FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Western Washington University sophomore center Anna Schwecke scored a game-high 10 points to lead the Vikings to a 46-38 road victory over Alaska Fairbanks Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on Alaska Airlines Court.
The Vikings snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory, improving to 8-12 on the season and 4-8 in GNAC play. Alaska drops to 4-14 overall and remains winless in the GNAC at 0-12.
Western led the low-scoring affair from wire-to-wire, leading by as many as 14 points midway through the second quarter. Both teams shot below 30.0% for the game, with WWU’s defense limiting the Nanooks to 25.9% for the game. WWU led 25-17 at the half, and after being out-scored 8-5 in the third quarter, put together a strong finish for the eight-point victory.
Trailing the entire game, UAF pulled to within three points four times during the final quarter, but each time could not pull even. Sophomore guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) hit a key 3-pointer with 3:18 left in the game to stretch WWU’s lead to six points at 42-36, and Schwecke scored four of her game-high 10 points in the final two minutes of the contest.
Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Colorado-Colo. Springs) scored in double-digits for the seventh time this season and second in the last three games. The sophomore was 5-for-7 from the field and also grabbed a pair of rebounds. Senior forward Hannah Stipanovich (St. Louis, MO/MSU Denver) and sophomore guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Hawai’i Pacific) each scored 8 points, with Iwami dishing out a game-high 7 assists.
Redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) recorded a career-high 9 rebounds, freshman forward Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) had 8 boards and freshman guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) had 7 rebounds to lead the Vikings to a 51-38 rebounding advantage.
The Nanooks did not have a player reach double-digits in scoring, and were led by 8 points apiece by Kylie Wallace and Sabrina Ungaro.
The Vikings return home next week to host a pair of GNAC games on WECU Court in Carver Gym, beginning with a Thursday showdown against Western Oregon at 7 pm. WWU also entertains Concordia on Saturday at 7 pm in Carver Gym. Tickets are available online through the WWU Box Office and both games will stream live online via WWUVikings.com/Live and YouTube.
Game Notes: WWU scored a season-low 46 points, but also held its opponent to a season low in points (38)…the 46 points are the fewest by a WWU team in a win since beating Lewis-Clark State 44-40 on Jan. 10, 1992…38 points allowed are the fewest since limiting Western Oregon to 39 points on Jan. 28, 2016 (70-39 WWU win)…tonight’s victory was the 1,001st in program history.
About WWU Basketball:
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in seven of the last eight seasons and 34 times in the 47-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, win percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 16 of 19 seasons at the Division II level with two trips to the Final Four. WWU is a five-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season champion and two-time GNAC Championships tournament champion. The Vikings are coming off a 2016-17 season where the program went 26-6, including an 18-2 record in conference play, and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II West Regional. The program has 1,001 all-time wins in the 47-year history of the program, and according to available records is the 15th women’s college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the milestone.
— @WWUWBB —
