BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior forward Hannah Stipanovich scored 17 points and recorded a career-high 8 steals, leading four Vikings in double figures scoring for a balanced offense as the Western Washington University women’s basketball team used a dominating second quarter to pull away from visiting Alaska Fairbanks en route to an 83-49 win Friday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
WWU (6-5, 2-1 GNAC) shot 50.8% (31-of-61) from the field, including 10-of-16 (62.5%) from 3-point range in the victory. The Nanooks dropped to 4-6 overall and 0-4 in GNAC play with the loss.
The Vikings built a 16-11 lead after the first quarter before outscoring UAF 23-8 in the second quarter, including a 14-0 spurt to start the period. A jumper and free throw from Stipanovich (St. Louis, MO/MSU Denver) gave WWU a double-digit lead at 21-11 with 7:46 to go. A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) followed by a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Hawai’i Pacific) stretched the lead to 30-11 with 4:39 remaining in the quarter and cap the run.
Seven players scored in the second quarter for WWU, led by Iwami’s 6 points on her pair of 3-pointers. WWU took a 39-19 lead to halftime and led by at least 15 points the rest of the way, building the advantage to as many as 37 points late in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we did a great job of playing together tonight,” head coach Carmen Dolfo said. “We distributed the ball well and really helped each other on defense.”
Stipanovich scored her 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Setting a career-high in steals for the second straight game, her 8 steals on Friday are tied for the most by a WWU player in the NCAA II era (since 1998-99) and match the 8 steals by Samantha Hubbard on Dec. 20, 2003 at Cal State Los Angeles.
Junior guard Amanda Lance (Buckley, WA/White River) scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Sophomore center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Colorado-Colo. Springs) finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds, adding a career-high 4 assists as well.
Freshman forward Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) had 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Iwami and redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) each scored 9 points, with Iwami totaling a game-high 5 assists and Castaneda adding 4 assists. Bland added 7 points while freshman guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) rounded out the scoring with 4 points.
WWU’s 50.8% shooting from the field was the 2nd-highest percentage this season, while the WWU defense totaled 16 steals for a season-high total. The Vikings 10 3-pointers made on Friday were the 2nd-most in a game this season and the best percentage (62.5%/10-for-16).
Guard Lexi Carpenter scored a game-high 19 points for the Nanooks while forward Ashlie Blackburn added 12 points and 7 rebounds.
WWU held UAF to 30.9% (17-for-55) from the floor and 4-of-10 (40.0%) from 3-point range. The Nanooks were 11-for-16 (68.8%) at the free throw line while the Vikings went 11-for-14 (78.6%) at the charity stripe.
Friday’s win was No. 999 all-time for WWU (999-347, .742) in program history. According to available NCAA and NAIA records, only 14 women’s college basketball teams have reached 1,000 all-time wins.
The Vikings host No. 6 nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage (11-1, 4-0 GNAC) on Sunday at 4 pm. A special $5 general admission ticket offer will be available.
