AZUSA, Calif. – Senior forward Hannah Stipanovich tied a season-high with 20 points to lead three Vikings in double-figures scoring but Azusa Pacific claimed an 84-68 victory over the Vikings on Saturday night in a West Region Crossover Classic contest in the Felix Event Center.
Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 16 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Preseason Poll and listed among teams receiving votes in the D2SIDA Preseason Poll, improved to 7-1 with the win. The Vikings, ranked No. 20 in the D2SIDA poll, dropped to 2-2 on the young season.
The Cougars pulled away from a 19-19 tie after the first quarter to lead 45-32 at halftime, and withstood a WWU comeback attempt during the third quarter. The Vikings came within 6 points on two occasions in the third period before Azusa Pacific re-extended the lead each time and pulled away to lead by as many as 19 points during the fourth quarter.
Stipanovich (St. Louis, MO/Clayton/MSU Denver) connected on 7-of-14 attempts from the field and made 6-of-9 free throws for her 20 points, also pulling down 6 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and 3 steals.
Sophomore center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colo. Springs) was two points shy of tying her career high, finishing with 13 points and setting a career high with 11 rebounds, adding 2 blocks as well. Redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda totaled 13 points and 7 rebounds for WWU, both career-bests, while sophomore guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos/Hawai’i Pacific) added 9 points on a trio of 3-pointers.
A back-and-forth first quarter featured six lead changes with six Vikings scoring points in the opening period. The Cougars outscored WWU 26-13 during the second quarter, using a 13-2 spurt to open the period en route to a 45-32 halftime advantage.
Azusa Pacific kept the lead in double digits for the first half of the third quarter before WWU fought back to within 53-47 at the 3:10 mark after a pair of free throws from Castaneda and again cut the deficit to six points on a layup by Stipanovich with 2:37 to play in the period. But the Cougars proceeded to close the quarter on a 13-2 run after Stipanovich’s layup and led 68-51, with the Vikings unable to reduce the deficit to fewer than 12 points during the fourth quarter.
The Vikings were 23-for-55 (41.8%) from the floor, including 4-of-15 (26.7%) from 3-point range. WWU made 18-of-27 (66.7%) of its attempts at the free throw line. The Cougars shot 27-for-64 from the field (42.2%), and hit 14-of 27 (51.9%) from long range while making 16-of-20 (80.0%) free throw attempts.
The Cougars were able to score 36 points off of 26 WWU turnovers during the evening, while the Cougars had 12 turnovers with WWU totaling 6 points off turnovers.
Azusa Pacific guard Abbigail Goodsell led all scorers with 22 points. She was joined in double figures by guard Zoe March with 18 points while guards Rachel Bozlee and Gina Henderson each added 12 points. March also recorded 11 assists to help guide the offense.
Stipanovich was named to the West Region Crossover Classic All-Tournament Team, averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds during WWU’s two games on Friday and Saturday.
After consecutive trips to California to begin the season, WWU returns home for its first official games on WECU Court in Carver Gym next week during the 20th Annual Lynda Goodrich Classic. The Vikings face No. 8/15 Valdosta State next Friday (Nov. 24, 5 pm) before hosting Academy of Art the next day (Nov. 25, 7:30 pm).
West Region Crossover Classic All-Tournament Team
- Jordan McPhee (SPU)
- Courtney Hollander (SPU)
- Dalayna Sampton (UCSD)
- Hannah Stipanovich (WWU)
- Zoe March (APU)
West Region Crossover Classic Game Results
Friday (Nov. 17)
UC San Diego 56, WWU 49
Seattle Pacific 80, Azusa Pacific 60
Saturday (Nov. 18)
Seattle Pacific 65, UC San Diego 59
Azusa Pacific 84, WWU 68
About WWU Basketball:
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in seven of the last eight seasons and 34 times in the 46-year history of the program. WWU has 20 seasons of 20 or more wins under head coach Carmen Dolfo, who is the winningest coach of any sport at WWU and ranks among Division II active and all-time coaching leaders in wins, win percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 16 of 19 seasons at the Division II level with two trips to the Final Four. WWU is a five-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season champion and two-time GNAC Championships tournament champion. The Vikings are coming off a 2016-17 season where the program went 26-6, including an 18-2 record in conference play, and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II West Regional. The program entered the 2017-18 season seven wins shy of 1,000 wins in program history with 993 all-time wins for a .744 winning percentage.
— @WWUWBB —