BELLINGHAM, Wash – Western Washington University junior center Anna Schwecke recorded a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, but it was not enough as the Vikings dropped their 2018-19 season opener 76-66 to Humboldt State Friday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings are hosting the West Region Crossover Classic, with Humboldt State, Fresno Pacific and Seattle Pacific playing in the four-team, two-day tournament in Bellingham. Fresno Pacific defeated Seattle Pacific 80-69 in the first game on Friday, led by 32 points from FPU sophomore guard Jessica Malazarte.
WWU fell behind 20-14 in the first quarter, and couldn’t catch up to Humboldt State the rest of the way. The Vikings trailed 37-22 at the half and were able to close the gap to 6 points late in the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback.
Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Springs) recorded her fifth career double-double, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos/Hawai’i Pacific) was held scoreless in the first half on 0-for-7 shooting, but caught fire in the second half to score all 17 of her points. She fueled the fourth-quarter comeback attempt scoring 13 points in the final 10 minute of the contest on 5-for-11 shooting. Overall, the preseason All-GNAC selection was 6-for-22 from the field and 3-for-13 on her 3-pointer attempts.
Junior guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and was 1-for-3 from 3-point range.
The Vikings shot 35.3% from the field (24-for-68), were 4-for-21 from 3-point range (19.0%) and shot 82.4% from the free throw line (14-for-17).
Humboldt State was led by a game-high 22 points from junior Alexia Thrower on 8-for-16 shooting. The Las Vegas native and junior college transfer from Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen also had 10 rebounds to record the double-double.
The Vikings close out the opening weekend of the 2018-19 season facing Fresno Pacific (1-0) Saturday night at 7:30 pm in the final game of the West Region Crossover Classic. Seattle Pacific and Humboldt State tip-off at 5 pm in the first game on Saturday, with both games played on WECU Court in Carver Gym.