Cal State LA Athletics

BELLINGHAM, WASH. -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team had a glorious opportunity to record a first-ever win over Western Washington, but came up painfully close.

The Golden Eagles had fourth-quarter leads, but Western Washington held on to get the game into overtime and then went on to a hard-earned 76-69 win in the final game of the WWU Veterans Day Classic on the WECU Court at Carver Gym. Cal State LA (1-1) completed an impressive tournament against two of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's premier programs and settled for a split. The Golden Eagles opened the tourney with a win over Seattle Pacific on Friday.

Nicole Flennaugh had a team-high 21 points and a career-high nine assists while playing all 45 minutes. Gabriella Rones had another strong game as well and scored 15 points. Flennaugh and Rones combined to go 9-of-18 from 3-point range with Rones going 5-of-8 and Flennaugh hitting 4-of-10. Donja Payne had 14 points and nine rebounds in an impressive performance as well.

Brooke Walling had a game-high 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for the Vikings (2-0), while Olivia Wikstrom had 14 points.

Cal State LA shot 36.2 percent for the game (25-of-69) and was 10-of-23 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were also a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line. 

Western Washington shot 41 percent for the game (25-of-61) and was 8-of-23 from 3-point range. The Vikings were 18-of-19 from the free-throw line, including 12-of-12 in the fourth quarter and overtime. 

Western Washington had a 42-34 rebounding edge, while Cal State LA committed 18 turnovers to 23 for the Vikings.

There were 10 ties and 14 lead changes in the competitive game.

A layup by Lily Buggs gave the Golden Eagles a 14-12 lead after one quarter and a 3-pointer by Iyanna Lamb pushed the lead to 19-12 early in the second period. Western Washington surged back to take a 26-24 lead, but 3-pointers by Rones and Flennaugh gave the Golden Eagles a 30-26 halftime advantage.

A basket by Amaya Fuentes and a 3-pointer by Rones gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead at 35-26 and a pair of free throws by Payne gave the Golden Eagles a 49-44 heading into the fourth quarter. 

After the Vikings took a 57-55 lead, Rones hit another 3-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 58-57 lead and a basket by Alicia Jones made it 60-57 with 3:15 to go. After the Vikings went ahead again, Flennaugh hit three free throws to give the Golden Eagles a 63-61 lead, but the Vikings tied it with a pair of free throws with 1:51 to go and neither team scored down the stretch.

The Vikings scored the first five points of the overtime period and never looked back.

Cal State LA will play a third top GNAC team on Tuesday at Central Washington.