BILLINGS, Mont. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 76-72 road victory over Montana State Billings Thursday evening inside Alterowitz Gym.

The Vikings recorded their 35^th 20-win season in the 49-year history of the program, and 21^st in 29 seasons under head coach Carmen Dolfo, capping the regular season winning four of their last five games. WWU will head into the GNAC Championships as the No. 3 seed going 20-8 overall and 14-6 in GNAC play during the regular season.

WWU prevailed in a game that featured 16 lead changes and 11 tie scores, but out-scored MSUB 21-16 for the difference in the four-point victory. WWU finished a grueling stretch of games to end the regular season going 3-1 with four games in eight days, with games played in Alaska, Washington and Montana.

"I am extremely proud of how the team battled through this tough stretch of games to end the regular season as I know they are exhausted," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo. "I thought we did a pretty good job against their perimeter players and were mentally focused in a back-and-forth game. This was a good test for us heading into the postseason, but a great team win."

Junior guard Emma Duff led all players with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting to record her third 20-point performance of the season. Coming off a 18-point, 15-rebound double-double on Tuesday vs. Simon Fraser, Duff capped her week with a game-high in scoring also adding 9 rebounds and a pair of steals.

Freshman post Carley Zaragoza added 13 points in 18 minutes of action and senior center Anna Schwecke reached double-digits in scoring for the 20^th time in 28 games adding 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

The Vikings shot 50.0% for the game, connecting on 28-of-56 shots, and were 4-for-10 from 3-point range. After starting 1-for-6 from beyond the arc, Western finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. WWU also out-scored MSUB 44-34 in the paint, out-rebounded the 'Jackets 36-29 and were 16-for-20 from the free throw line.

MSUB (14-14) dipped to below .500 in GNAC play at 9-10, but remain in postseason contention tied for 6^th in the conference standings. The Yellowjackets were 8-for-15 from 3-point range and overall shot 48.3% (29-for-60). Taryn Shelley led four MSUB players in double-figure scoring with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting, and Danielle Zahn came off the bench to contribute 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting in 20 minutes. MSUB scored 28 points off 14 WWU turnovers.

The Vikings completed the back-and-forth game out-scoring the Yellowjackets 21-16 in the final quarter to reach the 20-win season for the season. Kelsey Rogers, Anna Schwecke and Carley Zaragoza each contributed 4 points in the final quarter. WWU scored over half of its points in the final quarter from the free throw line, going 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.

WWU took a 52-48 lead on a Gracie Castaneda 3-pointer with 3:03 remaining in the 3^rd quarter, but the Yellowjackets went on an 8-0 run to take a 56-52 lead. Emma Duff hit a 3-pointer as the clock expired in the quarter to bring the Vikings back to a one-point deficit at 56-55. The 3^rd quarter featured four tie scores and five lead changes.

The Vikings overcame a 8-point deficit midway through the 2^nd quarter, trailing 32-24 at the 5:46 mark. WWU battled back going on a 12-4 run to tie the game 36-36 heading into halftime. 

The Vikings (20-8, 14-6 GNAC) will wait until Saturday to find out its opponent in the first round of the 2020 GNAC Championships that begin play on Thursday, March 5 in Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. All games during the GNAC Championships will stream live via GNAC.tv.

WWU, Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser have punched tickets to the 2020 GNAC Championships that will be held March 5-7 at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. WWU is 11-6 all-time in the GNAC Championships, now appearing in nine of the 10 GNAC Tournaments, including winning back-to-back championships in 2013 and 2014.

WWU has won four consecutive games vs. MSUB, recording the series sweep each of the last two seasons. Defeated the Yellowjackets by a 20-point margin 81-61 in Bellingham on Dec. 7. Marks the first four-game winning streak over MSUB since a 9-game win streak from 2010-13. WWU has won 6 of the last 8 in the series to lead the all-time series 26-16 and 10-9 in Billings.

Here is a look at the updated Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings through games played on Thursday, with the Vikings clinching a 3^rd-place finish in GNAC standings with a 14-6 league record. Five of six teams have now punched its ticket to the GNAC Tournament, with Central Washington clinching a spot with its win over Saint Martin's. MSUB and Saint Martin's are tied for the final spot to the six-team tournament.

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 eight of the last 12 seasons, and 35 times in the 49-year history of the program. WWU has 21 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 with 610, 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 1,042 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.