BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a back-and-forth first half, No. 24 Western Washington (fifth seed) pulled away in the third quarter and held on to knock off top-seeded University of North Georgia women, 74-68, on Wednesday at the Birmingham Sportsplex.
The Nighthawks (29-4) built their largest lead, 19-11, off a Caroline Martin bucket with 3:29 to go in the first quarter, but the Vikings went on an 8-1 run to shave the Knighthawks' lead to one, 20-19, with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The second quarter saw seven ties and six lead changes, with the Knighthawks grabbing the lead at the half off two free throws from Lacie McCoy, 38-37.
The second half was where it all went awry for UNG. Western Washington went on a 9-2 spurt, led by Emma Duff, to take a 48-40 lead midway through the third. The Knighthawks climbed back within three, 54-51, with 32 seconds left off a Julianne Sutton 3-point play in the third quarter. However, Brooke Walling added the Vikings' final score on a layup with seconds remaining to go up, 56-51.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings extended their lead to 11 points on a Walling layup with five minutes remaining. UNG had seven turnovers in the quarter and went scoreless the first two minutes of the final period.
UNG shot just 8-for-29 in the second half.
North Forsyth's Caroline Martin led the Knighthawks with a game-high 28 points and was 15-of-18 from the foul line. Flowery Branch's Sutton ended her career at UNG with 18 points.
Walling led the Vikings with 19 points.
