Friday, March 8, 2019

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Behind an 18-point performance from guard Avery Albrecht and multiple clutch free throws in the game's final 30 seconds, No. 2 seed Northwest Nazarene was able to take care of business on Friday afternoon.

Despite a competitive performance from a game Western Washington squad in front of its home crowd, the Nighthawks were able to escape with an 83-78 victory over the Vikings in the semifinals of the GNAC Women's Basketball Championship.

The win moved NNU's record to 3-0 on the year against the Vikings. The loss dropped WWU's record to 17-13 for the 2018-19 campaign, while the regular-season runners-up advance to face top-seeded Alaska Anchorage in Saturday's title tilt.

Albrecht (18 points, two rebounds) and senior Danielle Jardine (14 points, eight rebounds) led Northwest Nazarene in the win. Albrecht finished the day with a 2 of 3 shooting mark from three-point range while making all four free throws she took. Jardine was a force in the post as the Nampa product toyed with the opposing defense all afternoon, coming up just shy of recording a double-double. 

Western Washington guard Lexie Bland led her team with 17 points on the day. As a team, the tournament's No. 6 seed out-shot its opponent in all three categories. It lit up the gym with a 52.3 percent clip from the field, a 61.5 percent mark from beyond the arc and an 85.7 percent clip from the charity stripe.

On the backs of an energetic home crowd, the Vikings jumped out to an early advantage and led by as many as eight in the first half when freshman Mollie Olson buried a pair of free throws to make the score 37-29. The Nighthawks answered right back, however, using a 15-6 run in the final four minutes of the first half to take a one-point lead into the locker rooms.

They would hold that lead for the majority of the second half, and it was none other than Albrecht who was able to seal the deal at the charity stripe for her team. The junior connected on four consecutive free throws in the contest's final 30 seconds, salting away the game for NNU. 

Viking sophomore Emma Duff hit one last three-pointer with just over a second remaining, but the comeback effort ultimately fell just short in the 83-78 decision.

Northwest Nazarene advances now to the tournament's title game, which will tip-off at 5:20 p.m. on Saturday. For those not in attendance in Bellingham, the game will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com.