ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Western Washington University women's basketball team pushed No. 7 nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage to the limit for a second time this season, but fell just short of completing the season sweep of the Seawolves in a 83-76 loss Saturday night at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Having already clinched a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the Vikings dropped back into a 3rd-place tie with Simon Fraser at 12-6 in conference play and 18-8 overall. WWU and SFU meet on Tuesday night in Carver Gym in a key game with seeding implications.
UAA avenged its 71-64 loss the Vikings on Jan. 23 in Bellingham, clinching at least a share of the GNAC regular-season title for a sixth consecutive season. The Seawolves improved to 17-1 in conference play and 27-2 overall with their ninth consecutive victory. UAA ended its regular-season home schedule undefeated at 14-0 overall and 10-0 in GNAC play.
WWU held a 40-38 lead at the half, putting UAA in only its third halftime deficit of the season. The Vikings shot a scorching 57.6% from the field (15-for-26) in the opening 20 minutes of the game and were led by 11 points from junior forward Kelsey Rogers and 9 points from junior guard Emma Duff.
UAA out-scored the Vikings 26-22 in a fast-paced 3rd-quarter with a 10-0 Seawolves run proving to be a key turning point. WWU used a 9-4 scoring spurt to end the quarter trailing by just two points at 64-62.
The Vikings closed the gap to one point at 69-68 following a layup by senior center Anna Schwecke at the 7:45 mark in the final quarter, but the Seawolves scored seven consecutive points to grab a 76-68 lead and never looked back for the seven-point victory over Western.
Rogers neared a double-double with a season-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds. Duff also reached double-digits in scoring with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
Overall the Vikings shot 55.1% for the game (27-for-49) and were 3-for-9 from 3-point range. WWU won the battle of the boards 36-25, but turned the ball over 23 times leading to 34 UAA points.
Senior Safiyyah Yasin tied her career-high with 25 points to lead three UAA players in double-figure scoring. Yazmeen Goo also equaled her career best scoring performance with 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting and was 8-for-12 from the free throw line.
UAA was held to 38.2% shooting (21-for-55), but a sizeable disparity in fouls sent the Seawolves to the free throw line 47 times, setting a program single-game record with 36 made free throws (36-for-47).
The Vikings (18-8, 12-6 GNAC) closes out the home portion of the 2019-20 schedule on Tuesday night with a GNAC hoops doubleheader in Carver Gym with the Vikings hosting Simon Fraser University. It will be Senior Night for both the Viking women and men, with the women's game tipping off at 5:15 pm vs. the Clan, followed by the men at 7:30 pm.
TICKET PUNCHED TO GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
WWU, Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser have punched tickets to the 2020 GNAC Championships that will be held March 5-7 at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. WWU is 11-6 all-time in the GNAC Championships, now appearing in nine of the 10 GNAC Tournaments, including winning back-to-back championships in 2013 and 2014.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Vikings and Seawolves split the season series with each team winning on their home court. WWU still leads the all-time series 30-27 and are now 13-13 all-time in games played in Anchorage. WWU has dropped its last seven games in Anchorage, with the last win on Feb. 22, 2014.
Here is a look at the updated Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings through games played on Saturday, with the Vikings back in a 3rd-place tie with Simon Fraser in the standings at 12-6 in league play. WWU and SFU meet on Tuesday for Senior Night in Carver Gym with tip-off at 5:15 pm.
|
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage*+
|
17-1
|
.944
|
27-2
|
.931
|
14-0
|
10-2
|
3-0
|
Won 9
|
|
2.
|
Northwest Nazarene*
|
15-3
|
.833
|
20-6
|
.769
|
11-3
|
7-2
|
2-1
|
Won 5
|
|
3.
|
Western Washington*
|
12-6
|
.667
|
18-8
|
.692
|
10-1
|
6-6
|
2-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Simon Fraser*
|
12-6
|
.667
|
17-11
|
.607
|
9-6
|
6-3
|
2-2
|
Won 1
|
|
5.
|
Central Washington
|
11-7
|
.611
|
16-10
|
.615
|
10-4
|
4-5
|
2-1
|
Won 2
|
|
6.
|
Saint Martin's
|
9-9
|
.500
|
14-11
|
.560
|
11-2
|
3-8
|
0-1
|
Won 5
|
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
9-9
|
.500
|
14-13
|
.519
|
10-3
|
4-7
|
0-3
|
Won 1
|
|
8.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
6-12
|
.333
|
8-18
|
.308
|
5-7
|
3-9
|
0-2
|
Lost 3
|
|
9.
|
Concordia
|
4-14
|
.222
|
5-21
|
.192
|
2-8
|
2-9
|
1-4
|
Lost 2
|
|
10.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
2-16
|
.111
|
7-20
|
.259
|
4-9
|
0-10
|
3-1
|
Lost 6
|
|
|
Western Oregon
|
2-16
|
.111
|
5-20
|
.200
|
4-9
|
1-10
|
0-1
|
Lost 12
|
|
* clinched spot in GNAC Championships, + clinched at least share of GNAC regular-season title
|
|
Saturday's GNAC Scores
(home team in bold)
|
|
Alaska Anchorage 83, Western Washington 76
Simon Fraser 76, Alaska Fairbanks 52
Montana State Billings 91, Seattle Pacific 66
Central Washington 82, Concordia 45
Northwest Nazarene 82, Western Oregon 62
|
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 607, 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 1,040 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.
