Center Britt Harris scored a game and career-high 28 points and guard Katie Colard provided the go-ahead points with 1:06 to play as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Central Washington University 79-73 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest Thursday, Jan. 24, in Ellensburg.
The Vikings, rated No. 5 in this week's USA Today Sports/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 14-2 overall and remain atop the GNAC at 8-0 after their eighth straight victory.
CWU, which had a three game-winning streak snapped, fell to 8-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play. Forward Jessica VanDyke led the Wildcats with 22 points, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field.
The Vikings trailed by four, 73-69, with less than three minutes left. A free throw by reserve Jenni White and a lay-in by Harris cut the margin to one, and Colard then hit a jumper and was fouled. She converted the free throw, giving WWU the lead, and guard Corinn Waltrip made four free throws in the final 30 seconds for the final margin.
Harris was 13 of 16 from the field, helping WWU shoot 51.7 percent (30 of 58) as a team. Forward Trishi Williams added 16 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Vikings, and Waltrip had 10 points
CWU held a 43-34 lead at halftime, and had a 55-46 with 11:30 to go, but the Vikings went on a 15-5 run to take a 61-60 lead with 7:24 remaining.
The two teams combined to shoot just one free throw in the first half, Harris converting a 3-point play 5:08 into the game.
The Vikings now hold an 83-10 series advantage, winning the last 10 meetings and 18 of the last 19.
WESTERN WASHINGTON 79, CENTRAL WASHINGTON 73
WESTERN WASHINGTON (14-2, 8-0 GNAC)
Harris,Britt 28; Williams,Trishi 16; Waltrip,Corinn 10; Colard,Katie 9; White,Jenni 6; Donaldson,Sydney 6; Hill,Sarah 2; Bernsen,Kayla 2; Hathaway,Aleisha 0; Pounds,Marcel 0. Totals 30-58 15-20 79.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (8-8, 3-5 GNAC)
VanDyke,Jessica 22; Parker,Jasmine 13; Stillar,Leslie 12; Burke,Daisy 10; Johnson,Courtney 6; Fettig,Tayler 4; Shine,Hannah 4; Moser,Amber 2; Schmitt,Ally 0. Totals 29-62 9-11 73.
Half: CWU 43, WWU 34
3-point goals--Western Washington 4-15 (Waltrip,Corinn 2-3; White,Jenni 1-1; Williams,Trishi 1-2; Hill,Sarah 0-1; Hathaway,Aleisha 0-1; Pounds,Marcel 0-1; Donaldson,Sydney 0-2; Colard,Katie 0-4), Central Washington 6-16 (VanDyke,Jessica 3-5; Stillar,Leslie 2-3; Burke,Daisy 1-3; Shine,Hannah 0-3; Parker,Jasmine 0-2). Fouled out--Western Washington-None, Central Washington-Stillar,Leslie. Rebounds--Western Washington 33 (Donaldson,Sydney 8), Central Washington 29 (Parker,Jasmine 4; Fettig,Tayler 4). Assists--Western Washington 20 (Williams,Trishi 10), Central Washington 12 (Stillar,Leslie 4). Total fouls--Western Washington 15, Central Washington 20. Technical fouls--Western Washington-None, Central Washington-None. A-802
