BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior center Anna Schwecke recorded a 20-point, 15-rebound double-double and junior guard Lexie Bland scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Vikings to a 63-57 victory over Montana State Billings Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings improved to 6-2 overall and are off to a 2-0 start to conference play after recording their fifth consecutive victory. Montana State Billings drops to 3-3 overall and went 0-2 on its conference-opening road trip at Simon Fraser and WWU.

Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colo. Springs) recorded her second straight 20-point performance, capping a week that saw her score 44 points and record 19 rebounds. She was 7-for-16 from the field vs. the Yellowjackets and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Bland (Ellensburg, WA) broke her previous career-high of 15 points, shooting 6-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. The junior guard was also 3-for-4 from the free throw line and filled up the stat sheet with a career-high 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Bland scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) reached double-figures with 10 points and also had 8 rebounds and a career-high 4 blocked shots.

Hannah Collins led MSUB with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting and Vanessa Stavish added 14 points and 4 rebounds.

QUOTABLE

“We rebounded really well tonight after missing a lot of little shots. Our posts again were really solid for us and had a great opening week of conference play. Lexie (Bland) stepped up for us tonight in big way when we really needed her. She hit some big shots in crucial times of the game.” – WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo.

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

WWU held a 29-23 lead at the half, but MSUB used a 17-4 run in the third quarter to take a 5-point lead at 40-35 with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. Kelsey Rogers hit back-to-back baskets to end the third quarter and open the fourth quarter to give the Vikings a 43-42 lead, but the Yellowjackets hung tough and grabbed a one-point lead at 52-52 on a pair of Collins free throws with 3:27 remaining. Bland responded with a key 3-pointer with 3:07 remaining to give the Vikings a 54-52 lead, and WWU remained ahead the rest of the way. The Vikings ended the game on a 14-8 run to secure the victory.

BULLIES ON THE BOARDS

WWU dominated on the boards with a 51-27 advantage in rebounds, including a 12-6 edge in offensive rebounds…for the season the Vikings are the leading rebounding team in the conference averaging 45.5 rebounds per game and have a 13.7 rebound margin.