Callie Gronning scores 14 in Lady Vikes loss to Walla Walla
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldBig Bend sophomore Sunnie Martinez (1) drives to the basket against Walla Walla during the second quarter of Saturday's NWAC East game at DeVries Activity Center.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldBig Bend post Kelsey Foster (25) reaches for a rebound against Walla Walla's Taylor Turner (24) during the second quarter of Saturday's NWAC East game at DeVries Activity Center.
MOSES LAKE — Callie Gronning finished with a team-high 14 points, but the Big Bend women were no match for the Walla Walla Warriors, who shot 60.2 percent from the floor in the first half, to win running away 91-62 Saturday afternoon at DeVries Activity Center.
Walla Walla Community College (15-1, 3-0 NWAC East ) rolled into town with just the one loss and turned up the heat from the get-go, scoring 24 points in the second quarter and roaring out to a 46-25 lead at the intermission. The Lady Vikes (12-5, 1-3 NWAC East) were a step too slow all afternoon and spent the day chasing and fetching.
Cierra Jo McKeown scored 11 of her 21 points in the first half to lead the Warriors. Teresa Acock had five 3-point goals en route to 19 points and Jade Skidmore added 18.
The Lady Vikes didn’t back down, but they sure didn’t have an answer for the high-flying Warriors, who led by 30 most of the second half.
“Walla Walla had the momentum right from the get-go. We fought back, but they fought back just as hard,” said Gronning, who had 10 of her 14 points in the first half. “We gave them a lot of open shots today. We’d drain a big 3 and then we’d let them come down and score and lose that momentum.
“Moving forward, we have to improve our defense a lot. Defense is all about heart and effort and that’s something we can control.”
There was just no way to dent the Warrior armor.
“We should have come out stronger with more fight in us at the beginning of the game,” said Miranda Johnson, a 5-foot-8 freshman from Salt Lake City. “They played with a little more fire in the second half, but we need to get back to what we do best, which is shooting, taking care of the ball and making free throws. If we keep working on the little things, everything else will come.”
Big Bend hosts North Idaho College on Monday. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
Walla Walla 20 24 29 18 - 91
Big Bend 12 13 19 18 - 62
Walla Walla - Cierra McKeown 21, Teresa Acock 19, Jade Skidmore 18, Kortney Hutchison 11, Blair Radford 2, McKenzie Gunter 2, Taylor Turner 6, Malorie Bowen 2, K. Denton 2, Adrianna Peralez 6.
Big Bend - Sunni Martinez 12, Hailey Garrity 6, Emily Allan 5, Leah Dougherty 10, Miranda Johnson 9, Callie Gronning 14, Kelsey Foster 6.