MOSES LAKE, Wash. – The court at Big Bend Community College shows a Viking logo in the center, and Thursday the No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team played like they were at home in an 82-70 victory over No. 24 Central Washington University.

Playing in Moses Lake due to ongoing renovations at CWU's Nicholson Pavilion, the Vikings improved to 10-1 overall with their 10th consecutive victory and remained in sole possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 4-0 with the 12-point victory. The victory was the 100th by the Vikings over the Wildcats in the 117 games in the all-time series.

The Vikings overcame a nine-point deficit after trailing 20-11 following the first period, using a 15-0 run to open the second half to hand the Wildcats their second straight defeat to fall to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

The 15-0 run to open the third quarter proved to be the difference, with leading scorer Katrina Gimmaka scoring 10 of her career-high 22 points during the scoring run. Junior forward Brooke Walling had 15 points and nine rebounds, also adding three assists, three steals and four blocked shots. 

Sophomore guard Riley Dykstra scored a season-high 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting and redshirt freshman guard Mason Oberg contributed nine points, all on three-pointers. Senior guard Mollie Olson dished out eight assists and had seven points.

WWU shot 51.4-percent for the game (36-for-70), including 21-for-33 accuracy (.636) in the second half while out-scoring CWU 49-38. The Vikings also totaled 25 assists for the third consecutive game with 25-or-more assists.

Senior center Samantha Bowman provided over half of the Wildcats total offense with 36 points on 16-for-23 shooting, also recording 15 rebounds for her 13th double-double in 14 games. Asher Cai also scored in double-digits with 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting.

WWU (10-1, 4-0 GNAC) remains on the road facing Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho on Saturday (5:15 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 Central Washington:

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

The Vikings took the first game of the regular-season series with the two teams meeting in Carver Gym on Feb. 4…two teams went 2-2 against each other last season, 1-1 during the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason with the Vikings earning a win in the NCAA II West Regional Semifinal…WWU leads the all-time series 100-17 with an 11-7 advantage in the last 18 meetings dating back to the 2015-16 season.

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

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following the 82-70 win over CWU:

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 653, 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 1,085 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.