May 24, 2004

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Guts. Drive. Determination.

Those were the hallmarks of the 2003-04 Western Washington University women's basketball season.

The Vikings battled through injuries and other adversity, at one point having just seven "healthy" players available, but still posted a 21-8 record, finishing second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 13-5 mark and reaching the semifinals at the West Regional of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

"When the season ended, it was so emotional, because the girls had been committed 150 percent to every step along the way," said Western coach Sara Nichols, who served in an interim capacity while Carmen Dolfo took a one-year leave of absence. "Every time a door closed, they found a window to open."

Led by two seniors - forward Tessa DeBoer (Lynden/Lynden Christian) and center Jenn McGillivray (Salem, OR/South Salem) - both of whom were four-year letter winners who placed themselves high among school career leaders in scoring, the Vikings found their way to a seventh consecutive berth in the West Regional and 10th 20-win season in 11 years.

"Throughout the whole team and coaching staff, we knew we weren't going to quit," said Nichols, who was a four-year letter winner for the Vikings and spent three years as an assistant prior to this season. "If we lost, we were going to lose fighting, and we'd walk off the floor together with our heads held high."

DeBoer earned first-team all-GNAC and second-team all-West Region honors, leading the Vikings in scoring (15.5), rebounding (7.1) and field-goal percentage (157-of-286, 54.9 percent), ranking sixth in the conference in scoring, ninth in rebounding and second in field-goal percentage. In her final collegiate game, she had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Vikings fell to nationally No.1-ranked Seattle Pacific, 80-66, in the regional semifinals.

DeBoer's performance at regionals earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

"Tessa was a force in so many ways," Nichols said. "She was our emotional leader, our rebounding and scoring leader, and she was our go-to person at the end of games. The thing I really admire about her is that she was so consistent."

McGillivray was a second-team all-conference pick, averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, and shooting 78.9 percent at the free throw line (101-of-128).

"Jenn had an incredible four years," said Nichols. "She had a huge heart and wanted to win so bad. In the final game, she was still battling with three seconds left."

McGillivray finished her career fifth in school history in scoring with 1,432 points. DeBoer ended up 13th in career scoring with 1,134 points.

Western started the year with 10 players, but in early January lost junior guard Kelly Colard (Elma) and freshman center Krystal Robinson (Kent/Kentridge) to season-ending knee injuries suffered the same night. A week later, junior forward Tina Donahue (Stanwood) suffered a foot injury six minutes into a game with Seattle U., and the Vikings were down to seven players, although Donahue returned the following game and the addition of sophomore guard Dachelle Davis (Yakima/West Valley) put the squad back up to nine.

"I've never experienced a season like this - at times we were down to five people practicing," Nichols said. "It's hard to build intensity with that happening. Sometimes you just had to laugh at it all.

"I came to see it as an opportunity to be creative. For a first-year coach, that's a neat situation."

Colard averaged 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and a team-best 4.3 assists. Robinson averaged 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 blocks, which would have ranked second in the GNAC had she played enough games.

But the Vikings overcame the losses admirably. One factor was the play of junior guard-forward Jodi Gerald (Puyallup/Cascade Christian). For the season, she averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, but that masked the explosion that occurred when other players went down.

After averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds through the first 15 games, she upped those averages to 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds over the last 14 contests, scoring in double figures 12 times and grabbing double-digit boards four times in that stretch. Gerald shot 89.8 percent on free throws (44-of-49), hitting 16 of her last 17 attempts.

"Since she came here as a freshman, Jodi has probably spent more time on her shooting and in the weight room than anybody I've ever seen," Nichols said. "Losing Kelly was a devastating loss, but I knew Jodi could step in and fly with that role."

The other double-figure scorer was Donahue, who averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. She had a career-high 21 points in an 85-71 victory over Sonoma State in the opening round of the West Regional.

"I can't believe some of the moves Tina makes," Nichols said. "She matured this year. She learned to be accountable and how to lead."

Completing the starting lineup was sophomore guard Samantha Hubbard (Carbonado/White River), who started all 29 games, as did DeBoer, McGillivray and Donahue. Hubbard was Western's primary ballhandler and contributed 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

The big gun off the bench was freshman guard Devin Dykstra (Sumas/Nooksack Valley), who averaged 6.5 points, scoring in double figures eight times.

"You couldn't pick two other players with the heart and hustle Sam and Devin have," said Nichols.

Sophomore center Stephanie Dressel (Gig Harbor) and junior forward Piper Nims (Seattle/Roosevelt) provided frontline depth for the Vikings. Dressel, who was slowed by a stress fracture in her foot, averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds. Nims averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds, shooting 91.3 percent on free throws (21-of-23).

Completing the active roster was Davis, who averaged 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in the final eight games.

The Vikings connected on a school-record 73.5 percent (468-of-637) of their free throws, hitting 79.1 percent (121-of-153) over the last seven games of the season; and were 29th nationally in rebound margin (plus 6.6).

On Jan. 17, Western achieved a milestone accomplished by just 14 other schools in all divisions of the NCAA, winning for the 700th time in its storied history (finished season with 709).

For all the accomplishments, Nichols said there was still a sense of unfinished business to the season.

"When you look at all the injuries and our youth, to get to the round of 32 nationally is incredible," said Nichols. "Twenty wins was a great accomplishment, too. But we do expect to get to regionals, and our wins still left us second in the conference. Second isn't fun, and we're still focused on getting better."