BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The historic season of the Western Washington University women's basketball team came to a close falling to Glenville State College 85-72 in the NCAA Division II National Championship Game Friday evening at Bill Harris Arena in the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Playing in its first national title game in the illustrious 51-seasons of program history, the Vikings concluded the 2021-22 campaign with a 25-6 record.
Matching up against the top scoring team in the nation, the Vikings had a two-point halftime lead at 46-44 and trailed by only one point at 61-60 with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Pioneers completed the game on a 24-12 run, including a 9-0 spurt to pull away midway through the fourth quarter. Glenville State (35-1) out-scored Western 41-26 in the second half to win the first national championship in school history.
WWU was led by a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double from sophomore forward
Brooke Walling who was 12-for-16 shooting. Senior guard
Emma Duff added 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Walling and Duff were selected to the five-player Elite Eight All-Tournament Team. Junior forward
Katrina Gimmaka scored 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
The Vikings combined to shoot 53.3% for the game (32-for-60), but were hampered by 2-for-14 accuracy from three-point range. WWU recorded 25 turnovers leading to 30 Glenville State points.
Glenville State (from West Virginia) were held below their season scoring average of 95.8 points per game entering the contest, but their fast-paced style of play and rapid substitutions out-paced the Vikings down the stretch. The Pioneers shot 48.6% in the second half (17-for-35) after going 17-for-48 (.354) in the first 20 minutes.
The Pioneers were led by a pair of 20-point performances from junior guards Re'Shawna Stone (25 points, 11-for-16 FG) and Zakiyah Winfield (23 points, 9-for-19 FG). Dazha Congleton neared a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
WELCOME THE VIKINGS BACK TO BELLINGHAM
Fans are invited to welcome the team back to Bellingham on Saturday at 4:15 pm on the south part of campus in the C Lots near the Campus Rec Center. The community support the team has received via social media and outreach has been amazing and they are looking forward to seeing fans, friends and family welcome them back to Bellingham.
GAME NOTES
WWU became the third team from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to advance to the national championship game (SPU – 2005, UAA – 2016) …
Brooke Walling finished the postseason averaging 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in nine games (.566/64-for-113) …
Emma Duff moved into the top 10 in WWU history with 1,346 career points …
Duff and
Gracie Castaneda finished their career with 126 games played, the most in program history.
THE MOMENT THAT MATTERED
The Vikings held a 50-46 lead two minutes into the third quarter before Glenville State went on a 10-0 run over a quick 1:36 stretch to regain the lead and never trailed the remainder of the game. WWU pulled back to within one point at 61-60 with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Pioneers scored 21 of the next 29 points to build an insurmountable 14-point lead.
FIRST HALF RECAP
A fast-paced first half resulted in the Vikings holding a one-point 46-44 lead. Each team benefited from an extended scoring run in the half that featured four lead changes and three ties. WWU led early by five points at 12-7 midway through the first quarter, but the Pioneers answered with a quarter-spanning 12-2 run to take a 25-19 lead at the 9:16 mark. WWU regained the momentum with a 13-2 run over a three-minute stretch to retake the lead at 32-27, with
Emma Duff scoring nine points during the stretch.
Brooke Walling led all players with 17 first-half points on 8-for-9 shooting and also had six rebounds. Duff contributed 11 points and five rebounds to help the Vikings to the two-point halftime lead.
ELITE EIGHT SCOREBOARD
The Vikings beat a pair of higher seeds in the first two games of the Elite Eight to reach the national championship game, defeating No. 4 Valdosta State in the quarterfinals (58-55) and No. 1 North Georgia in the semifinals (74-68).
Quarterfinal Results:
- #3 Glenville State 103, #6 West Texas A&M 56
- #2 Grand Valley State 67, #7 Missouri Western 44
- #1 North Georgia 68, #8 Pace 61
- #5 Western Washington 58, #4 Valdosta State 55
Semifinal Results:
- #3 Glenville State 77, #2 Grand Valley State 53
- #No. 5 Western Washington 74, 1 North Georgia 68
National Championship Game:
- #3 Glenville State 85, #5 Western Washington 72
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Glenville State from Friday's NCAA Division II National Championship Game:
| COMPARISON |
WWU |
GSC |
| Points |
72 |
85 |
| Field Goal Pct. |
.533 (32-60) |
.410 (34-83) |
| 3 Point FG Pct. |
.143 (2-14) |
.333 (6-18) |
| Free Throw Pct. |
.667 (6-9) |
.688 (11-16) |
| Rebounds |
45 |
39 |
| Offensive Rebounds |
8 |
16 |
| Defensive Rebounds |
37 |
23 |
| Assists |
22 |
10 |
| Turnovers |
28 |
8 |
| Steals |
4 |
16 |
| Blocked Shots |
2 |
1 |
| Time Led |
17:39 |
20:16 |
| Points off Turnovers |
4 |
30 |
| Points in the Paint |
54 |
46 |
| Bench Points |
17 |
11 |
| Fouls |
20 |
12 |
THE RECORD
The Vikings finished the 2021-22 season with an overall 25-6 record, which included a 19-4 mark in games played on the road (12-2 away, 7-2 neutral). WWU won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title going 10-4 in league play and was runner-up in the GNAC Tournament. During regular and postseason went 7-1 vs. nationally-ranked teams.
| RECORD BREAKDOWN |
| Overall/GNAC Record |
25-6 (.806) |
| GNAC |
10-4 (1st) |
| Home |
6-2 |
| Away |
12-2 |
| Neutral |
7-2 |
| vs. Ranked Teams |
7-1 |
| Leading at Half |
21-3 |
| Trailing at Half |
3-2 |
| Tied at Half |
1-1 |
| Overtime |
0-3 |
| BY UNIFORM |
| White |
11-3 |
| Black |
10-2 |
| Navy Blue |
4-1 |
MARCH MADNESS
The Vikings played in their 18th NCAA Championships in 23 possible seasons (since 1998-99) and the third Elite Eight during the NCAA era that begin in 1998-99. WWU advanced to the NCAA Championships in 15 of 16 seasons from 1999-2014. Has won three regional championships to advance to the Elite Eight in 2000 (Pine Bluff, Arkansas), 2013 (San Antonio, TX) and 2022 (Birmingham, AL).
The Vikings own an all-time 20-17 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 Eight
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) – Elite Eight
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
Defeated Valdosta State, 58-55 – Elite Eight
Defeated North Georgia, 74-68 – Final Four
Lost to Glenville State, 85-72 – National Championship Game
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Vikings have reached the 20-win mark (26-5), 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 643, 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 will play for the 2022 national championship. The program now has 1,075 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.
