OAKLAND, Calif. – Defense, Defense, Defense.
 
If you were to witness a Western Washington University practice, you would hear the word DEFENSE multiple times.
 
And the nationally-ranked Vikings turned in another impressive defensive performance Tuesday evening defeating Academy of Art University 57-43 for a 14-point non-conference victory in Tobin Gymnasium.
 
The No. 8 (D2SIDA) and No. 10 (WBCA) Vikings continued their perfect start to the 2021-22 season improving to 8-0 overall, with six of those wins coming on the road. WWU also extended its season-spanning winning streak to 14 consecutive games (was 6-0 during the spring 2021 season), tying for the 9th-longest in program history. WWU's 8-0 start is the seventh-best in the 50-year history of the illustrious program.
 
The Vikings overcame a slow start on offense to record the 14-point victory over Academy of Art (5-5) in a game that was moved from its normally scheduled location of Belmont (West Bay) to Oakland (East Bay) due to facility issues.
 
It didn't matter the location for the Vikings, who opened their three-game Bay Area road trip with another victory led by three players in double-figure scoring.
 
Sophomore forward Carley Zaragoza returned to her native Northern California (El Dorado, CA) to score a team-high-tying 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
 
Leading scorer Emma Duff had a strong second half scoring 11 of her 13 points after the break to climb to within 18 points of the 1,000-point milestone for her career. In eight games this season Duff is averaging 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
 
Junior guard Avery Dykstra inched towards her first career double-double with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds, also tying a career-high with three blocked shots.
 
Junior guard Mollie Olson returned to the starting lineup after missing four games to score 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting (4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal). Senior guard Dani Iwami added seven points (all in the 3rd quarter) on 3-for-9 shooting.
 
The Urban Knights (5-5) were led by 12 points by Chanel Stuart on 3-for-12 shooting (5-for-5 FT).
 
WWU's defense limited ART U to 14-for-63 shooting (22.2%) and have now limited opponents to a 32.2% shooting percentage on the season for a mark that ranks in the top 25 in the nation.

W🏀 | @WWUbasketball once again turned up the defensive heat in a 57-43 win to improve to 8-0, but here are your stats leaders for the night with Carley Zaragoza and Avery Dykstra paving the way. pic.twitter.com/qU0xCyup05

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) December 15, 2021

Academy of Art scored the first basket of the second half to pull to within five points at 22-17, but the Vikings responded going on a 15-3 run to open a 17-point 37-20 lead with a seven-point outburst by Dani Iwami and four points by Emma Duff leading the way. WWU out-scored ART U 18-10 in the third quarter for the 40-25 lead through the first three quarters.
  ART U opened the fourth quarter scoring the first six points to pull to within nine points at 40-31, but WWU responded going on a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 49-33 (16 points) with 5:21 remaining in the game.
  A low-scoring first half had the Vikings taking a seven-point 22-15 lead into halftime, with WWU holding Academy of Art to four points in the first quarter and 11 points in the second 10-minute period. WWU shot 36.0% (9-for-25) from the field, but its stifling defense limited Art U to 4-for-27 shooting (14.8%) in the opening 20 minutes of action. Carley Zaragoza led the Vikings with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting and Mollie Olson had six points on 3-for-4 shooting. WWU was only sent to the free throw line four times (3-for-4), compared to 15 times for ART U (6-for-15). Holding the Urban Knights to just four points in the first quarter marked the fifth time this season the Vikings have limited an opponent to six-or-fewer points.
  WWU is off to one of its best seasons in the last 20 years and has won its last 13 games dating back to the abbreviated 6-0 2020-21 season that was played in February and March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a look at the best winning streaks and starts to season in program history:
 

LONGEST WINNING STREAKS
1.	21	Dec. 21, 2005 – Mar. 10, 2006
2.	19	Dec. 11, 2010 – Feb. 22, 2011
		1971 – 72, dates unknown
4.	17	Dec. 19, 2016 – Feb. 16, 2017
5.	15	1972 – 73, dates unknown
		Dec. 14, 1979 – Feb. 8, 1980
		Nov. 21, 1983 – Jan. 21, 1984
		Nov. 23, 2004 – Jan. 22, 2005
9.	14	Feb. 26, 2021 – current (spans seasons)
		1973 – 74, dates unknown
11.	13	Feb. 11, 1997 – Mar. 23, 1997
12.	12	Nov. 20, 1989 – Dec. 28, 1989
		Feb. 14, 2013 - Mar. 26, 2013
14.	11	Jan. 24, 1989 – Feb. 23, 1989
		Jan. 27, 1996 – Mar. 15, 1996
		Dec. 18, 2012 - Jan. 2, 2013
17.	10	Nov. 18, 1993 – Dec. 29, 1993
		Jan. 17, 1981 – Feb. 13, 1981
		Jan. 11, 1985 – Feb. 2, 1985
		Nov. 26, 1988 – Dec. 29, 1988
		Jan. 1, 1990 – Feb. 6, 1990
		Nov. 16, 1990 – Jan. 4, 1991
		Nov. 26, 1994 – Dec. 30, 1994
		Dec. 5, 1997 – Jan. 10, 1998
		Jan. 7, 2010 – Feb. 6, 2010
BEST UNBEATEN STARTS
1.	19-0	1971-1972
2.	12-0	1989-1990
3.	10-0	1993-1994
	10-0	1990-1991
	10-0	1988-1989
6.	9-0	1999-2000
7.	8-0	2021-2022
8.	7-0	1998-99

  The Vikings (8-0) remain in the Bay Area on the road facing Dominican on Thursday and back in Tobin Gymnasium on Friday to take on Holy Names. Both games feature a 5:30 pm tip-off. WWU resumes GNAC play with home games against Western Oregon (Dec. 30, 7 pm) and Saint Martin's (Jan. 1, 7 pm). Fans can follow all the action live online or via live statistical updates with direct links at wwuvikings.com/Live.
  WWU improved to 3-0 all-time vs. Academy of Art, also earning wins over the Urban Knights in 2017 (82-66) and 2013 (70-50).
  Tuesday's game was originally scheduled to be played in Belmont, California at Walter Gleason Gymnasium – the normal home of ART U Basketball – but the contest was moved across the Bay Area to Oakland and the Holy Names University campus due to flooding and electrical damage. The Vikings will return to Tobin Gymnasium on Friday to face Holy Names in the final game of their Bay Area road trip.
  One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in eight of the last 12 full seasons, and 35 times in the 50-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 626, winning 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 1,058 all-time wins in the 50-year history of the program, and according to available records, is one of less than 20 women's college basketball team across all divisions and levels to reach the 1,000-victory milestone.