FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Led by another strong game from senior guard Emma Duff the No. 11 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball game earned a 79-67 road victory over Alaska Fairbanks Saturday afternoon in Alaska Airlines Gymnasium.
 
The Vikings improved to 12-1 overall and are alone in first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 4-1 record. WWU completed the Alaska sweep also beating No. 8 Alaska Anchorage Thursday 53-45. UAF dropped to 1-10 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
 
WWU built a big 17-point lead early in the second quarter, but UAF fought back to trail by only three points 45-42 midway through the third quarter. The Vikings remained tough down the stretch pulling away for the double-digit victory to improve to 9-0 on the road this season.
 
Duff led four Vikings in double-digit scoring with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting (4-for-7 3FG). She also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and blocked three shots. In the two wins in Alaska the Tumwater native scored 40 points, had 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.
 
Junior guard Avery Dykstra added 14 points by going 8-for-8 at the free throw line and sister Riley Dykstra neared a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Mollie Olson added 13 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Brooke Walling tallied a game-high 12 rebounds and also led the team with four assists.
 
The Vikings combined to shoot 41.9-percent from the field and were 21-for-24 (87.5%) from the free throw line. WWU also held a sizeable 43-25 rebounding advantage, with an 18-9 lead in offensive rebounds.
 
The Nanooks were led by 15 points from Claudia Diez Marti (6-for-17 FG) and 12 points apiece by Olivia Kraska and Paola Perez-Mendoza.
  Alaska Fairbanks trimmed WWU's lead to three points at 45-42 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Pearle Green at the 5:38 mark in the third quarter. After a Western timeout, the Vikings immediately responded with consecutive baskets by Carley Zaragoza and Avery Dykstra to regain a seven-point lead. WWU went on a quarter-spanning 14-5 run to take a 14-point lead early in the final quarter, capped by a 3-pointer by Emma Duff to help put the game away.
  The Vikings carried a 37-30 lead into halftime, led by 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks from Emma Duff. WWU led by as many as 17 points early in the second quarter, but UAF out-scored the Vikings 20-11 in the second frame. Overall WWU shot 39.4-percent (13-for-33) and UAF was at 40.6-percent (13-for-32). Western used a 13-0 run late in the first quarter to build a sizable lead.

W🏀 | Scenes from Fairbanks (where it is 7°) with @WWUbasketball improving to 12-1 overall (4-1 GNAC) with a 79-67 win over Alaska Fairbanks.

📸 : Miles Jordan/UAF pic.twitter.com/JggAkUMjXx

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) January 23, 2022

  Senior guard Emma Duff combined to score 40 points in the Alaska sweep, leading the team in scoring in wins over Alaska Anchorage (21 points) and Alaska Fairbanks (19 points). In the two road games Duff combined to average 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocked shots and 2.5 assists per game. She also was 11-for-21 from the field (52.4%), 8-for-14 from 3-point range (57.1%) and 10-for-12 from the free throw line (83.3%).
  The Vikings (12-1, 4-1 GNAC) continues its four-game stretch of road games next week traveling to play at Saint Martin's (Thursday, Jan. 27, 5:15 pm) and Western Oregon (Saturday, Jan. 29, 2:00 pm) next week in GNAC play.
  Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings following play on Saturday with the Vikings gaining sole possession of first place following the 79-67 win at Alaska Fairbanks.
 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Western Washington	4-1	.800	12-1	.923	3-1	7-0	2-0	Won 2
Northwest Nazarene	5-2	.714	11-4	.733	7-1	3-1	1-2	Won 2
Montana State Billings	5-2	.714	11-8	.578	6-4	3-2	2-2	Won 3
Central Washington	4-2	.667	11-4	.733	4-1	5-2	2-1	Won 6
Alaska Anchorage	3-2	.600	10-3	.769	5-2	4-1	1-0	Lost 2
Seattle Pacific	3-2	.600	7-8	.467	5-2	1-4	1-2	Lost 1
Western Oregon	3-4	.429	7-7	.500	6-0	1-6	0-1	Lost 2
Simon Fraser	1-3	.250	5-8	.384	2-0	1-4	2-4	Lost 2
Saint Martin's	1-5	.167	9-6	.600	6-2	1-4	2-0	Lost 4
Alaska Fairbanks	0-6	.000	1-10	.091	0-5	0-4	1-1	Lost 10
SATURDAY'S GNAC RESULTS
Western Washington 79, at Alaska Fairbanks 67 at Montana State Billings 81, Seattle Pacific 55 at Central Washington 74, Western Oregon 55 at Northwest Nazarene 78, Saint Martin's 65 Simon Fraser at Alaska Anchorage (Postponed)

  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 630, 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 1,062 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.