NAMPA, Idaho – Led by a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double from junior forward Brooke Walling, the No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's basketball team put together a wire-to-wire 86-70 victory over Northwest Nazarene Saturday in GNAC play in the Johnson Sports Center.

WWU won its 11th consecutive games to improve to 11-1 overall and remained on top of the GNAC standings with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. NNU dropped to 7-7 overall and 3-3 in league play.

Walling was again dominant while recording her fifth double-double of the season, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and also adding three blocked shots, three steals and four assists. 

Senior guard Avery Dykstra added 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting (3-for-3 3FG) and younger sister sophomore guard Riley Dykstra capped a solid road trip with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting. In the two games at Central Washington and NNU, Riley scored 32 points on 14-for-19 combined shooting.

Senior forward Carley Zaragoza rounded out WWU's four players scoring in double-digits with a season-high 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. 

The Vikings combined to shoot 53.4-percent in the game (31-for-58) and were 7-for-14 from three-point range. WWU's hot shooting was fueled by hitting 9-of-12 shots in the third quarter while out-scoring NNU 28-14. Western led by as many as 31 points early in the fourth quarter before the Nighthawks finished with a 27-point fourth quarter to bring the game to the final score of 86-70.

Over the last four games, the Vikings have combined to score 373 points to average 93.25 points per game. 

NNU was led by 13 points from Lydia Nieto and 12 each by Cami Knishka and Clare Eubanks. The Nighthawks were held to 32.8-percent shooting (19-for-58) and out-scored in the paint 44-22.

The Vikings held a 41-29 lead at the half, building the 12-point lead by out-scoring the Nighthawks 17-13 in the first quarter and 24-16 in the second quarter. NNU cut the deficit to three points at 22-19 with 8:02 left in the second period, but the Vikings used a 9-2 run to build the lead up to 11 points following a long two-point shot by Stephanie Peterson at the 2:48 mark. Avery Dykstra hit a long three-pointer and consecutive baskets by Carley Zaragoza closed out the half for the Vikings on a 7-2 run to take the 12-poitn lead. Riley Dykstra led the Vikings with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first half and Brooke Walling had nine points, six rebounds, two steaks, two blocked shots and a pair of assists. WWU shot 51.5-percent from the field (17-for-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and was 4-for-10 from three-point range. NNU was held to 28.1-percent shooting (9-for-32) and was led by eight points from Cami Knishka.

The Vikings blew the game open out-scoring the Nighthawks 52-30 in the second (24-16) and third (28-14) quarters. A three-pointer by Avery Dykstra at the 7:43 mark in the fourth quarter put the Vikings up by 31 points 76-45.

WWU (11-1, 5-0 GNAC) return home next week for a pair of GNAC games hosting Saint Martin's on Thursday (1/12) and Western Oregon on Saturday (1/14) with both games featuring a 7 pm tip-off on WECU Court. Links on how to follow the Vikings and purchase tickets to home games can be found at wwuvikings.com/Live.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Northwest Nazarene:

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

WWU improved to 33-17 all-time vs. NNU, rebounding from a pair of overtime losses last season to the Nighthawks. The Vikings improved to 13-9 all-time in road games vs. NNU. The Nighthawks had won eight of the previous 10 in the series and the last six games are even 3-3.

The Vikings have a current 11-game winning streak, the 26th double-digit winning streak in program history. The current winning streak is tied for 14th-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 64-16 (.800) with a 29-10 record in GNAC play (.744).

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 86-70 victory at NNU:

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 654, 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 1,086 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.