BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team continued its winning ways and dominating play inside Carver Gym with a 77-53 victory over Concordia on Thursday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The Vikings 24-point victory extended the winning streak to four consecutive games, improving to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in GNAC play. The Vikings are a perfect 8-0 inside Carver Gym this season. WWU has now won 7 of 8 and 10 of its last 12 games to move into a tie for 3rd place in the conference standings. Concordia dropped to 3-16 overall and 2-9 in conference play with its sixth consecutive loss.
"I think our defense has been the key and tonight we played really good team defense," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo. "When we play that level of defense we get to run and I think we really like to be in the open court."
WWU's balanced offensive attack had four players reach double-digits in scoring, led by 19 points from junior guard Emma Duff on 7-for-13 shooting. Senior guard Lexie Bland scored in double-digits for the eighth consecutive game with 13 points, also adding 4 assists and a pair of steals.
Junior forward Kelsey Rogers and freshman post Carley Zaragoza combined for 24 points, with each scoring 12 to help the Vikings out-score the Cavaliers 32-22 in the paint. WWU leading scorer Anna Schwecke was the only Viking that did not score in the game, playing only 12 minutes.
"It was a good team effort tonight with a lot of unselfish play," added Dolfo.
The Vikings shot 46.6% for the game (27-for-58) and were 9-for-23 from 3-point range. WWU also won the battle of the boards with a 35-26 advantage, including 14-7 in offensive rebounds.
Playing short-handed due to injuries, the Cavaliers were led by 12 points each from Tamika Etherly (5-for-7 FG) and Abby Aplaca (3-for-7 FG). Abby Zhang was 4-for-8 from the field and contributed 11 points. CU shot 43.5% for the game (20-for-46), the third-highest shooting percentage in a game this season.
The Vikings built a 21-point halftime lead, with a 43-22 advantage over the Cavaliers. Emma Duff led the way with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the first half, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Overall WWU shot 50.0% (15-for-30) in the first 20 minute of the contest and were 8-for-14 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. Lexie Bland added 9 points on 3-for-5 shooting, with a trio of 3-pointers, andCarley Zaragoza had 5 points. The Cavaliers were limited to 8-for-23 from the field (34.8%) and were 2-for-8 from 3-point range.
The Vikings ended the first quarter on a 16-5 run, growing the lead to 14 points at 23-9 through the first 10 minutes of action. Emma Duff fueled the extended run with 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Vikings (14-5, 8-3 GNAC) close out the season-high four-game homestand hosting Western Oregon (5-13, 2-9) on Saturday at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CONCORDIA
The Vikings swept the season series vs. Concordia and lead the all-time series 14-3. Out-scored the Cavaliers 165-94 (+71) in the two games this season.
Here is a look at the updated Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings through games played on Thursday with the Vikings remaining in a tie for 3rd place in the conference at 8-3.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
10-1
|
.909
|
20-2
|
.909
|
10-0
|
7-2
|
3-0
|
Won 2
|
|
2.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
10-2
|
.833
|
15-5
|
.750
|
8-2
|
5-2
|
2-1
|
Won 4
|
|
3.
|
Western Washington
|
8-3
|
.727
|
14-5
|
.737
|
8-0
|
4-4
|
2-1
|
Won 4
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
8-3
|
.727
|
13-8
|
.619
|
8-4
|
3-2
|
2-2
|
Won 1
|
|
5.
|
Central Washington
|
6-5
|
.545
|
11-8
|
.579
|
6-3
|
3-4
|
2-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
6.
|
Montana State Billings
|
5-6
|
.455
|
10-10
|
.500
|
7-2
|
3-5
|
0-3
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
5-6
|
.455
|
7-12
|
.368
|
5-4
|
2-6
|
0-2
|
Won 2
|
|
8.
|
Saint Martin's
|
4-7
|
.364
|
9-9
|
.500
|
8-1
|
1-7
|
0-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
9.
|
Western Oregon
|
2-9
|
.182
|
5-13
|
.278
|
4-6
|
1-6
|
0-1
|
Lost 5
|
|
|
Concordia
|
2-9
|
.182
|
3-16
|
.158
|
1-7
|
1-5
|
1-4
|
Lost 6
|
|
11.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
1-10
|
.091
|
6-14
|
.300
|
3-7
|
0-6
|
3-1
|
Lost 10
|
|
Thursday's GNAC Scores
(home team in bold)
|
|
Western Washington 77, Concordia 53
Northwest Nazarene 80, Montana State Billings 72
Alaska Anchorage 59, Saint Martin's 56
Seattle Pacific 64, Alaska Fairbanks 41
Simon Fraser 68, Western Oregon 59
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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 604, 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 1,036 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.
