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Northwest Nazarene University Athletics

CoCo Gall at Western Washington

NNU women rally but can’t finish off Vikings on the road

| By: Mike Stetson, Sports Information Director
Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Crusaders made a determined comeback only to see their efforts spoiled on the road Thursday night.

Down 16 points in the second half, the Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team battled all the way back to hold a late lead before falling 59-56 at Western Washington on Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"I'm very proud of our effort and fight on the road against the best team in the conference," NNU head women's basketball coach Ryan Bragdon said. "We had our chances
throughout, but couldn't quite get over the hump."

The evening started slowly for the Crusaders (4-7 overall, 2-3 GNAC), who trailed 18-11 at the end of the first quarter, and saw the margin grow to 25-11 early in the second quarter.

The difference grew to 46-30 in favor of the first-place Vikings after a Tia Briggs bucket midway through the third quarter, but NNU kept on battling.
 
6508
Taylor Simmons (20 points)

A Cierra White 3-pointer capped an 11-0 run by the Crusaders to close the quarter, and an Ellie Logan layup to start the fourth made it a one-possession game with NNU trailing just 46-43.

The Crusaders managed to battle all the way back, tying it 51-51 on two Taylor Simmons free throws late in the fourth quarter, then a Logan 3 put NNU briefly on top, ahead 54-51 with a minute and a half to play.

The host Vikings (9-4, 5-0) rallied for seven straight points, though, then weathered a last-second 3-point attempt by NNU to force overtime, spoiling the Crusaders comeback.

"Our free-throw shooting and our poor offensive effort in the first half really hurt us and ended up being the difference," Bragdon said, adding, "but our defense continues to improve, it kept us in the game throughout and put us in position to win."

Simmons led the way, finishing with 20 points, while CoCo Gall added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders, who play at Simon Fraser on Saturday night.

"Taylor played her best all-around game of the season so far, and Cierra (9 points) proved why she's been missed over the past couple of months," Bragdon said. "She brought great energy."
 
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