BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball secured the 2022-23 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title with an 87-63 Senior Night victory over Simon Fraser University Thursday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings claimed their sixth GNAC regular-season title and earned back-to-back conference titles for the first time. WWU will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNAC Championships held March 2-4 in Bellingham, with the Vikings playing in the 7:30 pm game on Friday, March 3 after a first-round bye. No. 13 nationally-ranked WWU completed the regular season schedule with a 22-3 record and 16-2 mark in conference play.

 

WWU celebrated its five-player senior class prior to the game and all 11 players responded by scoring at least four points. Senior forward Carley Zaragoza led all players with a career-high 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, with senior Katrina Gimmaka (12 points), sophomore Riley Dykstra (10 points) and senior Mollie Olson (10 points) also scoring in double-digits.

 

Junior forward Brooke Walling recorded a game-high 12 rebounds and sophomore forward Truitt Reilly tallied a career-high five assists.

 

The Vikings led wire-to-wire in the regular-season finale, building an early 8-0 lead and never trailed in the game. WWU's biggest lead was 26 points late in the fourth quarter en route to the 24-point victory. WWU shot 50.0-percent for the game (33-for-66) and went 10-for-23 (.435) from three-point range. The Vikings held an 11-rebound advantage (46-35) and dished out 26 assists.

 

SFU completed the regular season with an overall record of 10-12 and clinched the No. 6 seed in the GNAC Championships field at 8-10 in conference play. Jessica Wisotzki led the Red Leafs with 16 points, scoring half of her points going 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Sophie Klassen and Makenna Gardner each scored 11 points.

 

The field for the GNAC Championships will be officially set Saturday following the conclusion of the regular season with the brackets announced on GNACSports.com.

With the win over SFU, WWU clinched the GNAC regular-season title with a 16-2 conference record. The Vikings have won back-to-back regular-season titles for the first time since the conference was formed in 2001-02 and the sixth time overall. Western also has won a pair of conference tournament titles in 2013 and 2014. WWU will be the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships held March 2-4 in Carver Gym in Bellingham.

W🏀| With their win tonight, @WWUbasketball clinches the regular season GNAC TITLE in back-to-back seasons! LET'S GO!!!! #GoViks🤘 pic.twitter.com/wG0KMeNeP5

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 24, 2023

The schedule for the GNAC Championships held March 2-4 will be set following the completion of Saturday's (Feb. 25) games. WWU has locked up a first round bye and will likely play at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 3. Tickets for the three-day tournament are available at wwuvikings.com/GNAC_Tix. 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.

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

 

 

The Vikings swept the regular-season series vs. SFU, also winning 69-60 in Burnaby on December 3 in the GNAC opener for both teams. WWU improved to 56-37 all-time vs. SFU, including seven wins in the last nine meetings. The Vikings are 13-3 in the last 16 games of the series and has won 15 consecutive home games vs. the Red Leafs since the 2010-11 season.

 

WWU entered the weekend ranked No. 13 (WBCA Coaches) and No. 12 (D2SIDA Media) in the national polls, and No. 2 in the first ordered version of the NCAA West Region rankings.

 

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

 

 

WWU celebrated its five seniors Avery Dykstra, Mollie Olson, Monique Fierke, Carley Zaragoza and Katrina Gimmaka prior to Thursday's game as the final regular-season home game in Carver Gym. The five seniors have combined to play in 539 games in their Viking careers.

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 87-63 win over Simon Fraser:

 

 

The Vikings are 21-3 overall, reaching the 20-win mark for the 37th time in the 52-year history of the program, and 23rd time in 32 seasons under head coach Carmen Dolfo.

 

Dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, the Vikings have combined to go 75-18 (.806) with a 40-12 record in GNAC play (.769). WWU went 25-6 during the Elite 8 2021-22 season and off to a 22-3 start to the 2022-23 season.

 

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in 10 of the last 14 full seasons, and 27 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 665, 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 1,097 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.