HAYWARD, Calif. – For the third time in program history, the Western Washington University women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division II Championships Elite Eight.
The No. 3 seed Vikings led virtually wire-to-wire defeating No. 1 and regional host Cal State East Bay 73-59 Monday evening in Pioneer Gym.
WWU's 14-point victory was fueled by a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double by senior guard
Emma Duff and 16 points and eight rebounds from sophomore forward
Brooke Walling. Duff and Walling were each selected to the regional all-tournament team, with Walling earning MVP honors after averaging 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in the regional.
The Vikings advance to the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama, with national quarterfinal games being played on Monday, March 21. WWU also played in the Elite Eight in 2000 (Pine Bluff, Arkansas) and 2013 (San Antonio, Texas).
WWU improved to 23-5 overall and recorded its 17th road victory of the season, capping a perfect 3-0 run through the regional tournament with wins over GNAC foes Alaska Anchorage (76-65), Central Washington (64-58) and now top-seeded Cal State East Bay.
WWU used a big second-quarter to grow a double-digit lead, out-scoring East Bay 22-13 in the second stanza to build a 13-point halftime lead. The Pioneers made a late third-quarter run climbing to within seven points at 50-43, but WWU answered by scoring the final four points of the quarter to extend the lead back to double-digits. The Vikings lead never dipped below eight points in the final quarter to record the 14-point victory.
The Vikings balanced offensive effort featured seven players scoring at least six points, with the team combining to shoot 45.8-percent (22-for-48) from the field and connecting on 25-of-29 free throws (86.2%).
Senior guard
Gracie Castaneda scored nine points with five rebounds and a pair of assists, junior forward
Katrina Gimmaka had nine points on 3-for-4 shooting and grabbed four rebounds, junior guard
Avery Dykstra contributed eight points, junior guard
Mollie Olson had seven points and three steals in just 12 minutes and freshman
Maddy Grandbois added six points and five rebounds.
WWU's pesky defense forced 11 turnovers, had seven steals and held a 45-37 advantage in rebounds. The Pioneers were limited to their lowest shooting percentage of the season going 21-for-72 (29.2%) from the field and 3-for-15 from three-point range.
Cal State East Bay finished its season with a 24-3 overall record, having its nine-game winning streak snapped. Senior Madison Schiller led the Pioneers with 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting to earn a spot on the all-tournament team and nine points and 10 rebounds from Taylor Linzie.
THE DEFINING MOMENT
WWU's 22-13 advantage in the second quarter proved to be the deciding factor in the 73-59 victory, with the Vikings controlling the tempo to end the first half of play with a 40-27 lead. Western was 6-for-12 shooting in the second quarter and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
HOLDING OFF THE PIONEERS
Cal State East Bay went on a 8-3 run late in the third quarter, which included a 6-0 spurt, to cut WWU's lead to seven points at 50-43 with 1:34 remaining in the quarter. But the Vikings scored the final four points of the quarter – all by
Katrina Gimmaka – to grow the lead back to 11 points and led the remainder of the way by at least eight points.
FIRST HALF REPORT
The Vikings and Pioneers battled back and forth through the first five minutes of the contest before WWU went on a 7-0 run, kickstarted by a
Brooke Walling three-pointer, to grab a 14-10 lead. Through the first 10 minutes the Vikings held an 18-14 lead, with Walling scoring nine of the 18 points.
Western turned it on in the second quarter out-scoring East Bay 22-14 to grow the lead to 13 points at 40-27 at halftime. The Vikings finished the half on an 11-4 run that began with a
Mollie Olson three-point play and featured 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Overall the Vikings shot 43.8-percent in the first 20 minutes (14-for-32) and were 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. WWU's defense limited East Bay to 30.3-percent shooting (10-for-33) and forced eight turnovers.
Walling led all players with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers, with
Olson adding seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in just five minutes of action.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE VIKINGS
WWU advances to the national quarterfinals with the final eight teams in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships converging in Birmingham, Alabama for the Elite Eight. The road to the national title continues with the eight-team tournament being played March 21 (Monday), 23 (Wednesday) and 25 (Friday) at the Birmingham Crossplex. Here is a look at the eight teams that move on to the Elite Eight. The tournament will be reseeded with the schedule announced Tuesday.
