BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team scored a season-high 95 points and celebrated Senior Night with a 29-point victory over Simon Fraser University Tuesday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 

The Vikings broke the third-place tie with SFU in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, improving to 19-8 overall and 13-6 in conference play. Having already clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships, WWU is now one win away from another 20-win season. The Vikings improved to 11-1 in Carver Gym this season, sending seniors Lexie Bland and Anna Schwecke out in style with the 95-66 victory.

While the night belonged to seniors Bland and Schwecke, it was junior guard Emma Duff that stole the show with a dominating 18-point, 15-rebound double-double, adding a career-high 6 assists, 2 steals and a pair of blocked shots. Duff scored WWU's first eight points of the game, had a double-double at the half and finished 7-for-12 shooting in the game. 

"This was a great team win, and what a way to send Lexie and Anna out," said 29^th-year head coach Carmen Dolfo. "I thought we put the pressure on them early with our defense, shared the ball well and we did a great job converting our chances. This was a big win for us and a great way to celebrate our seniors in our final home game of the season. There is a lot of basketball yet to be played, but was a rewarding game for so many reasons."

Bland added 17 points and 7 assists and Schwecke contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds in the duo's final game in Carver Gym. 

Junior forward Kelsey Rogers scored 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

WWU shot 51.5% for the game (35-for-68), the ninth time to shoot over 50.0% in a game this season, and were 20-for-23 from the free throw line. The Vikings also had a dominating effort on the boards, out-rebounding SFU 49-28.

Simon Fraser (17-12, 12-7) had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by 11 points each by Claudia Hart, Jessica Jones and Justina Chan. The Clan were limited to 36.1% shooting for the game (22-for-61) and were 7-for-24 from 3-point range.

Emma Duff wasted little time recording her fourth double-double of the season, reaching the mark with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. Duff was 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Duff finished with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, tied her career-high with 15 rebounds and dished out a career-best 6 assists.

The Vikings scored 53 points in the first half, the most points scored in a first or second half this season, bettering the 52 points scored in the second half in the 94-83 road win at Northwest Nazarene. WWU shot 50.0% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, going 18-for-36 from the field, including 10-for-18 (55.6%) in the 2^nd quarter. Lexie Bland led three Vikings in double-figure scoring with 13 points on 3-for-10 shooting, with Emma Duff (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Kelsey Rogers (12 points, 4-for-5 FG) leading the way.

The Vikings doubled up the Clan in the first quarter, 26-13, using a 10-2 run to pull away from an 8-6 WWU lead. WWU shot 44.4% from the field, connecting on 8-of-18 shots and were 9-for-10 from the free throw line. WWU's defense limited SFU to 3-for-18 shooting (20.0%) in the quarter and force four turnovers. Emma Duff scored the first 8 points for the Vikings to lead the 26-point quarter, with Kelsey Rogers adding 6 points and Lexie Bland contributing 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. WWU out-rebounded SFU 17-5 (5-1 offensive boards).

The Vikings (19-8, 13-6 GNAC) closes out the regular season on Thursday on the road against Montana State Billings, with tip-off scheduled for 5:15 pm MT/4:15 pm PT in Alterowitz Gym. The game will stream live via GNAC.tv.

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.

The Vikings and Clan split the season series, with each team winning on their home court. SFU defeated WWU 64-60 in the GNAC opener for both teams on Dec. 3 in Burnaby. WWU has won four of the last five games vs. SFU, including going 3-0 in the series last season. Western leads the all-time series 53-36, including going 10-2 over the last 12 meetings. WWU has won its last 13 home games vs. SFU dating back to when the Clan joined the GNAC in 2010-11. The last SFU win in Bellingham was Jan. 2, 1999 (66-65).

Here is a look at the updated Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings through games played on Tuesday, with the Vikings regaining sole possession of 3^rd place in the GNAC standings with a 13-6 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 609, 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 1,041 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.