick start and never looked back in a dominating 88-47 victory over Alaska Fairbanks Saturday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

WWU built an early 22-2 lead, which included a 15-0 run, and scored 51 first-half points en route to the lopsided 41-point victory over UAF. The win improved the Vikings to 7-0 in Carver Gym this season.

The Vikings completed the Alaskan home sweep, building off Thursday's 71-64 win over No. 4/5 Alaska Anchorage, and finished the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season in a tie for 3^rd place with a 7-3 league mark. WWU has won three straight and nine of its last 11 games to improve to 13-5 overall.

Scoring at least 80 points for the sixth time this season, Western had four players reach double-figures in scoring and combined to shoot 47.8% (32-for-67) for the game.

"I thought our team played solid defense, particularly in the first half, and moved the ball well and played together," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo. "It was nice to get the whole team involved tonight and I think it was a really good team effort."

Senior center Anna Schwecke led the Vikings with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, tied for the team high with 7 rebounds and also contributed 3 blocks and a pair of steals. With her first points in the second quarter, Schwecke crossed the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career. She now has 1,008 career points, 834 coming in three seasons with WWU after transferring from Colorado-Colorado Springs.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 With her basket to open up scoring in the second quarter, Anna Schwecke reached (and has now passed!) the 1000 point mark for her collegiate career. CONGRATULATIONS ANNA!
 
A post shared by  WWU Athletics (@wwuathletics) on Jan 25, 2020 at 9:10pm PST
 

Freshman post Carley Zaragoza had a career-high night with 15 points and 7 rebounds, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field.

"Carley did an awesome job tonight – played well all around and has been working really hard," said Dolfo about her freshman player. "She has a lot of potential and I am glad we are getting the opportunity to get her out on the court because I think she is going to continue to get better and better."

Sophomore forward Katrina Gimmaka added 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting and senior guard Lexie Bland scored in double-digits for the seventh consecutive game with 12 points.

All 11 players that suited up for the Vikings scored at least one point in the contest. The Vikings also dominated the boards with a 53-32 advantage in rebounds, including a 16-7 edge in offensive rebounds.

The Nanooks suffered their ninth consecutive loss to fall to 6-13 overall and 1-9 in GNAC play. UAF was led by a game-high 26 points from Jocelyn Gandara, who was 12-for-20 shooting from the field in 27 minutes of action. UAF was limited to 17-for-57 shooting (29.8%) and were 2-for-17 from 3-point range.

The Vikings put the game away early, scoring the first seven points of the game and out-scored the Nanooks 22-2 in the first 7:22 of the game. WWU led wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game.

The Vikings (13-5, 7-3 GNAC) remain at home next week as part of a season-high four-game homestand, hosting Concordia (1/30) and Western Oregon (2/1) in 7 pm games in Carver Gym to open the second half of the GNAC season.

W🏀| 📸SCENES FROM CARVER

More scenes from the opening half in Carver Gym vs UAF.

📸 credit: Christian Serwold#GoViks x #WeAreVikings pic.twitter.com/qD4yL5c0xG
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) January 26, 2020

WWU leads the all-time series vs. UAF 52-5 and now have a 23-game winning streak against the Nanooks. The Vikings have won 30 of the last 31 games vs. UAF dating back to the 2004-05 season and has never lost to UAF in a home game, going 26-0, which includes a 24-0 mark inside Carver Gym.

Here is a look at the updated Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings through games played on Saturday. WWU completed the first half of the GNAC schedule in a tie for 3rd place with a 7-3 league record.

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 with 603, 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 1,035 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.