Boxscore

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Forward Megan Pinske had a game-high 18 points and guard Amanda Dunbar added 17, but Western Washington need a strong finish to beat Northwest Nazarene (10-8, 5-5) and keep alive its overall and home winning streaks.

Guard Falissa Smith led the Crusaders with 15 points and forward Megan Hingston had 10 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Chelsie Luke also had 10 for NNU.

Nazarene had a 54-51 lead after a three-pointer by Luke with 5:46 to play.  But the Crusaders did not score again until the final minute and Western ran off 11 straight points to take control of the contest.

Forward Gabby Wade gave the Vikings the lead for good at 55-54 on the second of two free throws with 3:49 left, then a jumper by Pinske and a putback by center Lauren Hefflin on the next two trips up the court put Western up by five at 59-54 with 2:38 to play.

NNU finally reached the board again on a steal and layin by Smith with 49 seconds left, but never got closer than six points in the final two minutes.

The game featured eight ties and six lead changes, and neither team led by more than eight points. 

The Crusaders held a 19-11 advantage midway through the first half, but Western rallied with eight straight points, four of them by guard Corinn Waltrip to tie score, and the Vikings eventually held a 27-25 lead at halftime.

Hefflin had a team-leading 10 rebounds and six steals for Western, which shot just 41.1 percent (23-56 from the field, but limited NNU to 38.7 percent (24-62).  The Crusaders were eight of 20 on treys but just three of 10 on foul shots.