BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Women's basketball was first played at Western Washington University in the early 1900s with competition on campus between classes.
 
Originally, to keep the game "acceptable" for women to play, the court had been divided into three areas with nine players per team. Three players were assigned to each area and could not cross over to another.
 
Over the years, that evolved to two areas and fewer players on the court, with a couple being allowed to go anywhere on the court. But they were still limited to just three dribbles.
 
Intercollegiate play did not take place until the mid-1960s, and the "modern" era of women's basketball began in 1971 when four major events happened within months of one another.
 
First, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was formed nationally.

 The AIAW was a key contributor to the advancement of women's athletics at the collegiate level. It began with 280 member schools and at its peak numbered almost 1,000.
 
Second, the Western men's and women's physical education departments merged and Dr. Margaret Aitken was named chair. She felt strongly that women's athletics should have equal footing with the men and that thinking resulted in significant changes.
 
With this happening a year before the United States Congress passed Title IX of the Educational Amendments, Western became a go-to destination for women athletes. Thus, the school got a head start that put it well ahead of the curve for a decade.
 
Third, dramatic rule changes were introduced into women's collegiate basketball as the five player, full court game was adopted. No longer was it felt that a woman's reproductive system would burst from excessive physical activity.
 
And fourth, Lynda Goodrich opted to return to Western to do graduate work after she was given permission to coach as well. She had taught and coached the last five years at West Seattle High School and had competed on AAU teams during that time, which played by the "men's" rules.

 

Goodrich is Pioneer
 
Goodrich grew up at a time when opportunities for women were limited. She became one of the legendary figures in pioneering a new era of women's athletics.
 
Goodrich directed the Vikings to a 19-1 record during her first season as basketball coach in 1971-72. Their only loss came to Washington State in the regional championship game.
 
In 1972-73, Goodrich's Vikings had a 24-game winning streak, capturing the regional title with a dramatic 48-46 victory over Washington State before nearly 1,500 fans at Carver Gym, an incredible turnout at the time. Previously, the Western women had played all of their home games in Gym D, the main floor of the Physical Education Building that was built in the mid-1930s. After the victory over WSU, they never again played in what was called the "Women's Gym."
 

Having qualified for the AIAW National Tournament, money was raised through car washes and cookie sales for the team to attend the event held in Flushing, New York. There Western defeated East Carolina, 55-51, before losing 66-53 to Immaculata of Pennsylvania, coached by Cathy Rush. The Mighty Macs, later immortalized in a movie of the same name, went on to win the second of three straight national championships.
 
Western made a second straight trip to nationals in 1973-74, finishing 22-5. The Vikings edged Washington State, 39-37, in the regional final, and defeated East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 69-58, before losing to Cal State Fullerton and Indiana, the latter foe by just six points.
 
Those teams were led by Wendy Hawley, Kathy Hemion and Theresa Nafziger.
 
Following a two-year absence, Western, paced by Joni Slagle, Keri Worley, Jan Johnston and Tamalyn Nigretto, returned to nationals in 1976-77, as it edged Boise State, 76-68, at Boise, Idaho, in the regional title game. The win completed an astonishing turnaround. Earlier in the season, the Vikings had lost to those same Broncos, 60-32, at Carver Gym.
 
At nationals, with their games being broadcast for the first time on local radio, Western lost to Louisiana State, led by two members of the Australian National team, and St. Joseph's of Pennsylvania.
 
Gap between bigger and smaller programs widens
 
The gap between the bigger and smaller collegiate programs was widening. Nevertheless, Western opted to compete against the top schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho as a member of the Northwest Women's Basketball League during the late 1970s and later the Northwest Empire League in the very early 1980s.
 

A big reason the Vikings were able to hold their own was six-foot forward Jo Metzger, who was recruited by Western just prior to scholarships being offered in women's basketball throughout the northwest. Metzger was twice among 30 finalists for the Wade Trophy, awarded each year to the top player at all levels of collegiate women's basketball. Metzger scored 1,990 career points, still the school record, and was named to the NAIA National Hall of Fame.
 
In 1979-80, Western showed its continued parity with top-tier competition, going 24-3, placing first at 12-0 in league play and reaching the championship game at regionals.
 
Overall, during its 12 seasons in the AIAW, Western won 75.5 percent of its games, with a 222-72 win-loss record. The Vikings won three regional titles and placed among the top three at regionals seven times, and Goodrich was twice a national coach of the year finalist.
 
Western joins NAIA
 
In 1982, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) began sponsoring women's basketball and a year later the AIAW folded.
 
Western joined the NAIA for women's sports prior to the 1982-83 season and over the next nine years with Goodrich on the sidelines the Viking hoopsters prevailed in three district playoffs and were runner-up in four others.
 
In 1984, the NCAA introduced the first women's basketball in 1984 which was one inch smaller than a regulation men's ball. The woman's ball was 28.5 compared to the 29.5 men's ball.
 
The Vikings got to the Area I playoff that first year in the NAIA with players like Lori deKubber, Cindy Pancerzewski and Anne Cooper, but were denied a trip to nationals with a 77-67 loss to Biola of California. On that Eagles' team was a talented freshman from Penticton, B.C., by the name of Carmen Dolfo.
 
Three years later, with Dolfo now playing for Western, the Vikings reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA national tourney. They defeated Gonzaga in the best two out of three-game district playoffs, winning the third and deciding game, 70-69, on an 18-foot jump shot by Lynda Dart in the final seconds. Western then crushed Portland, 84-55, in the Bi-District contest for a trip to nationals.
 
