ELLENSBURG - Guard Corinn Waltrip and forward Trishi Williams combined for 42 points as Western Washington University defeated arch-rival Central Washington University 85-71 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game Thursday, Jan. 19, on the CWU campus.
The game started nearly one hour late as the arrival of the officiating crew was hampered because of poor weather conditions.
WWU improved to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Waltrip had 22 points and Williams 20, 15 of those in the second half. Guard Kristin Schramm added 15 points for the Vikings.
CWU fell to 5-10 overall and 2-6 in league play. The Wildcats got 16 points each from Sophie Russell and Alex Dunn.
WWU fell behind by as many as four points early in the game. The Vikings then scored 12 straight to begin a 24-6 run over a span of 8:28 that gave them a 15-point lead, 39-24, on a three-pointer by Waltrip with 1:56 left in the opening half.
WWU led 43-29 at halftime as Schramm and Waltrip each had 11 points and three assists.
CWU began the second half with a 14-2 run, cutting the Vikings' lead to two, 45-4, with 16:34 remaining. WWU responded by scoring 20 of the next 26 points for a 16-point advantage, 65-49, with 11:01 to go following three straight baskets by reserve center Kayla Bernsen.
WWU upped that lead to as many as 19 points on two occasions in the final five minutes.
It was the eighth straight series win for WWU, which leads 81-10 and 16th in the last 17 meetings.
The Vikings are at Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday, Jan. 21, for a GNAC counter.
WESTERN WASHINGTON 85, CENTRAL WASHINGTON 71
WESTERN WASHINGTON (12-4, 6-2 GNAC)
Waltrip,Corinn 22; Williams,Trishi 20; Schramm,Kristin 15; Bernsen,Kayla 8; Harris,Britt 6; Donaldson,Sydney 6; Feeney,Erin 3; Hill,Sarah 3; White,Jenni 2; Colard,Katie 0; Ramstead,Erika 0. Totals 33-61 10-13 85.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (5-10, 2-6 GNAC)
Dunn,Alex 16; Russell,Sophie 16; VanDyke,Jessica 14; Albrecht,Stacy 10; Moser,Amber 6; Martinez,Annie 3; Jacobson,Kelsi 2; Johnson,Courtney 2; Valdez,Melanie 2; Fettig,Tayler 0; Rethwill,Olivia 0. Totals 21-57 24-36 71.
Half: WWU 43, CWU 29
3-point goals--Western Washington 9 (Waltrip,Corinn 5), Central Washington 5 (Russell,Sophie 2). Fouled out-Western Washington-None, Central Washington-None. Rebounds--Western Washington 37 (Williams,Trishi 8), Central Washington 35 (VanDyke,Jessica 10).
Assists--Western Washington 17 (Williams,Trishi 5), Central Washington 11 (Dunn,Alex 4). Total fouls--Western Washington 23, Central Washington 16. Technical fouls--Western Washington-None, Central Washington-None. A-309
