PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Washington University women’s basketball team were held scoreless over the final three minutes of the game, and Concordia scored the final eight points of the game to record a come-from-behind 60-57 victory over the Vikings on Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on LCEF Court.
WWU held a 57-52 lead following a short jumper by Kelsey Rogers with 3:02 remaining in the game. Concordia chipped away at the lead pulling to within one point at 57-56 following a shot-clock beating layup by Nakiyah Lesure. Rogers had a chance to pull the Vikings ahead, but missed both free throws with 16 seconds remaining, and Keesha Sarman converted a layup while being fouled with 9-seconds remaining to put the Cavaliers up 58-57.
After a missed CU free throw, the Cavaliers gathered the offensive rebound and extended the lead to three points when Sarman made a pair of free throws. A last-second attempt to tie the game by Emma Duff was online, but hit the back of the rim to give Concordia the three-point victory.
WWU had its string of two consecutive wins snapped to fall to 12-10 overall and 7-7 in GNAC play. Concordia earned the season sweep over the Vikings, improving to 11-11 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half, with 8 in the third quarter and 4 in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) added 11 points to score in double-digits for the fifth time in the last six games. Senior guard Bobbi Westendorf (Auburn, WA/Tacoma CC) added 10 points and 5 rebounds, with 9 points coming in the first half.
Concordia was led by a game-high 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting from guard Keesha Sarman. The senior fueled the Cavaliers comeback with 9 points in the fourth quarter. Olivia Vezaldenos added 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting (3-for-5 3FG).
The Vikings were out-rebounded for just the fifth time this season (32-29), but WWU still held a 15-7 edge in second-chance points. WWU also out-shot Concordia 45.1% (23-for-51) to 44.0% (22-for-50), but the Cavaliers out-scored the Vikings 15-7 for the three-point victory.
TIGHT FINAL QUARTER
Concordia opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run to quickly erase a 5-point deficit and tie the game 50-50. The Vikings answered going on a 7-2 run to gain a 57-52 lead with 3:02 remaining in the contest. The Vikings were held scoreless the rest of the way while the Cavaliers made their comeback. Western was limited to 7 points in the quarter on 3-for-9 shooting and committed 5 turnovers. WWU out-scored CU 16-10 in the quarter, while shooting 7-for-13 from the field (53.8%).
ROGERS COMES ALIVE IN THIRD QUARTER
The Vikings and Cavaliers went back-and-forth early in the third quarter before Kelsey Rogers took over late in the quarter. WWU trailed 43-42 at the 3:12 mark and the Rogers rattled off 8 consecutive points to give the Vikings a 50-45 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
INTO THE HALF DOWN ONE
Concordia went on a 13-3 run to erase WWU’s first-quarter lead, and were up six points on the Vikings 32-26 with 3:23 left in the second quarter. Emma Duff hit back-to-back 3-pointers over a 38-second span to pull the game even 32-32 and WWU capped an 8-0 run on a short jump shot by Anna Schwecke. The Cavaliers made a last-second layup to take a one-point lead at 35-34 heading into the half. Concordia shot 64.3% in the quarter (9-for-14) and were 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
JUMPING OUT TO THE LEAD
The Vikings jumped out to a 19-12 lead through the first quarter, building the 7-point lead by going on a 7-2 run to close out the quarter. WWU was 7-for-15 (46.7%) from the field, with Bobbi Westendorf leading the way with 7 points and 3 rebounds. Lexie Bland and Emma Duff each had 5 points to help pace the Vikings strong first quarter.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will play three of their next five games at home in Carver Gym, beginning by hosting Saint Martin’s (Thursday) and Seattle Pacific (Saturday). Both games will tip-off at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
SERIES HISTORY
Concordia earned the season sweep over the Vikings, also winning in comeback fashion 70-62 on Jan. 10 in Carver Gym…WWU still leads the all-time series 12-3, but Concordia has won three of the last four.
