BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University sophomore forward Kelsey Rogers scored 21 of her game-high 23 points to lead the Vikings to another come-from-behind victory, defeating Minnesota Crookston 78-68 on Saturday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings won their third consecutive game to improve to 4-2 on the season, ending the Lynda Goodrich Classic with a perfect 2-0 record. WWU defeated the previously unbeaten Golden Eagles (5-1) with a 44-point second-half to overcome a 4-point halftime deficit.
Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood), continued her solid play of late that earned her GNAC Player of the Week honors with her third 20-point performance of the season. The sophomore was 10-for-12 from the field and added 8 rebounds. Her big second half earned her a spot on the Lynda Goodrich Classic All-Tournament team.
Junior center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colo. Springs) was also selected to the All-Tournament team after her 15-point, 8-rebound performance on Saturday. In two tournament games Schwecke scored 30 points with 17 rebounds to also earn tournament MVP honors.
Junior guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos/Hawai’i Pacific) added 11 points (4-9 FG) and recorded a season-high 7 assists. Sophomore guard Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) was 4-for-7 from the floor to record a season-high 10 points.
The Golden Eagles were led by 19 points from senior guard Caitlin Michaelis and 16 points from senior forward Isieoma Odor. Both players were named to the Lynda Goodrich Classic All-Tournament Team.
QUOTABLE
“I thought we were really clicking in the third quarter, with Avery (Dykstra) playing lockdown defense and Kelsey (Rogers) really finding her groove. Our guards (Dani Iwami, Avery Dykstra, Lexie Bland) did a great job of sharing the ball and going with what was working, which was our post play. I thought we had a great weekend against some good teams and looking forward to opening GNC play this week,” said WWU 28th-year head coach Carmen Dolfo.
THE COMEBACK KIDS
Each of WWU’s four wins this season have been come-from-behind wins. A day after overcoming a 9-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 73-72 win over the University of Mary, the Vikings erased a 4-point halftime deficit in Saturday’s victory. The Vikings out-scored Minnesota Crookston 44-30 in the second half while combining to shoot 53.6% (15-fo-28).
ROGERS LIGHTS UP THE THIRD QUARTER
Sparked by 14 points from Rogers on 7-for-7 shooting, the Vikings out-scored the Golden Eagles 24-12 in the third quarter to regain the lead at 58-50 heading into the final 10 minutes. Overall WWU shot 58.8% in the third quarter (10-for-17). Freshman forward Katrina Gimmaka (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley) scored 4 of her game total 8 points in the quarter for the Vikings.
QUICK START
The Vikings raced out to a 20-12 lead through the first quarter, using a 13-4 run over the final 4 minutes to build the 8-point lead. Castaneda, who started the 13-4 run with a 3-pointer, and Schwecke each had 5 points for the Vikings.
SECOND QUARTER BLUES
WWU was out-scored by the Golden Eagles 26-14 in the second quarter, which erased WWU’s 8-point lead following the first quarter of play. UMC went on a 11-0 run midway through the quarter to turn a 29-21 deficit into a 32-29 lead. During this 3:16 stretch Crookston was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, while the Vikings were 0-for-4. Iwami broke the run with a 3-pointer at the 2:36 mark to level the game at 32-32, but UMC finished on a 6-2 run to take a 38-34 lead into halftime. Castaneda added 5 more points to hit double-digits heading into halftime.
