BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team put together a dominating third quarter to record a 67-47 victory over Western Oregon University Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings put aside a sluggish first half, trailing Western Oregon 19-18 after the first quarter and holding a one-point 32-31 halftime lead, out-scoring the Wolves 22-5 in the third quarter and 35-16 in the second half for the 20-point victory.

 

WWU extended its winning streak to 13 consecutive games, improving to 13-1 overall and remains atop the GNAC standings with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play. Western Oregon dropped to 7-8 overall and 1-6 in GNAC play with its fourth consecutive loss.

 

Redshirt freshman guard Mason Oberg led all players with a career-high 22 points, catching fire from beyond the arc hitting six of eight three-point attempts.

 

Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Brooke Walling secured her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, also adding five assists and four blocked shots. 

 

Senior guard Avery Dykstra rounded out the Vikings double-digit scorers with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting.

 

The Vikings were limited to 39.7-percent shooting (25-for-58), but Oberg's big night from beyond the arc helped WWU to 8-for-21 shooting from three-point range. The Vikings had a sizeable 46-24 advantage in rebounding and recorded a season-high nine blocked shots. WWU was also nearly perfect from the free throw line going 13-for-15 from the charity stripe.

 

WOU bounced back from an early 10-0 deficit to lead after the first quarter and trail by only one point at the half. The Wolves were led by 20 points from Princy Paaluhi-Caulk (9-for-18 FG) and 10 points by Ana McClave.

 

WWU entered the weekend ranked No. 6 (WBCA Coaches) and No. 5 (D2SIDA Media) in the national polls, and No. 1 in the D2SIDA West Region Poll. The Vikings will take back to the road for their next four games, beginning with a Thursday (1/19) game at Seattle Pacific University. 

 

The Vikings got off to a 10-0 start to the game, but a WOU timeout ignited a steady comeback with the Wolves taking a 19-18 lead through the first quarter of play. WWU bounced back in the second quarter out-scoring WOU 14-12 to take a 32-31 halftime lead. The Viking were limited to 41.4-percent shooting in the opening half (12-for-29) and committed 10 turnovers. Mason Oberg led the Vikings with nine points on a trio of three-pointers and Avery Dykstra and Brooke Walling each had eight points.

 

The Vikings led by one point, 32-31, at the half but turned it on in the third quarter out-scoring the Wolves 22-5 to take a 54-36 lead. The big quarter was fueled by a 22-3 run, holding WOU to just one field goal until the final seconds of the quarter. The five points allowed are tied for the fewest in a quarter this season, also limiting Dominican to five points in the second quarter on November 25 in the Lynda Goodrich Classic.

 

WWU (13-1, 7-0 GNAC) head out on a four-game road trip beginning with a Thursday match-up against Seattle Pacific University at 7 pm inside Royal Brougham Pavilion. WWU will then head to play second-place Montana State Billings on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm MT. Links on how to follow the Vikings on the road can be found at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Western Oregon:

 

 

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

 

 

WWU won its fourth straight over Western Oregon and are 25-2 in the last 27 meetings dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Vikings lead the all-time series 57-11 and won 14 consecutive home games against the Wolves.

 

The Vikings extended their current winning streak to 13 in-a-row, the 26th double-digit winning streak in program history. The current winning streak is tied for 11th-longest in program history and the longest since a 16-game winning streak spanning the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season. Dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, the Vikings have combined to go 66-16 (.805) with a 31-10 record in GNAC play (.756). Here is a look at the longest winning streaks (top 15) in program history:

 

 

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings, complete with Saturday's results from around the conference:

 

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following the 20-point victory over Western Oregon:

 

 

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 656, 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 1,088 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.