Friday, March 10, 2023

CARSON, Calif. – The season is over for GNAC champion and No. 2 seed Western Washington after falling 71-53 to No. 7 seed Azusa Pacific in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.

The Vikings never looked comfortable in their quarterfinal showdown with APU, shooting just 32.2% from the field and 13.6% from three-point range. Junior forward Brooke Walling provided most of the offensive output for WWU, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block while shooting 6 for 13 from the field and 2 for 6 from long range.

Western Washington had to play from behind from early on after the Cougars opened the game with a 13-5 run. The Vikings struggled to find their usually strong three-point production all game but stayed in the hunt through the first half courtesy of a gritty performance by senior center Carley Zaragoza who notched seven points in the first half to lead WWU. Zaragoza finished the contest second on the team in scoring with 11 points, and seven rebounds while shooting 4 for 9 from the field and 3 for 4 from the free-throw line.

The Vikings played their best stretch of basketball in the second half of the third quarter where they went 5 for 11 from the field and 5 for 6 from the free-throw line. They managed to claw back within eight points by the end of the period when senior guard Avery Dykstra hit a three-pointer on the last shot of the quarter.

The Western Washington defense did its best to thwart the Azusa Pacific attack, holding the Cougars to 35.7% from the field and 30.8% from three-point range but committed 23 fouls while APU shot 87.1% from the charity stripe.

Along with Walling, sophomore center Truitt Reilly was among the better defensive players for WWU, also pulling in eight rebounds while adding two steals and a block. Reilly also finished with six points with four of those coming from the free-throw line where Western Washington shot 70.6% for the game. Rebounding as a whole was a strength for the Vikings in the game as they pulled in 15 offensive boards compared to Azusa Pacific’s seven.

Western Washington ends its season with a 24-4 overall record as the GNAC tournament champion and regular season champion.