BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team continues its tough early-season schedule traveling to play in the APU Cougar Shootout with games Friday and Saturday in Azusa, California against a pair of nationally-ranked teams.

The Vikings are coming off a 2-0 start to the season with wins over NCAA tournament teams from last season Cal State Dominguez Hills (70-47) and Cal State LA (76-69, OT), moving up to No. 10 in the D2CSC Media Poll. WWU will face two more tournament teams from last season this week, nationally-ranked No. 22 Cal State San Marcos on Friday (4 pm) and No. 12 Azusa Pacific on Saturday (6 pm). Both games will be played in the Felix Event Center on the Azusa Pacific University campus, with live coverage available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

WWU's tough early-season schedule features a tough slate of four consecutive games against teams that advanced to the NCAA West Regional Championships last season. The Vikings defeated reigning regional champion CSUDH to open the season and earned an overtime victory over preseason CCAA favorite LA to account for the 2-0 start.

This week the Vikings will face a pair of familiar foes taking on Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific for the third consecutive season in a GNAC/PacWest showdown. Western is 2-0 all-time against Cal State San Marcos, winning 63-46 last season at Whatcom Community College and 78-73 on the Cougars home court in during the Elite 8 season in 2021-22. Western will be looking to avenge a pair of losses to APU last season, with the Cougars defeating the Vikings 59-58 in the season opener and 71-53 in the regional quarterfinal to end the Vikings season.

The Vikings received a balanced season-opening team performance in the pair of wins, led by senior forward Brooke Walling being selected as the Veterans Day Classic MVP averaging 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game, while shooting at a .600 clip (18-for-30). Juniors Riley Dykstra (8.5 points, 7.0 assists/game) and Aspen Garrison (9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds/game) were also selected to the six-player all-tournament team.

As a team, Western opened the season averaging 73.0 points per game while limiting opponents to 58.0 points in the two contests. The Vikings lockdown defense limited CSUDH and LA to a .300 shooting percentage.

Following the trip to Southern California, the Vikings return to WECU Court in Carver Gym for the Lynda Goodrich Classic that will be feature WWU, MSU Moorhead, Hawai'i Pacific and Central Washington in a two-day tournament November 24-25 following the Thanksgiving holiday. The Goodrich Classic opens a four-game homestand for the Vikings, which includes the GNAC opener December 2 vs. Simon Fraser (7 pm), before completing the 2023 portion of the schedule on the road with a trio non-conference road games against West Region programs Dominican (12/14), Cal State East Bay (12/16) and Cal State San Bernardino (12/18). The complete 2023-24 WWU women's basketball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/23-24_WBB.

All tournament games in the APU Cougar Shootout will feature a live (and free) webcast online with a direct link to WWU's games at wwuvikings.com/WBB_Watch, and live statistical updates at wwuvikings.com/WBB_Stats.

Here is a look at the series history between WWU and its opponents this week in the Cougar Shootout hosted by Azusa Pacific University:

• Cal State San Marcos: Third consecutive season playing Cal State San Marcos, all part of the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Tournament format that used to include UC San Diego (prior to going Division I)…Vikings are 2-0 all-time vs. the Cougars winning 78-73 in 2021 in San Marcos and 63-46 last season at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham…CSUSM is 0-2 to open the season falling to Point Loma and Azusa Pacific last weekend at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge in Pomona, California.
• Azusa Pacific: 11th consecutive championship the Vikings will be facing Azusa Pacific…APU dealt the Vikings two of their four losses last season, a one-point 59-58 victory in the season opener at WCC and then a 71-53 season-ending upset in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Championships…WWU is 5-8 all-time vs APU with a 2-3 record in the last five meetings…APU is 3-1 to open the 2023-23 season recording wins last weekend over Cal Poly Pomona (81-76) and Cal State San Marcos (58-44) and going 1-1 in the season-opening D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Lubbock, Texas with a win over CSU Pueblo (66-53) and loss to West Texas A&M (70-63).

