BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The first-place and nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team remains on the road this weekend to open the second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule.

 

The Vikings carry a 14-2 overall record and 8-1 GNAC mark into the second half of the conference season, beginning with the annual road trip to Alaska to face Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Both games in the 49th state feature a 7 pm tip-off Alaska time, which is 8 pm in Bellingham.

 

WWU had its 14-game winning streak snapped in its last game at Montana State Billings, falling 73-61 to the Yellowjackets for the first loss since the opening game of the season. The Vikings are currently ranked No. 11 in the WBCA Coaches Poll, No. 12 in the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 2 in the West Region.

 

The second half of GNAC play will feature the Vikings playing five of nine games at home in Carver Gym, including five of the last seven following the trip north to Alaska. WWU is 7-1 at home this season (includes 1-1 at Whatcom CC) and 7-1 on the road (includes 1-0 neutral site).

 

The Vikings hold a one-game lead in the GNAC standings over second-place MSUB (7-2), with the top six teams in the standings qualifying for the conference tournament that will be held March 2-4 inside Caver Gym in Bellingham.

 

WWU heads into the second half of the GNAC season featuring a balanced offensive attack with seven players averaging at least 6.0 points per game. Junior forward Brooke Walling leads the team averaging 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, and is amongst the league leaders in blocked shots (2.1/game), assists (3.6/game), steals (1.7/game) and field goal percentage (.589/93-for-158).

 

Redshirt freshman guard Mason Oberg is second on the team averaging 9.4 points per game and is listed sixth in the GNAC shooting .430 from three-point range (34-for-79). Senior guard Avery Dykstra is averaging 8.9 points per game after scoring 30 points in both games combined last weekend, and is eighth in the GNAC with a .825 free throw percentage (33-for-40). Senior post player Carley Zaragoza is coming off a career-high 19-point performance vs. MSUB and is fourth in the league shooting .857 (30-for-35) from the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Truitt Reilly is third in the GNAC with four double-doubles, averaging 7.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Senior Katrina Gimmaka is averaging 8.4 points per game while ranking fourth in the conference with a .569 field goal percentage (58-for-102).

 

The complete 2022-23 WWU women's basketball schedule and season results to this point can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/22-23_WBB.

 

 

WWU (14-2, 8-1 GNAC) close out a tough four-game stretch of road games making its annual trek to Alaska to face Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Both games will feature a 7 pm Alaska time tip-off, which is 8 pm in Bellingham. Links on how to follow the Vikings in road games and how to purchase tickets for home games can be found at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

While the Vikings schedule to this point has featured eight home games (two at Whatcom CC) and eight road games, WWU will get the chance to complete the season with five of its final seven regular-season games inside Carver Gym. The Vikings will then serve as the host for the 2023 GNAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships held March 2-4 on WECU Court in Bellingham.

 

Senior forward Carley Zaragoza scored a career-high 19 points in the Vikings last game at Montana State Billings. Zaragoza scored the 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting in just 15 minutes of action, also going 5-for-5 from the free throw line. The career-high scoring performance came in Zaragoza's 81st game as a Viking.

 

Here is a look at the series history between WWU and its opponents this week in GNAC Play:

 

• Alaska Fairbanks: Defeated UAF 101-57 in Carver Gym on December 31, making history by scoring 100 points in the second consecutive game over a GNAC opponent…WWU leads the all-time series over UAF 55-5 and has won 26 consecutive games against the Nanooks since the 2008-09season…owns a 26-5 all-time record in games played in Fairbanks, with a current 13-game winning streak.
• Alaska Anchorage: WWU defeated UAA 104-51 on Dec. 29 in Carver Gym in record fashion for the program's biggest margin of victory in a GNAC contest…the Vikings have won four consecutive games over the Seawolves dating back to last season (3-0 in 2021-22), the longest winning streak for WWU in the head-to-head series since winning five straight from Feb. 19, 2004-Feb. 9, 2006…Western leads the all-time series 34-28 (according to WWU records) with a 14-13 record in games played in Alaska…WWU won 53-45 in Anchorage last season, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the Alaska Airlines Center.

 

A reminder that games played in Alaska are played in Alaska Daylight Time, which is one hour behind Pacific Standard Time (or Bellingham time). Games vs. UAF (Thursday) and UAA (Saturday) both feature a 7:00 pm tip-off, which is 8:00 pm in Bellingham/Seattle/all of Washington. Both games will feature a live webcast on YouTube with a direct link available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

The Vikings are in the midst of a stretch of four consecutive road games, which covers a big part of the GNAC footprint. Last week WWU played at Seattle Pacific on Thursday and then flew to Billings, Montana to take on MSUB. Returning on Sunday, the Vikings were right back in the air flying to Alaska on Wednesday for the two-game trip to the 49th state to face UAF on Thursday and UAA on Saturday.

 

WWU utilizes its entire 11-player active roster, with 10 players averaging at least 11 minutes per game and all 11 players over 7.5 minutes per game. The Vikings are the No. 2 scoring team in the conference averaging 75.5 points per game (78.8 ppg in GNAC games), with eight players averaging at least 5.0 points per game.

