Friday, March 6, 2020

SEATTLE – It’s a great day to be a Viking.

Just like their male counterparts, the third-seeded Western Washington women are headed to the GNAC Championships title game, fending off No. 2 Northwest Nazarene, 66-63, in the semifinals at Royal Brougham Pavilion. The win marks the first time since 2017 that the WWU men’s and women’s teams both advance to the final.

The Vikings outscored the Nighthawks 36-29 in the first half to stun the defending champions. Four players accounted for all of the Vikings’ points in the first half, led by 12-point performances by both junior forward Kelsey Rogers and senior center and First Team All-GNAC selection Anna Schwecke.

Rogers finished the game leading all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 16 from the field and a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line to go with two rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Schwecke came up just short of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds as she connected on 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Vikings senior guard Lexie Bland’s big second half gave the Vikings the spark that they needed to maintain their lead. The second-teamer dropped 11 points in the second half to finish the game with 17 points on 8 of 18 from the field while adding four assists, three steals and two rebounds.

The Vikings limited NNU to 34.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc to hold the Nighthawks to 15 points below their GNAC-leading scoring average (78 points per game).

Northwest Nazarene senior guard Avery Albrecht led the Nighthawks with 21 points and added six rebounds and four steals in the loss. The 2019-20 GNAC Player of the Year connected on 7 of 17 from the field and 7 of 9 from the free throw line.

Nighthawks freshman forward Clare Eubanks contributed 14 points and eight rebounds while freshman guard McKenna Emerson scored 10 points to go with five rebounds.

Down by 16 points at the 3:39 mark in the third quarter, the Nighthawks came to life in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Vikings 19-12. The Nighthawks came within one possession of tying the game. Vikings sophomore guard Avery Dykstra had different plans, however, deflecting an inbound to Rogers to force NNU to foul with 22 seconds left in the game. Rogers connected on both of her free throws to put the game on ice.

With the win, the Vikings improved to 22-8 overall and extended their win streak to four games. The Vikings will await the winner of the second semifinal matchup between No. 1 Alaska Anchorage and No. 5 Central Washington and have a chance to win the tournament for the first time since 2014.