HONOLULU – The top-10 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team has a motto of "We" … and that mantra was on full display Friday evening in a 77-70 victory over Hawai'i Pacific to open play in the Hoops in Hawai'i Classic presented by Outrigger Resorts and Hotels.

The Vikings – ranked No. 10 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the D2SIDA Media Poll – featured five players scoring in double digits and seven players with five or more points in the seven-point victory over the Sharks to improve to 6-1 on the season, extending the winning streak to six consecutive games.

WWU snapped HPU's three-game winning streak behind the balanced scoring attack that was led by 13 points each from Vancouver (WA) natives Brooke Walling (6-for-9 FG) and Mason Oberg (4-for-8 FG). Senior forward Katrina Gimmaka had a strong second half with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting and seniors Mollie Olson and Carley Zaragoza each contributed 10 points.

The Vikings combined to shoot 49.2-percent for the game (30-for-61), including 7-for-14 from three-point range, while holding HPU to 33.3-percent from the field (21-for-63). The Vikings also limited HPU leading scorer Abby Spurgin to 21 points (6-for-18 FG), snapping her string of consecutive games with at least 35 points.

WWU entered the final quarter of play holding a 60-54 lead and immediately grew the advantage to 10 points at 64-54. HPU used a 5-0 run to pull to within four points at 68-64 with 3:52 remaining, but the Vikings countered with their own 5-0 run on a layup by Olson and a three-pointer by senior guard Avery Dykstra to pull away late.

In addition to the five players scoring in double-digits, Western was led by seven rebounds from sophomore forward Truitt Reilly and five assists from sophomore guard Riley Dykstra. WWU out-rebounded HPU 39-36 and held a 6-2 advantage in blocked shots. WWU never trailed in the game and led by as many as 10 points during the contest.

HPU (3-4) was led by the 21 points from Spurgin, with Lalina Obrey (18 points) and Avery Cargill (17 points) also scoring in double-digits.

WWU (6-1) will have a rest day Saturday and return to action Sunday (Fairmont State) and Monday (Chaminade) to close out the Hoops in Hawai'i Holiday Classic schedule. The game will feature a live webcast and statistical updated with direct links available at wwuvikings.com/WBB.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Hawai'i Pacific:

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2022-23 season:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following Friday's 77-70 win at Hawai'i Pacific:

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in nine of the last 13 full seasons, and 36 times in the 52-year history of the program. WWU has 22 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 649, winning percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 18 of 23 possible seasons at the Division II level with three trips to the Elite Eight (including 2022) and played in the 2022 national championship game. The program has 1,081 all-time wins in the 52-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.