Women's basketball: Western Washington falls in national semifinals

Despite a game-high 28 points from guard Corinn Waltrip, a splendid season came to an end for Western Washington as the Vikings fell 66-54 to Ashland on Wednesday in a NCAA Division II national tournament semifinal in San Antonio, Texas.

The Vikings (29-4) had their 12-game winning streak snapped. They matched the best finish in program history. The men’s team plays Florida Southern at 3 p.m. PDT Thursday in the quarterfinals in Louisville, Ky.

Ashland (36-1) will face Gannon in the national title Friday.

WWU was hampered by cold shooting, scoring a season-low 54 points and shooting a season-low 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the field. Mabton graduate Trishi Williams, who also attended Columbia Basin, finished with three points.

The Vikings trailed by 10 with 15 minutes left, before using a run of eight consecutive points to close the margin to two, but Ashland responded with a 14-2 run to ice the game.

This story was originally published March 27, 2013 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Women's basketball: Western Washington falls in national semifinals."