BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 5/6 Western Washington University women's basketball team had its 14-game winning streak snapped in a 73-61 loss Saturday night to Montana State Billings in Alterowitz Gymnasium.

WWU fell behind 25-12 through the first quarter, a 13-point deficit that would be too much to overcome in the final three quarters. MSUB recorded the wire-to-wire victory despite having a lower shooting percentage than the Vikings (WWU-.480, MSUB-.421) and WWU holding a 33-25 rebounding advantage.

The Vikings tied a season high with 24 turnovers, leading to 25 MSUB points. WWU was also called for double the fouls than MSUB (28-14), leading to a 24-13 advantage in trips to the free throw line.

Recording its first loss since the opening game of the season on November 18 to nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific, WWU closed out the first half of GNAC play in first place with an 8-1 record and 14-2 overall. MSUB remained alone in second place in the conference standings at 7-2 in GNAC play and 16-4 overall.

WWU senior forward Carley Zaragoza led all players with a career-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting in 15 minutes of action. Senior guard Avery Dykstra finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, connecting on all three of her shots from beyond the three-point line. Sophomore guard Riley Dykstra and junior guard Stephanie Peterson tied for the team lead with five rebounds.

MSUB featured four players scoring in double figures, led by a 16-point, 11-rebond double-double by Kortney Nelson and 13 points Danielle Zahn.

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 remain on the road next week to close out a string of four consecutive road games, making their annual trek to Alaska to face Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, January 26 (7 pm AKT/8 pm PT) and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, January 28 (7 pm AKT, 8 pm PT).

WWU (14-2, 8-1 GNAC) begin the second half of the conference schedule with a trip the 49th state to face Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. 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 MSUB:

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

The Vikings had their six-game winning streak against the Yellowjackets snapped in the 12-point loss Saturday…WWU maintains a 28-17 lead in the all-time series and are now 15-6 all-time in Alterowitz Gym.

The Vikings had their 14-game winning streak snapped Saturday night at MSUB. It marked the 26th double-digit winning streak in program history and enters the record book as the 10th-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 67-17 (.798) with a 32-11 record in GNAC play (.744). 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. WWU ends the first half of the 18-game conference schedule in first place at 8-1:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following the Vikings first GNAC loss of the season:

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 657, 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 1,089 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.