 

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 and schedule heading into this weekend's games:

 

 

Here is where WWU ranks in the NCAA Division II statistical rankings, with the Vikings leading the nation in rebound margin (+12.7), rank second in blocked shots (6.2 per game) and are fourth in field goal percentage (47.5%):

 

 

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

 

 

Junior forward Brooke Walling has been filling the stat sheet this season ranking amongst GNAC leaders in several categories. Here is a look at where Walling is listed in the GNAC and NCAA II this season:

 

• Blocked Shots: 2.1 blocks per game (2nd in GNAC, 13th in NCAA II)
• Scoring: 14.1 points per game (9th in GNAC)
• Rebounding: 9.6 rebounds per game (2nd in GNAC, 26th in NCAA II)
• FG Pct: .589/93-for-158 (2nd in GNAC, 14th in NCAA II)
• Assists: 3.6 assists per game (4th in GNAC)
• Steals: 1.7 steals per game (T-9th in GNAC)
• Double-Doubles: 7 (2nd in GNAC)

 

Here is a list of Vikings current national and West Region rankings, with WWU dropping out of the national top 10 with current rankings at No. 11 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the D2SIDA Media Poll:

 

• WBCA NCAA II Coaches Poll: #11
• D2SIDA NCAA II Media Poll: #12
• D2SIDA West Region Media Poll: #2

 

Here is a listing of individual honors for Viking players during the 2022-23 season:

 

Brooke Walling:

• West Region Crossover Classic MVP
• Lynda Goodrich Classic MVP
• Preseason All-GNAC
• GNAC Player of the Week (Jan. 2-8)

Avery Dykstra:

• Lynda Goodrich Classic All-Tournament
• Preseason All-GNAC

Mason Oberg:

• Hoops in Hawai'i Classic All-Tournament

Maddy Grandbois:

• Lynda Goodrich Classic All-Tournament

Mollie Olson:

• Preseason All-GNAC

Riley Dykstra:

• Preseason All-GNAC

 

The Vikings became the first team in GNAC history to record back-to-back conference games scoring 100 or more points in the victories over the Alaska schools (Dec. 29-31). WWU reached the 100-point plateau for the 28th time in program history with the 101-57 win over UAF on December 31, but just for the third time in back-to-back games after demolishing Alaska Anchorage 104-51 on December 29. Joins the 1988-89 Vikings (100-49 vs. Alaska Pacific on Dec. 19, 1988 and 100-71 vs. UC Riverside on Dec. 27, 1988) and the 2003-03 squad (106-58 vs. Northwest on Dec. 20, 2002 and 108-57 vs. Cal State LA on Dec. 27, 2002).

 

Junior forward Brooke Walling was awarded the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for games played January 2-8. Walling helped lead the Vikings to a pair of road conference victories over Central Washington (82-70) and Northwest Nazarene (86-70) averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in the wins over the Wildcats and Nighthawks, also tallying seven blocked shots, seven assists and six steals. Walling combined to shoot 53.6-percent making 15-of-28 field goals and was 5-for-8 from the free throw line. In the 12-point win over CWU, Walling scored 15 points with nine rebounds and against NNU recorded her fifth double-double with a season-high-tying 21 points and 11 rebounds.

 

The Vikings landed a league-high four players on the 2022-23 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. Junior forward Brooke Walling, senior guard Mollie Olson, senior guard Avery Dykstra and sophomore guard Riley Dykstra were all selected following their GNAC Championships victory and run to the NCAA Division II Championship title game last season.

 

WWU entered the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA II West Regional, but went on a five-game winning streak – knocking off four higher seeded teams – to play for the national championship. The Vikings battled Glenville State in the championship game at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama, falling 85-72 to earn national runner-up honors. Marked the Vikings third trip to the Elite 8 and first since 2013. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Championships in 18 of 23 possible seasons.

 

The Vikings reached the 20-win mark (25-6) in 2021-22, marking the 36th 20-win season in the 51-year history of the program, and 22nd in 31 seasons under head coach Carmen Dolfo.

In addition to several NCAA Tournament and Elite 8 appearances that hang in the rafters in Carver Gym, WWU added a fifth GNAC Championships regular-season banner last season. The Vikings claimed the GNAC regular-season title in 2001-02, 2005-06, 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2021-22. WWU also won back-to-back GNAC Tournament titles in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

 

Head coach Carmen Dolfo is in her 32nd season leading the program, owning an all-time record of 657-253 (.722) to rank amongst the active and career leaders at the NCAA Division II level for career wins and winning percentage. Entered the 2022-23 season, Dolfo ranked 13th all-time in NCAA II in wins. Dolfo has led the Vikings to 18 trips to the NCAA Championships and a trio of Elite 8 appearances, including playing in the national championship game in 2022. She became the winningest coach in WWU Athletics history when she collected victory No. 519 on Dec. 3, 2015 vs. Alaska to pass former men's basketball coach Brad Jackson (518-279). Dolfo tallied her 600th career victory on January 11, 2020 vs. Seattle Pacific, in her 840th career game. Dolfo became the 36th active NCAA women's head coach across all divisions to join the 600-win club and is one of 73 women's coaches all-time in NCAA history to reach the milestone. WWU has recorded 22 seasons with 20-or-more wins under Dolfo. She was named the 2021-22 GNAC Coach of the Year. That was her fifth GNAC honor and 12th Coach of the Year accolade overall. Dolfo was also a volleyball and basketball student-athlete at WWU in the 1980s.

 

The 2022-23 coaching staff includes 11th-year assistant head coach Stacey Turrell, assistant coach Bobbi Westendorf, volunteer assistants Annalisa Fish and Mike Li, and student assistant George Irwin.

 

Two WWU women's basketball coaches have more than 400 career victories, with current head coach Carmen Dolfo amassing 657 wins and Hall of Fame coach Lynda Goodrich totaling 411 wins leading the Vikings for 19 seasons from 1971-1990. The program owns an all-time record of 1089-388 for a career winning percentage of .737.

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season schedule and results:

 

 

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.