Six Vikings scored in double figures and Western Washington University women’s basketball posted a season-high scoring effort in a 100-75 home win over rival Central Washington on Thursday, Jan. 11.
Senior post Brooke Walling led Western (11-3, 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, adding 12 rebounds and five assists. The Vikings’ 100 points were the most the team has scored since Dec. 31, 2022 — a 101-57 win over Alaska Fairbanks.
Western held the Wildcats’ dynamic, GNAC-leading guard pair of sophomore Asher Cai and junior Sunny Huerta to a combined 15 points in the win on 3-of-26 shooting. Entering the game, Cai (20.6 points per game) led the league in scoring, while Huerta (20.3) was second.
Central Washington (12-5, 3-2 GNAC) kept the game close in the first half, sending the contest to halftime tied at 35-35. The Vikings ignited their scoring in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 65-40.
Junior guard Riley Dykstra finished with 15 points for the Vikings and senior guard Stephanie Peterson dished out a team-high eight assists.
Freshman guard Demi Dykstra, a Lynden Christian alum, as well as juniors Maddy Grandbois, Aspen Garrison and Olivia Wikstrom each scored 14 points for Western. Wikstrom also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Freshman Annalee Coronado led Central Washington with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while freshman Capri Sims (13 points), sophomore Riley Johnson (12) and junior Malia Smith (11) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
The win moved Western into second place in the GNAC, trailing only Montana State Billings (13-3, 4-0 GNAC).
Western’s next game will be a home contest versus Northwest Nazarene (6-6, 3-2 GNAC) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13.
