BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team will play for the NCAA Division II National Championship Friday evening at Bill Harris Arena in the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Vikings (25-5) will take on Glenville State (34-1) in the title game that is set to tip-off at 7 pm CT/5 pm PT and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
In the illustrious 51-year history of WWU women's basketball (50 full seasons) features 1,075 victories and 36 20-win seasons. The Vikings have advanced to the postseason in 47 of 50 possible seasons, but this marks the first national championship game for the Vikings.
WWU entered the Elite Eight as the No. 5 seed, but knocked off No. 4 Valdosta State in the quarterfinals (58-55) and No. 1 North Georgia in Wednesday's national semifinal (74-68). Glenville State is the No. 3 seed reaching the finals by defeating No. 6 West Texas A&M (103-56) and No. 2 Grand Valley State (77-53). This will be the first meeting between the Vikings and Pioneers.
The Vikings are led by head coach
Carmen Dolfo, who is in her 31st season coaching at her alma mater and has accumulated a 643-250 all-time coaching mark for a .720 winning percentage. Senior All-American guard
Emma Duff is averaging 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game to lead a balanced offensive effort. Sophomore forward
Brooke Walling has been the postseason star for the Vikings averaging 17.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in five NCAA Tournament games. Western features an active roster of 11 players with everyone averaging at least 7.5 minutes and 2.5 points per game.
HOW TO WATCH
The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship Game will air on the CBS Sports Network. Most cable providers have this channel, but it is sometimes not part of a standard package. What do we recommend? Check your local listings well ahead of time to see if you have the channel. If you don't, you can call your cable provider to add the channel (and you can likely cancel at any time) or subscribe to a streaming channel below that provides the channel. You are free to reach out to us on social media (
Twitter,
Instagram) with any questions. Here are some channels we found the network to be on:
WATCH PARTIES IN WASHINGTON
Fans will have the chance to watch the game with other WWU fans with the following watch parties in Bellingham and Seattle:
- Bellingham: B-Town Kitchen & Raw Bar (714 Lakeway Dr, Bellingham, WA 98229)
- Seattle: Lagetta Pasta & Pub (7305 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103)
Any students that remained in Bellingham over spring break are also invited to the following establishments with fellow Vikings.
- Schweinhaus Biergarten: 1330 N State St, Bellingham, WA 98225
- Flatstick Pub: 902 N State St Suite 105, Bellingham, WA 98225
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Glenville State heading into Friday's national championship game (NCAA II rank noted):
| COMPARISON |
WWU |
GSC |
| Record |
25-5 |
34-1 |
| Scoring Offense |
69.3 (73rd) |
95.8 (1st) |
| Scoring Defense |
57.3 (28th) |
62.5 (108th) |
| Scoring Margin |
12.0 (29th) |
33.3 (1st) |
| Field Goal Percentage |
44.1 (33rd) |
47.1 (5th) |
| Free Throw Percentage |
71.6 (129th) |
67.6 (214th) |
| 3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
30.9 (135th) |
33.2 (61st) |
| Rebound Margin |
8.2 (12th) |
9.4 (6th) |
| Offensive Rebounds per Game |
11.8 (125th) |
17.5 (5th) |
| Defensive Rebounds per Game |
28.6 (35th) |
26.6 (122nd) |
| Turnover Margin |
-1.63 (214th) |
12.4 (1st) |
| Turnovers Per Game |
17.1 (179th) |
13.3 (34th) |
| Assist- to-Turnover Ratio |
0.85 (125th) |
1.31 (5th) |
| Field Goal Percentage Defense |
34.5 (12th) |
40.7 (202nd) |
| 3-Point Field Goal Defense |
24.0 (4th) |
30.0 (133rd) |
| Blocked Shots Per Game |
4.2 (37th) |
1.8 (248th) |
| Steals Per Game |
7.3 (183rd) |
14.4 (4th) |
| Personal Fouls Per Game |
18.9 (247th) |
16.1 (117th) |
| Assists Per Game |
14.6 (61st) |
17.4 (6th) |
| Three-Point Field Goals Per Game |
5.7 (145th) |
9.6 (2nd) |
THE RECORD
The Vikings head into the NCAA II National Championship Game with a 25-5 overall record and an 19-3 ledger in games played on the road (12-2 away, 7-1 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 have gone 7-0 vs. teams ranked in either of the two national polls.
| RECORD BREAKDOWN |
| Overall |
25-5 (.833) |
| GNAC |
10-4 (1st) |
| Home |
6-2 |
| Away |
12-2 |
| Neutral |
7-1 |
| vs. Ranked Teams |
7-0 |
| Leading at Half |
21-2 |
| Trailing at Half |
3-2 |
| Tied at Half |
1-1 |
| Overtime |
0-3 |
| BY UNIFORM |
| White |
11-3 |
| Black |
10-1 |
| Navy Blue |
4-1 |
MARCH MADNESS
The Vikings are playing 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 20-16 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 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
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Vikings have reached the 20-win mark (25-5), 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.
