BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team officially opens the 2019-20 season this week with a pair of games at the West Region Crossover Classic in Arcata, California.

 

WWU makes its season debut on Friday against Fresno Pacific, with tip-off at 5 pm in Lumberjack Arena. The two-day tournament wraps up Saturday night with the Vikings taking on tournament host Humboldt State at 7 pm.

 

This marks the seventh consecutive season the Vikings open the season with the West Region Crossover Classic, with games against Fresno Pacific and Humboldt State. Dating back to the 2013-14 season Western is 8-4 in the season-opening tournament, going 6-0 vs. Fresno Pacific and 2-4 against Humboldt State. WWU hosted the tournament in Carver Gym last season, falling to HSU 76-66 and defeating FPU 66-65.

 

The Vikings open the season listed No. 2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the D2SIDA West Region Media Poll. WWU was 17-13 overall last season and advanced to the semifinal round of the GNAC Championships after going 11-9 in league play. 

 

WWU returns nearly its entire roster from a year ago, with five starters back after making 15 or more starts last season. Senior guard Lexie Bland and senior center Anna Schwecke join junior forward Kelsey Rogers as GNAC Preseason All-Conference selections. 

 

Overall, the Vikings return 97.1 percent of their offense (1924 out of 1981 points) and 94.7 percent of the rebounds (1120 out of 1182) from last season. WWU was the top rebounding team in the GNAC last season averaging 39.4 rebounds per game and limited opponents to a league-low 38.0 field goal percentage.

 

WWU will be part of the season-opening West Region Crossover Classic hosted by Humboldt State University in Lumberjack Arena in Arcata, California. Here is a look at the tournament schedule with links to the pay-per-view webcast ($10) and live stats:

 

 

WWU continues on the road to open the season with another West Region Crossover Classic with games against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents. The Vikings will travel to Azusa, California for games against No. 6 UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 15 (5:30 pm) and No. 4 and tournament host Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 16 (8 pm).

 

WWU is scheduled to play 12 home games on WECU Court in Carver Gym this season, beginning with games November 22-23 hosting Western Colorado and Colorado-Colorado Springs with 7 pm games. The Vikings are 477-90 (.841) all-time in Carver Gym, including a 283-57 record (.832) under 29^th-year head coach Carmen Dolfo.
 

Senior guard Lexie Bland, senior center Anna Schwecke and junior forward Kelsey Rogers were selected to the 15-player Preseason All-GNAC team that was voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches. WWU led the GNAC with three selections to the preseason team.

 

Bland (Ellensburg, WA) was an Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection in 2018-19, averaging 9.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. She is Western's most experienced player appearing in 83 career games with the Vikings, including 56 starts. 

 

Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Clear Creek) was a second-team All-GNAC selection a year ago averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Schwecke led the conference with a .566 field goal percentage last season (141-for-249), and was also listed among the GNAC leaders in blocked shots (5^th, 1.1/game), rebounding (5^th), scoring average (17^th) and tied for fifth with six double-doubles.

 

Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) is coming off a solid sophomore season in which she averaged a team-high 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Rogers scored in double-digits in 19 of 30 games, including five 20-point games.

 

 

Here is a look at the 2019-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, with the Vikings picked to finish 2nd in the conference. The Vikings received 107 points, including three first-place votes, to finish two points behind conference preseason favorite and in-state rival Central Washington (109 points, 5 first-place votes). Alaska Anchorage is listed 3rd with 104 points (3 first-place votes) to round out a close vote of the top three teams in the preseason coaches poll.

 

 

The Vikings debuted in the D2SIDA West Region Poll at No. 4, one of four GNAC schools in the preseason regional rankings. The Women's Basketball Division II West Region Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA, is in its sixth year of existence. The regional poll will be released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday. WWU received votes in the preseason national poll.

 

 

Fans can watch games this weekend from Lumberjack Arena via live webcast with a $10 charge for each game. Live statistical updates will also be available free of charge. Be sure to bookmarkWWUVikings.com/WBB_Watch and WWUVikings.com/WBB_Stats for direct links to each game for the webcast and live stats.

 

All of WWU's home games will stream live online with links available via WWUVikings.com/Live. All conference games can be followed via webcast and live stats at GNAC.tv. All WWU home games in Carver Gym will feature an HD webcast that will simulcast on GNAC.tv and WWU's YouTube channel. 