Later, in another district playoff game at Gonzaga, a member of the Bulldog baseball team tugged on the shorts of the Vikings' Lori deKubber while she was inbounding the ball from the sideline. Unbelievably, the officials did not make a call.
 
After nearly getting to nationals in 1987-88, Western did so in 1988-89, again reaching the quarterfinals and finishing 30-5, the first 30-win season in school history, with Anna Rabel, Alayna Keppler and Kerri Browitt leading the way. Dolfo takes reins from Goodrich
 
Following the 1989-90 campaign, Goodrich stepped down from coaching to concentrate on her duties as director of athletics at Western. Her record over 19 seasons was 411wins against just 125 losses, a winning percentage of 76.7. Goodrich continued as AD for 26 years, the Vikings winning nine national titles. She is regarded as the most iconic figure in Western athletics history, being named to five hall of fames.
 

Taking over the women's basketball program from Goodrich was Carmen Dolfo, who had served as Goodrich's assistant for four seasons.
 Dolfo became the first person in program history and one of just two overall to represent WWU in national tournament competition as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She has been a part of 711 victories in those three roles.
 
Having already been to nationals as a player and assistant coach, Dolfo completed the hat trick as head coach in 1995-96 when the Vikings reached the quarterfinals at the NAIA Division I National Tournament.
 
They defeated Northwestern Oklahoma, 70-67 in overtime, to open the tourney at Jackson, Tennessee, with 5-foot-10 Addy Johnson playing center during the extra period after all of Western's post-players had fouled out. Western beat Montevallo before losing to eventual champion and host Union University. The Vikings, who finished 26-7, were led by All-America center Gina Sampson.
 
Two years later, the 1997-98 Vikings were again at nationals, their fourth as a member of the NAIA, losing by just seven points to eventual semifinalist Findlay of Ohio, in the tourney opener.
 
WWU joins NCAA II
 

In the summer of 1998, Western completed its three years as a provisional member and joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a full member of Division II.
 In 1999-2000, the Vikings enjoyed an incredible 27-4 campaign, reaching the NCAA II Elite Eight where they beat Slippery Rock, 84-67, in the quarterfinals before being edged 80-74 by eventual champion Northern Kentucky in the semifinals. Nineteen of their 27 wins were by 14 or more points with post-player Celeste Hill and guard Amanda Olsen pacing the team.
 
In 2003-04, Dolfo took a one-year leave of absence for family reasons. Her top assistant, Sara Nichols (now Chabai), directed the team that season, the Vikings having a 21-8 record and reaching the regional semifinals.
 
In 2012-13, Western got to the national semifinals, the best post-season finish in school history, and finished 29-4 behind the play of Britt Harris, Corinn Waltrip and Trishi Williams. Early in that campaign, team member Erika Ramstead lost her father to cancer. How the team rallied around their teammate was an incredible story in itself.
 
Goodrich's stand
 

Had it not been for a difficult decision made by Goodrich in her AD role, the Vikings might not have won the regional title and reached the national semifinals that season.
 
Both the WWU men's and women's teams were having outstanding campaigns and were the top seeds in their respective regional polls. But the NCAA rule at the time stated that the same school could not host both. That made for an impossible decision for Goodrich, who decided to go with a coin flip to see which program would host. Dolfo called tails and that's what showed when the coin was uncovered.
 
Goodrich then called the NCAA and said that WWU would host the women's regional. That totally flabbergasted the NCAA, which assumed the school would opt to host the men's regional, especially since WWU was the defending national champion in that sport. Goodrich went on to state that the Vikings could host both regionals if allowed.
 
On the day that the regional tournament announcements were made, the brackets on the NCAA website had Western playing host to the women's tournament, but no school as host of the men. Everyone was wondering what was going on.
 
But a little while later, the NCAA reached a decision that Western would host both regionals. Goodrich had made a bold stand and the NCAA blinked.
 
Viking success as member of NCAA II
 
Despite playing her last two years at the Whatcom College Pavilion while Carver Gym was being renovated, guard Taylor Peacocke scored 745 points as a senior in 2016-17, setting the WWU record for a season and leading all of NCAA II with a 23.3 points per game average.
 
During their first 20 years as a NCAA member, the Vikings have advanced to regionals 16 times, reaching the semifinals 10 times. Besides their titles in 2000 and 2013, they also reached the regional final in 2002 on a well-balanced 24-5 team that included point guard Jodie Kaczor and forward Stacey Miller. By the numbers
 
Dolfo, whose 2016-17 team finished 26-6 and reached the regional semifinals, has been Western's coach for the last 27 seasons, with a 72.0 winning percentage and an overall record of 573-223. Her teams have won 20 or more games 21 times and have been to post-season play on 24 occasions.
 
Overall, Western has 1005 victories (356 losses), being one of just 16 schools nationally at all levels to achieve the 1,000-win plateau.

 
Averaging 21.4 wins during the 47-year history of the program, the Vikings have a winning percentage of 73.8 with 43 post-season trips and 35 20-win seasons and no less than 23 winning streaks of 10 or more games, with just three losing seasons.
 
Also, in 43 years at Carver Gym, the Vikings are 466 and 83, a winning percentage of 84.9. They won 29 straight games on that floor in the mid-1980s.

Astounding numbers!
 
Consistency virtually unmatched!
 
That is Western Washington University women's basketball.
 
Celebrating A Lasting Legacy!
 
Presented by Paul Madison who served 48 years as sports information director at WWU from 1966 to 2015. He is beginning his fourth year as the school's Athletics Historian.

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Here are the three videos that ran during the evening:
       

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