BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 9 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team turned in another solid defensive performance in a 59-40 victory over Seattle Pacific University Thursday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The defensive-minded Vikings limited SPU to a season-low 40 points, forced 24 turnovers and kept the Falcons below 30-percent shooting in the 19-point victory.

WWU improved to 14-1 overall and remained on top of the GNAC standings at 6-1 in league play. WWU was playing at home for just the fifth time this season, improving to 4-1 in Carver Gym.

Senior guard Emma Duff led all players with 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting, adding six rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. Duff has scored in double-digits in nine of her last 10 games and leads the team averaging 15.9 points per game.

Senior guard Monique Fierke contributed eight points and a pair of steals in 16 minutes and freshman guard Riley Dykstra added six points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot.

WWU shot well below its season shooting percentage at 35.8% (entered game at .472), but used a second-half surge to put the Falcons away. 

SPU (8-11, 4-5 GNAC) was within two points at 30-28 midway through the third quarter, but the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to grow the lead to 11 points at 39-28 and pulled away with a 20-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Natalie Hoff led the Falcons a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double on 5-for-10 shooting. In addition to a season-low 40 points, SPU was also limited to its lowest field goal percentage at 28.3-percent (15-for-53).

WWU limited SPU to seven points in the first quarter and nine points in the third, the 11th and 12th times this season to hold an opponent to single-digits in scoring in a quarter this season.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and SPU from Thursday's game:

The Vikings (14-1, 6-1 GNAC) will be off this weekend with Saturday's scheduled game vs. Montana State Billings postponed due to health and safety protocols in the MSUB program. WWU is back on the road for its next three games, beginning with games at Northwest Nazarene (Thursday, Feb. 10) and Central Washington (Saturday, Feb. 12). 

The Vikings extended their winning streak over the Falcons to six consecutive games and now lead the all-time series 67-33…play SPU again in Seattle on February 15 (makeup from 1/8 postponed game)…Vikings have won 11 of the last 14 games in the series.

The first half featured lengthy scoring runs by each team, but the Vikings took a 25-21 lead into halftime. WWU built an 11-point lead at 20-9 following an 18-4 spurt that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter. SPU then answered with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 20-20 with 3:06 remaining in the half. WWU scored five of the final six points to take the four-point lead into the break.

WWU's defense forced 14 turnovers and limited SPU to season-low tying 21-point half. WWU also had nine turnover and both teams shot below 35-percent. The Vikings were well below their season average going 10-for-33 (30.3) and were 2-for-7 at the free throw line. Emma Duff led all players with nine points on 4-for-9 shooting. 

SPU was 8-for-24 (33.3) from the field and 1-for-5 from 3-point range. Natalie Hoff paced the Falcons in the first 20 minutes with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting.

The Vikings out-scored the Falcons 34-19 in the second half, including a 29-12 run over the final 13 minutes of the game. Emma Duff scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, going 5-for-9 from the field. Maddy Grandbois also hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel the big second-half run. The Vikings combined to shoot 14-for-34 (.412) in the half and out-rebounded the Falcons 24-17.

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings following play on Thursday, with the Vikings remaining along in first place with a 6-1 record in conference play. Central Washington is close behind the Vikings with an 8-2 GNAC record and a current 10-game winning streak.

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in eight of the last 12 full seasons, and 35 times in the 50-year history of the program. WWU has 21 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 632, winning 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 1,064 all-time wins in the 50-year history of the program, and according to available records, is one of less than 20 women's college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the 1,000-victory milestone.