BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team opens conference play this week hosting a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games in Carver Gym.

 

WWU carries a three-game winning streak into the weekly slate with No. 3 Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific set to play the Vikings on WECU Court. The 4-3 Vikings host MSUB on Thursday and SPU on Saturday to open the 18-game conference schedule.

 

The Vikings are coming off a pair of wins at the CWU Thanksgiving Tournament over the weekend, returning to action after a 13-day break to beat Biola (61-51) and Westminster (63-50) in non-conference games.

 

Western is led by reigning GNAC Player of the Week Alyson Deaver, who is averaging 15.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Olivia Wikstrom has averaged 13.4 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game and junior guard Mason Oberg is also averaging double-digits in scoring with 11.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Demi Dykstra leads the team with 16 steals and is averaging 9.1 points per game.

 

WWU has won four of its last five games while playing a tough schedule through the first seven games of the season. The Vikings have played a pair of teams currently in the WBCA coaches poll with top 15 national rankings, falling to current No. 12 Cal State Dominguez Hills in the season opener and No. 14 Azusa Pacific. MSUB enters Thursday's game ranked No. 3 in the nation.

 

The Vikings have battled the injury bug through the early part of the season with sophomore guard Libby Stump, junior forward Ellie Croco, freshman forward Jaylyn Arosemena and senior forward Aspen Garrison currently sidelined with injuries.

 

 

The Vikings (4-3) return to Bellingham to open GNAC play this week hosting Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday in Carver Gym, with both games featuring a 7 pm tip-off on WECU Court. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/WBB.

 

Junior forward Alyson Deaver heads into the opening week of conference play as the reigning GNAC Player of the Week. Deaver earned the award for her standout performance in wins over Biola and Westminster in the CWU Thanksgiving Tournament, averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in the tournament all while shooting 59.1-percent from the field (13-for-22) and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Through seven games this season Deaver leads the Vikings and ranks 7th in the GNAC averaging 15.0 points per game and is 14th in the conference averaging 5.7 rebounds per game.

After this week's games to open the 18-game conference schedule, the Vikings will take a week off for final exams to close out the fall quarter and return to action with a pair of games December 20-21 at the Big Island Holiday Classic in Hilo, Hawai'i. The Vikings next home games are scheduled for January 9 vs. Northwest Nazarene and January 11 vs. Central Washington. The complete 2024-25 WWU women's basketball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/23-24_WBB.

 

All home games will stream live on YouTube via Vikings TV. Additionally, every away GNAC game will feature a webcast on YouTube produced by the visiting team. To watch WWU home games on your Smart TV, navigate to the YouTube application and search for WWU Athletics, or for away games search for the opposing school's YouTube channel (example: SPU Athletics). All WWU links to follow the Vikings online can be found online, but be sure to bookmark the following links for easy access:

 

·         Vikings TV (WWU home matches)

·         GNAC Live Streams

·         Direct Link to watch WWU matches (wwuvikings.com/WBB_Watch)

·         Direct Link to follow WWU matches via live stats (wwuvikings.com/WBB_Stats)

 

Parking for all WWU home events in Carver Gym is free and now located in the 19G Lot by the Student Recreation Center. Season ticket parking will be in the 9G lot. A parking map is available at wwuvikings.com.

 

The Vikings made an in-season roster addition with junior guard Anna VanderYacht joining the program after the completion of the volleyball season. The Lynden native made her basketball debut last week appearing in 13 minutes of action to etch her name as a two-sport student-athlete. VanderYacht appeared in all 24 matches for the WWU volleyball team this fall while recording 11 service aces.

 

Here is a look at the series history between WWU and its opponents this week:

 

·         Montana State Billings: Face MSUB for the first of two regular-season games, also meeting in Billings on March 1 in the GNAC finale…WWU and MSUB split the regular-season series in 2023-24 with each team winning on its home floor…the Vikings defeated the Yellowjackets 54-52 in the GNAC Tournament final…WWU leads the all-time series 31-19 with nine wins in the last 12 meetings.

·         Seattle Pacific: The Vikings swept the season series vs. SPU in 2023-24 winning 73-61 in Carver Gym and 66-55 on the road…WWU has a current 12-game winning streak vs. the Falcons dating back to February 16, 2019 and lead the all-time series 73-33.

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024-25 season:

 

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season heading into the opening weekend of GNAC play:

 

Over the last six seasons (since 2019-20), the Vikings have combined to go 105-29 for a .784 winning percentage. WWU won back-to-back GNAC regular-season championships in 2022 and 2023 and have won the last two GNAC Tournament titles. The Vikings played in the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship Game in Birmingham, Alabama, earning runner-up honors.

 

The Western Washington University women's basketball team has been picked first in the 2024-25 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The two-time defending GNAC Tournament champions Vikings edged defending regular-season champion Montana State Billings by one point with the final tally being 91-90 in favor of WWU. MSUB gathered five of the 10 first-place votes, with Western earning four and Alaska Anchorage the final vote. WWU went 24-7 overall last season and placed second in the GNAC during the regular season with a 14-4 record. The Vikings defeated MSUB 54-52 in the conference tournament championship game to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional Championships.

 

 

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 34th season leading the program, owning an all-time record of 695-265 (.724) to rank amongst the active and career leaders at the NCAA Division II level for career wins and winning percentage. Entering the 2024-25 season, Dolfo is 10th all-time in NCAA II in wins. Dolfo has led the Vikings to 20 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. Dolfo is five wins short of joining the 700-win club.

 

The 2024-25 coaching staff includes 13th-year assistant head coach Stacey Turrell, assistant coach Katrina Gimmaka, 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 695 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 1127-400 for a career winning percentage of .738.

 

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in 11 of the last 14 full seasons, and 38 times in the 53-year history of the program. WWU has 24 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 695, winning percentage and 20-win seasons. The Vikings have reached the NCAA II Tournament in 20 of 25 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 1,127 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.