Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Crusaders gave 25^th-ranked Western Washington a scare, but came up just short in their upset bid Saturday night.

On top early, the Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team also trailed by just a single point in the fourth quarter before falling, 84-73, to the host Vikings in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"A disappointing loss, especially when you see that we beat them in so many statistical categories," NNU head coach Steve Steele said. "Unfortunately, they shot the lights out."

The Vikings shot 26-of-52 from the field and a smoking hot 9-of-14 from beyond the 3-point arc. WWU also added in a 23-of-28 night at the free-throw line, helping the Vikes (19-3 overall, 13-1 GNAC) earn the win.

"The fact that they shot almost three times as many free throws was the difference in the game," Steele said as NNU was 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Western Washington hit 6-of-8 freebies in the final minute to hold NNU (8-12, 6-8) at bay, as an Ellie Logan layup with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left got the Crusaders as close as 74-69 down late.

Another Logan layup with 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter trimmed the Vikings lead to 63-62.

Just an example of the night for the Crusaders, who were close throughout, but just couldn't grab the lead after a 10-5 edge in the opening quarter.

NNU tied the score three times in the second quarter, and only saw the lead grow to double digits early in the second half on an Aleisha Hathaway 3-pointer.

The Crusaders responded with an 8-0 run capped by a Lexi Tubbs 3-ball, but just couldn't grab the lead.

Logan finished with 21 points and four rebounds to lead NNU, which also got 19 points from Tubbs.

"The final score doesn't really tell how close this game was," Steele said.

"I'm really proud of our toughness and effort tonight. We still have to believe we can win those close ones in the fourth quarter," he added.

NNU is back in action at home this week, playing its final two games of the season at the Johnson Sports Center, hosting No. 2-ranked Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. on Thursday, then Alaska at 2 p.m. on Saturday for "Senior Day."