 

Fans can watch all WWU home games, most GNAC road games, and a handful of non-conference road games not only on their phone, computer or tablet, but also on a big-screen television. All games that stream on GNAC.tv are also easily viewed on Roku players, AppleTV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV (just search for GNAC). WWU's home games also stream on YouTube for a great viewing experience with rewind capability. 

 

 

Tickets for all of WWU's home game can be purchased online in advance by visitingWWUVikings.com/WBB_Tickets. The box office in Carver Gym will also open one hour prior to tip-off for each home game.

 

The Vikings completed the 2018-19 season with a 17-13 overall record and tied for 5th in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 11-9 league mark…advanced to the GNAC Championships Semifinal as the No. 6 seed, defeating No. 3 seed Simon Fraser for the third time during the season…fell to eventual tournament champion Northwest Nazarene in the semifinal in the event hosted in Carver Gym…returned to the postseason after missing the GNAC Championships for the first time in 2017-18…marked 45th postseason appearance for the program in the 48-year history of WWU Women's Basketball…opened the season 8-3 to earn a top 10 West Region ranking, including a 77-74 overtime victory over eventual regional champion Azusa Pacific (Lexie Bland 3-point buzzer beater)…recorded 24th winning season over the last 26 years dating back to 1993-94…went 11-7 inside Carver Gym, 5-5 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games…had three players earn All-GNAC honors, including second-team selection Anna Schwecke and honorable mention picks Lexie Bland and Kelsey Rogers…played a majority of the season without starting guard Dani Iwami (12.1 ppg, 4.7 apg), who played in only eight games before being sidelined with a season-ending injury (utilized medical redshirt season)…three players earned GNAC All-Academic honors, including two-time honoree Bland…the program returns all but one player from the 2018-19 season with senior Bobbi Westendorf (17 G/3 GS) the only departing player due to graduation…season-high 5-game winning streak (Nov. 17-Dec. 1)…completed the season winning seven of the last 11 games, including 3-game winning streak leading up to GNAC semifinal defeat vs. NNU.

 

WWU added 17 more wins to the program total going 17-13 last season, and is now at 1,022 in the 48 years of program history. The Vikings have recorded a winning season in 45 of the 48 seasons and the program is one of less than 20 at all levels of the NCAA to record 1,000 all-time victories, combining to go 1022-371 (.734) all-time. WWU recorded the historic 1,000^th win on Jan. 13, 2018 with a 69-58 victory over Saint Martin's.

 

WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo begins her 29^th season leading the program and is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA women's basketball history. She owns an all-time record of 590-236 for a .714 winning percentage and is 10 wins short of becoming the seventh coach in NCAA Division II history to reach the 600-win milestone. She became the winningest coach in Western Washington history when she collected victory No. 519 on Dec. 3, 2015 vs. Alaska Fairbanks to pass former men's basketball coach Brad Jackson (518-279). Coach Dolfo ranks amongst NCAA coaching leaders in several categories (rankings and records below are entering 2019-20 season):

 

»      Winningest Active Coaches (All-Divisions): 36th (590-236/.714)

»      Winningest Active Coaches (Division II): 8th (by wins), 16th (by pct.)

»      Winningest All-Time Coaches (Division II): 17th (by wins), 27th (by pct.)

»      Most 20-Win Seasons (Division II): T-8th (20)

Head coach Carmen Dolfo enters her 29th season leading the program, amassing 20 seasons of 20-or-more wins and a career record of 590-236 for a .714 winning percentage. The 2019-20 coaching staff includes eighth-year head assistant coach Stacey Turrell, along with graduate and student assistants Kayla Bernsen and Zach Phelps.

 

More information on WWU Basketball can be found online at WWUVikings.com/WBB and via social media on Twitter (@WWUBasketball), Instagram (@wwu.basketball) and Facebook (@WWUwomensbball).

 

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in seven of the last 11 seasons, and 34 times in the 48-year history of the program. WWU has 20 seasons of 20 or more wins under head coach Carmen Dolfo, who is the winningest coach of any sport at WWU and ranks among Division II active and all-time coaching leaders in wins, win percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 16 of 21 seasons at the Division II level with two trips to the Final Four. The program has 1,022 all-time wins in the 48-year history of the program, and according to available records, is one of just 16 women's college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the milestone.