Box Score


 

NAMPA, Idaho — A determined effort wasn't quite enough to keep the Crusaders unbeaten in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team used a 13-0 run to take a second-half lead, but couldn't hold off Western Washington — ranked No. 24 this week in the Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA — as the Vikings rallied to beat NNU, 86-81 in a GNAC shootout Thursday night at the Johnson Sports Center.

"They're nationally ranked for a reason, they're really tough," NNU head coach Steve Steele said of the Vikings, adding, "…so I'm happy that we battled, but I'm not surprised, we always play hard, we can give anybody a tough game.

"We just have to be more consistent on the defensive side."

The best shooting team in the league, Western Washington maintained its torrid pace of nearly 47 percent by hitting 29-of-61 shots (47.5 percent) in Thursday's battle.

NNU managed to do equally well, shooting 34-of-71 from the field (47.9 percent), keeping pace with the Vikings.

But then, scoring wasn't the problem in the end.

"The offense hasn't been a problem for us this year, we're just giving up too many points," Steele said. "It's hard to beat a good team like Western Washington when you give up 86 points, so we've got to clean up that side of that."

 

Trading baskets over the opening half, the Crusaders (6-5 overall, 4-1 GNAC) erased a 29-19 deficit and trailed just 44-41 at the break after McKenna Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and threw in a putback over her shoulder with her back to the basket as time expired.

NNU kept on charging in the third quarter, limiting the Vikings (10-3, 4-1) to 5-of-16 shooting in the session and holding them scoreless for 4 ½ minutes during a 13-0 Crusader charge.

A run that saw everyone get involved fort NNU as Carly Parker ignited the charge with a bucket before Marina Vallés, Ellie Logan and Collette Gall each tossed in a basket apiece to put the Crusaders on top, 52-51.

Lexi Tubbs then buried a 3-pointer, and Danielle Jardine capped the rally with a putback for a 57-51 lead.

But shutting down the Vikings proved to be a tough task, as Western Washington whittled away at the Crusaders advantage by shooting 57.1 percent (8-of-14) in the fourth quarter, eventually taking the lead for good in the final minute on a Taylor Peacocke bucket.

Logan and Kate Cryderman led a balanced offensive effort for NNU as each scored 13 points, while Cryderman added a team-high seven rebounds.
 

Parker chipped in 12 points, as did Tubbs, and Danielle Jardine had 10 points and six boards for the Crusaders, who look to bounce back from their first league setback on Saturday night when they host Simon Fraser at the Johnson Sports Center at 7 p.m.