BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University freshman forward Katrina Gimmaka scored a career-high 17 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Vikings shot a season-low from the field in a 76-61 loss to in-state rival Central Washington Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings ended the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season with a 5-5 record and are 10-8 overall. Central Washington improved to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play.

The Vikings trailed 19-18 after the first quarter, but CWU out-scored WWU 45-27 in the second and third quarters to pull away for the 15-point victory. WWU shot a season-low 32.8% for the game (19-for-58). Seven of the 19 made shots from 3-point range to tie for the second-most made 3-pointers in a game this season.

Gimmaka (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley) finished with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She also had 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 29 minutes.

Junior forward Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek/Colorado-Colorado Christian) added 12 points and a team-high 8 rebounds and sophomore guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) had 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

Sophomore forward Kassidy Malcolm led Central with a game-high 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting, going 2-for-2 from 3-point range and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She also grabbed a game-high 9 points to fall just short of the double-double. Junior guard Alexis Pana added 14 points (4-for-7 FG) and senior guard Sadie Mensing had 12 points and 4 assists.

CWU shot 42.9% from the field for the game, including 17-for-36 (47.2%) in the second and third quarters where they pulled away from the Vikings.

CENTRAL PULLS AWAY IN THIRD QUARTER

Central Washington out-scored the Vikings 24-14 in the third quarter, extending its lead to 19 points at 64-15 heading into the final quarter. CWU was 9-for-19 from the field in the quarter, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. WWU was just 4-for-16 from the field (25.0%) and were led by the 5 points from Lexie Bland.

A SECOND QUARTER FILLED WITH RUNS

Central Washington used a 13-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 40-31 lead into halftime. After Katrina Gimmaka started the quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 21-19 lead, CWU scored the next 13 points over a three-minute stretch to grab an 11-point lead. Trailing 32-21, WWU went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to one possession at 32-29, but the Wildcats answered with an 8-0 run of their own. WWU was limited to 4-for-18 shooting in the quarter (22.2%) while being out-scored 21-13.

THE OPENING QUARTER

WWU led for most of the first quarter, building a 5-point lead, but CWU hit a buzzer beater to take a 19-18 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. CWU used a 9-3 run late in the quarter to overcome the early lead by the Vikings. Katrina Gimmaka led the Vikings with 7 points on 3-for-4 shooting, with Anna Schwecke also contributing 4 points. The Wildcats were led by 8 points from guard Alexis Pana, including a pair of 3-pointers.