SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In a battle of two of the top teams in the West Region, the Western Washington University women's basketball team opened a three-game California road trip with a 74-69 loss against Dominican University of California Thursday evening in the Conlan Center.

The Vikings, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 9/13 in the nation, dropped just their second game of the season having their five-game winning streak snapped to fall to 7-2 on the season. Dominican, ranked No. 6 in the West, improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in home games with the victory.

Playing for the first time since December 2, WWU had a strong first half leading 23-16 through the first quarter and had a 43-35 lead at the half. But the Penguins stormed back with a 19-11 third-quarter advantage and out-scored WWU 39-26 in the second half for the five-point upset victory.

Trailing by 10 points at 71-61 with 1:24 remaining following five consecutive three-pointers by Dominican, WWU pulled to within three points at 72-69, but the late comeback attempt fell just short. Pepperdine sophomore transfer Hailey Hoff hit four three pointers in the final quarter to help lift the Penguins to the victory.

Junior guard Riley Dykstra and senior guard Stephanie Peterson each scored 12 points to lead the Vikings in scoring, with Peterson recording a WWU single-game career-high in points scored. Senior forward Brooke Walling recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 16 rebounds, but was limited to just one point in the second half. Walling is now six points shy of reaching 1,000 points for her collegiate career. Sophomore guard Mason Oberg added 10 points to round out the four Vikings reaching double-digits in points.

The Vikings were limited to 25-for-65 shooting for the second-lowest shooting percentage of the season (.385) and were 7-for-34 from three-point range. The 34 three-pointers attempted were second-most by the team during the NCAA era (since 1998-99). 

Dominican was led by a game-high 19 points from Jenna Duley and 13 points by Alex Salise. Hoff scored all 12 of her points on long-distance shots in the fourth quarter, accounting for 12 of the Penguins 20 points in the final quarter of play.

The game featured six lead changes and six tie scores, with the WWU leading for just over half the game (21:29) compared to 14:23 for Dominican. The Vikings held a 46-36 advantage in rebounds and out-scored the Penguins 32-24 in the paint.

The Vikings held an eight-point 43-35 lead at the halftime break, with Walling nearly recording the double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds in 11 minutes of action. Riley Dykstra had eight points and Demi Dykstra and Steph Peterson each had seven points in the first two quarters of action. WWU led by as many as 13 points at 39-26 with just over three minutes remaining in the half, but Dominican finished the stanza on a 9-4 run to close the gap to eight points. 

The Vikings (7-2) remains on the road to close out the 2023 portion of the schedule, completing the three-game California road trip taking on Cal State East Bay on Saturday (1 pm) and Monday at Cal State San Bernardino (1 pm). WWU is next back in Carver Gym hosting Central Washington Thursday, January 11 in the new year in GNAC play. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/WBB.

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

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

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the five-point loss Thursday at Dominican:

Here is an updated look at the 2023-24 GNAC Women's Basketball updated records and standings through play on Thursday:

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 674, 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 1,106 all-time wins in the 53-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.