ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team returns to familiar territory by clinching a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships Final following a dominating 75-60 semifinal victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage Friday afternoon in Nicholson Pavilion.

 

WWU improved to 22-6 overall and will play in its 10th GNAC Championships final in the 13 years of the tournament, including fourth consecutive. The No. 2 seed Vikings will be looking to defend the conference tournament title Saturday night taking on No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Montana State Billings at 5 pm in Ellensburg. MSUB defeated tournament host Central Washington 62-60 in the second semifinal, setting up a rematch of last year's championship final won by the Vikings 76-71 in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings 15-point victory Friday was highlighted by a pair of standout performances from junior guard Riley Dykstra and senior All-American forward Brooke Walling.

 

Dykstra set the GNAC Championships single-game record and tied the WWU program mark with eight made three-pointers, going 8-for-9 from beyond the arc while scoring a game-high 24 points. In two games inside the renovated Nicholson Pavilion this season, Dykstra has combined for 54 points after scoring a career-high 30 points in the regular-season contest in Ellensburg. 

 

Walling flirted with what would have been the first triple-double in GNAC Championships history, falling one assist short of the statistical achievement. Walling finished with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, 10 rebounds and had a career-high nine assists. 

 

Senior guard Stephanie Peterson nearly matched her WWU single-game career-high with 17 points, going 4-for-9 from the field (3-for-8 3FG) and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Mason Oberg scored all nine of her points in the second half on 4-for-6 shooting, including several tough shots in the paint.

 

The Vikings came out shooting hitting their first seven three-point attempts in the first quarter, with four by Dykstra, two by junior Olivia Wikstrom and one by Peterson. Overall WWU tied its season high with 14 three-pointers (14-for-26) and shot 52.1-percent from the field (25-for-48).

 

As impressive as the Vikings offense was clicking on all cylinders, Western's defense also rose to the occasion holding UAA to 38.5-percent shooting (20-for-52) and 7-for-19 (.368) from three-point range. 

 

After defeating the Vikings twice during the regular season, the No. 3 seed Seawolves dropped to 19-9 on the season. UAA was led by 16 points from Senya Rabouin and 12 by Elaina Mack.
 

 

The Vikings led by double-digits for most of the game on the way to the 15-point victory. Olivia Wikstrom hit a three-pointer at the 1:39 mark in the first quarter to put the Vikings up by 11 points at 22-11, and Western never led by fewer than nine points for the remainder of the game. UAA pulled to within 10 points late in the third quarter, but the Vikings responded with six consecutive points.

 

The Vikings raced out to a 25-14 lead through the first quarter, using the three-pointer to build the 11-point lead. WWU started 7-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished 7-for-10 from three-point range in the quarter. Riley Dykstra hit four three-pointers in the quarter to lead Western with 12 first-quarter points.

 

The Vikings built a 15-point halftime lead out-scoring UAA 45-30 in the first 20 minutes of action. Riley Dykstra led all players with 21 points in the first half, going 7-for-8 from three-point range. Brooke Walling added eight points, seven rebounds and six assists in 19 minutes of action. Western combined to shoot 59.3-percent in the half (16-for-27), fueled by 11-for-18 shooting from three-point range. 

 

The No. 24 nationally-ranked Vikings (22-6) will play in its 10th GNAC Championship game (out of 13 tournaments) Saturday at 5 pm facing No. 15 Montana State Billings in a rematch of last year's championships final. The game will stream live online via GNAC.tv on YouTube. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/WBB.

 

WWU improved to 18-8 all-time in the GNAC Championships and will play for a fourth title after defeating Alaska Anchorage 75-60 in Friday's semifinal. The Vikings are the defending tournament champions after beating MSU Billings on their home court last season. Wester has advanced to play in 12 of 13 possible GNAC Tournaments and will be making its 10th appearance in the championship game.

 

Here is a look at the GNAC Championships schedule with the three-day tournament held March 7-9 inside Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg. The championship game will be held Saturday at 5 pm. More info is available on the championships at GNACSports.com. 

 

Thursday, March 7:

Quarterfinal 1: No. 3 Alaska Anchorage 79, No. 6 Seed Seattle Pacific 57

Quarterfinal 2:  No. 4 Central Washington 65,  No. 5 Seed Simon Fraser 51

Friday, March 8:

Semifinal 1: No. 2 Western Washington 75, No. 3 Alaska Anchorage 60

Semifinal 2: No. 1 Montana State Billings 62, No. 4 Central Washington 60

Saturday, March 9:

5 pm – No. 2 Western Washington vs. No. 1 Montana State Billings

 

Junior guard Riley Dykstra was selected as the WECU Player of the Game after setting the WWU single-game record with eight made three-pointers. Dykstra scored a game-high 24 points on 8-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. The junior also grabbed four rebounds, had a pair of assists and one blocked shot in 34 minutes.

W🏀| WECU Player of the Game

Going 8-9 from beyond the arc, leading the Viks in scoring with 24-points and setting a record for three-pointers made in the GNAC Championships, Riley Dykstra is your WECU Player of the Game! GO VIKS!🤘 pic.twitter.com/7m0d4fWL3k

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) March 8, 2024

Riley Dykstra set the GNAC Championships single-game record and tied the WWU record with eight made three-pointers. Dykstra was 8-for-9 from beyond the arc, matching the eight treys made by former Vikings Katie Colard (2/6/14), Jodie Kaczor (2/10/01) and Corinn Waltrip (2/16/13). 

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Senior All-American forward Brooke Walling fell one assist shy of recording the first triple-double in the history of the GNAC Championships recording 12 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Walling was 6-for-8 from the field and also had a pair of steals. Walling recorded her GNAC-leading 13th double-double and nearly had Western's first triple-double since Trishi Williams on February 2, 2013 vs. UAA (11 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast). Walling has now recorded 29 double-doubles as a Viking to tie for 7th-most in GNAC history.

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

 

 

The third time was indeed a charm for the Vikings, pushing aside a pair of regular-season defeats against Alaska Anchorage (61-54 on the road, 77-69 at home) to defeat the Seawolves 75-60 Friday in the GNAC Championships semifinal…WWU improved to 36-30 all-time vs. the Seawolves…the Vikings were previously 0-5 vs. UAA in the GNAC Tournament, with all five losses in a championships final.

 

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

 

 

Here are links to bookmark to help follow the GNAC Basketball Championships:

 

·         Tournament Central

·         Ticket Information

·         GNAC.tv via YouTube

·         Live Stats

·         Tournament History & Records

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the 15-point victory over UAA in the GNAC Championships semifinal:

 

 

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 689, 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 1,121 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.