- Atlantic: Glenville State (defeated Charleston-WV 89-58)
- Central: Missouri Western (defeated Fort Hays State 70-69)
- East: Pace (defeated Daemen 67-65)
- Midwest: Grand Valley State (defeated Walsh 64-61)
- South Central: West Texas A&M (defeated Lubbock Christian 59-54)
- South: Valdosta State (defeated Union 66-58)
- Southeast: North Georgia (defeated Lander 59-57)
- West Region: Western Washington (defeated Cal State East Bay 73-59)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Cal State East Bay from Monday's NCAA Division II Championships West Regional Final:
| COMPARISON |
WWU |
CSUEB |
| Points |
73 |
59 |
| Field Goal Pct. |
.458 (22-48) |
.292 (21-72) |
| 3 Point FG Pct. |
.286 (4-14) |
.200 (3-15) |
| Free Throw Pct. |
.862 (25-29) |
.667 (14-21) |
| Rebounds |
45 |
37 |
| Offensive Rebounds |
8 |
18 |
| Defensive Rebounds |
37 |
19 |
| Assists |
13 |
7 |
| Turnovers |
18 |
11 |
| Steals |
7 |
9 |
| Blocked Shots |
3 |
0 |
| Time Led |
35:49 |
1:48 |
| Points off Turnovers |
13 |
14 |
| Points in the Paint |
30 |
26 |
| Bench Points |
24 |
12 |
| Fouls |
19 |
24 |
MARCH MADNESS
The Vikings are playing in their 18th NCAA Championships in 23 possible seasons (since 1998-99). Has now advanced to the Championships in each of the last two seasons eligible (only played six games last season). Did not get the chance to play in the 2020 NCAA II West Regional in Honolulu, Hawai'i when the pandemic canceled the tournament. WWU advanced to the NCAA Championships in 15 of 16 seasons from 1999-2014. Has won three regional championships in 2000 (Pine Bluff, Arkansas), 2013 (San Antonio, TX) and 2022 (Birmingham, AL).
The Vikings own an all-time 18-16 record in NCAA tournament play, recording at least one win in 11 of 17 prior regional appearances (with a game played). Below is a game-by-game listing of WWU in NCAA Tournament play with the regional host site listed next to the year:
1998-99 (Davis, CA):
Defeated Seattle Pacific, 77-69 (OT)
Lost to Montana State Billings, 70-48
1999-2000 (Pomona, CA):
Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 78-59
Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 84-66
Defeated Slippery Rock, 84-67 – Elite 8
Lost to Northern Kentucky, 80-74 – Final Four
2000-01 (Pomona, CA):
Defeated Central Washington, 74-66
Lost to Cal Poly Pomona, 91-85
2001-02 (Pomona, CA):
Defeated Sonoma State, 71-60
Lost to Cal Poly Pomona, 71-70
2002-03 (Seattle, WA):
Lost to Northwest Nazarene, 83-79
2003-04 (Seattle, WA):
Defeated Sonoma State, 85-71
Lost to Seattle Pacific, 80-66
2004-05 (Seattle, WA):
Defeated CSU Dominguez Hills, 82-74 (OT)
Lost to Chico State, 85-75
2005-06 (Bellingham, WA):
Defeated Northwest Nazarene, 66-54
Lost to Seattle Pacific, 70-50
2006-07 (La Jolla, CA):
Lost to UC San Diego, 78-45
2008-09 (Seattle, WA):
Lost to Humboldt State, 74-64
2009-10 (Seattle, WA):
Lost to Chico State, lost 79-68
2010-11 (Pomona, CA):
Lost to Alaska Anchorage, 55-48
2011-12 (La Jolla, CA):
Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 65-58
Lost to UC San Diego, 81-66
2012-13 (Bellingham, WA):
Defeated Academy of Art, 70-50
Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 71-63
Defeated Simon Fraser, 75-58
Defeated Nova Southeastern, 80-76 (OT)
Lost to Ashland, 66-54 – Final Four
2013-14 (Pomona, CA):
Lost to Simon Fraser, 77-70
2016-17 (Anchorage, AK):
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 74-48
Lost to Cal Baptist, 80-68
2019-20 (Honolulu, HI):
vs. Alaska Anchorage, DNP (COVID-19)
2021-22 (Hayward, CA):
Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 76-64
Defeated Central Washington, 64-58
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 73-59
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Vikings have reached the 20-win mark (23-5), marking the 36th 20-win season in the 51-year history of the program, and 22nd in 31 seasons under head coach
Carmen Dolfo.
ABOUT WWU BASKETBALL
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 51-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 641, 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). The program now has 1,073 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.
