LA JOLLA, Calif. - Scoring runs were in abundance during Friday evening's contest in which the No. 4-seed Western Washington bested No. 5-seed Cal State Monterey Bay, 65-58, in a shooting showcase at RIMAC Arena.
WWU improved to 22-7 and will advance to play the winner of tonight's 7:30 p.m. game between No. 1-seed UC San Diego and No. 8-seed Chico State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CSUMB ends its season with an overall record of 21-9.
"It seemed like we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win," said Vikings head coach Carmen Dolfo. "I felt Monterey came out with nothing to lose, and I thought they really got into us defensively more than they did the first half. We really had a hard time stopping 22, and we didn't make adjustments fast enough. I think they played a great second half, and we were lucky to hit the shots when we needed to."
WWU junior guard Corinn Waltrip scored a share of the game-high 15 points to go along with a rebound and two assists. CSUMB junior guard Jessica Fontenette also scored 15 points in addition to four rebounds, six assists and a game-high five steals.
Facing a 36-22 deficit at the half, the Otters opened the second half with Fontenette's layup 12 seconds into the half.
Throughout most of the second half, the Otters chipped away at the Vikings' lead. The Otters finally tied the game, 50-50, on Fontenette's layup with 9:50 left to play. It was not until the 7:16 mark that junior forward Brittani Jefferson sunk both of her free throws to give the Otters a 54-52 lead, their first since the early minutes of the opening half.
Over the next seven minutes, the teams tied twice and the lead changed hands five times. The last lead change occurred with 2:35 remaining on Waltrip's layup, which gave the Vikings a one-point, 59-58 lead. The game ended with the Vikings on a 6-0 run, capped off by Waltrip's successful trip to the charity stripe with 15 seconds left in the game.
"This is one of the youngest teams I've been on," said WWU senior forward Kristin Schramm. "Even though we had our doubts in the second half, we found a way to win."
A jumper from senior forward Shonetta Crain-Williams got the Otters' offense on the board off the opening tip 14 seconds into the game. But the Vikings responded on the next possession 18 seconds later, tying the game with senior forward Kristin Schramm's jumper.
Following a layup from junior center Britt Harris, the Vikings went on an 8-0 run which lasted more than four minutes. Once CSUMB ended its scoring drought, the Otters trimmed the lead to one, down 12-11, as part of a 7-0 run. The run was capped off by junior forward Brittani Jefferson's jumper at the 12:25 mark.
Later in the half, the Vikings regained their composure and ended the half with Harris' buzzer-beating layup to give WWU a 6-0 run and a 14-point, 36-22 halftime lead, the Vikings' largest of the game.
The Vikings were solid from the field in the first half, nailing 14 of 28 (50 percent), and making 18 points in the paint to the Otters' 12. They also outrebounded the Otters, 23-17. Schramm scored nine points in the opening half to lead all scorers.
"We came out really flat in the first half," said CSUMB head coach Renee Jimenez. "We pride ourselves on being one of the best defenses in the country. We had a big hole to climb out of. I thought it took a lot out of us and then we lost Brandi Stephens [who has] probably a broken foot. To lose a starter in an NCAA-Tournament game whose already playing on a torn meniscus, that's a blow."
Dolfo said the Vikings have lost to both UC San Diego and Chico State in the regular season but hopes that putting an emphasis on her team's positive aspects will yield the Vikings a win on Saturday.
"We've got to focus on our strengths," Dolfo said.