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:

WWU dominated the selections at the season-opening Veterans Day Classic with three all-tournament team players, including MVP Brooke Walling. In addition to Walling's performance that also landed GNAC Player of the Week honors, juniors Aspen Garrison and Riley Dykstra earned a well-deserved spot on the team. Here is the six-player All-Tournament Team for the 2023 WWU Veterans Day Classic:

• Brooke Walling – Western Washington (MVP) – 20.5 points/game, 11.5 rebounds/game, 12 blocks
• Aspen Garrison – Western Washington – 9.5 points/game, 6.5 rebounds/game
• Riley Dykstra – Western Washington – 8.5 points/game, 7.0 assists/game
• Nicole Flennaugh – Cal State LA – 19.5 points/game, 5.5 assists/game, 8-for-17 3FG
• Donja Payne – Cal State LA – 11.0 points/game, 9.0 rebounds/game
• Olivia Mayer – Seattle Pacific – 14.0 points/game, 9.5 rebounds/game, 14-for-27 FG (.519)

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Over the last four seasons (since 2019-20), the Vikings have combined to go 79-19 for a .806 winning percentage. WWU is the two-time defending GNAC regular-season champions and played in the 2022 NCAA II National Championship Game.

Seniors Brooke Walling (transfer from Fresno State) and Stephanie Peterson (transfer from Cameron) are approaching 1,000 career collegiate points. Here is a look at their collegiate points nearing the scoring milestone:

• Brooke Walling (875 points – 734 in 59 games at WWU, 141 in 56 games at Fresno St.)
• Stephanie Peterson (863 points – 100 in 30 games at WWU, 763 in 73 games at Cameron)

WWU enters the second week of the 2023-24 regular season ranked No. 10 in the D2CSC (College Sports Communicators) National Poll and holds the No. 1 ranking in the West Region. The Vikings opened the season receiving votes in the WBCA National Coaches Poll (No. 28 with 54 votes).

WWU is coming off a double GNAC Championship season in 2022-23, winning both the regular season and postseason conference titles. WWU won its sixth GNAC regular-season title, adding to championships won 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 and again last season.

The two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion WWU women's basketball team will open the 2023-24 season picked to finish runner-up in the annual preseason coaches poll. The Vikings are coming off an impressive 24-4 season, winning the league title with a 16-2 record and claiming the GNAC Tournament title with an instant-classic 76-71 win over Montana State Billings in the final on WECU Court in Carver Gym. Making its third consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason, Western was upended in the first round of the West Regional by Azusa Pacific. MSUB was picked to finish just ahead of WWU in the GNAC preseason poll with 94 points and five first-place votes. Western was just back of the Yellowjackets with 91 points and four first-place votes. Alaska Anchorage picked up the final first-place vote in the No. 3 spot with 75 points. Simon Fraser (68) and Central Washington (66) round out the top five.

The Vikings reached the 20-win mark (24-4) in 2022-24, marking the 37th 20-win season in the 52-year history of the program, and 23rd in 32 seasons under head coach Carmen Dolfo.

Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2023-24 season can call the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-BLUE to reserve their seats for the upcoming season inside Carver Gym. The complete 2023-24 schedule is available online with links to purchase tickets at wwuvikings.com/23-24_WBB.

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season heading into this week's games in Azusa, California at the Cougar Shootout hosted by Azusa Pacific University:

Thanks to a partnership with WECU and The Foundation for WWU & Alumni, all current WWU students will receive free admission to all regular-season athletic events in Carver Gym. Students just need to show their W card at the door and then head over to the WECU Student Section to cheer on the Viks.

Head coach Carmen Dolfo is in her 33rd season leading the program, owning an all-time record of 669-255 (.724) to rank amongst the active and career leaders at the NCAA Division II level for career wins and winning percentage. Entering the 2023-24 season, Dolfo is 11th all-time in NCAA II in wins. Dolfo has led the Vikings to 19 trips to the NCAA Championships and a trio of Elite 8 appearances. 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 23 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 2023-24 coaching staff includes 12th-year assistant head coach Stacey Turrell, assistant coach Bobbi Westendorf, volunteer assistant Mike Li, and student assistants George Irwin, Ben Allen and Grant Brewer.

Two WWU women's basketball coaches have more than 400 career victories, with current head coach Carmen Dolfo amassing 669 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 1001-390 for a career winning percentage of .738.

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in 10 of the last 14 full seasons, and 37 times in the 52-year history of the program. WWU has 23 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 669, winning percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 19 of 24 possible seasons at the Division II level with three trips to the Elite Eight (last in 2022) and played in the 2022 national championship game. The program has 1,101 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.