By: Jeff Evans, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team heads into the 2025-26 season as the top team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll.
WWU is ranked first among the 10 teams in the league by the thinnest of margins, holding a one-point edge over Central Washington. The Vikings earned 90 poll points and five first-place votes, with the Wildcats at 89 points and four first-place votes. Saint Martin's is third with 72 points and Montana State Billings gathered the final first-place vote checking in at No. 4 with 64 points.
The conference portion of the 2025-26 schedule gets off to an early start with an opening round of games Dec. 3-6. The rest of the 18-game league schedule will kick off on New Year's Day with a full slate of games. The top-six teams in the GNAC regular-season standings will earn spots in the 2026 GNAC Women's Basketball Championships, which run March 5-7 at Western Washington's Carver Gym in Bellingham, Wash. The winner of the conference tournament will earn the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which are scheduled for March 12-16 at campus sites. All regular-season games hosted by GNAC schools this season will feature a live video stream available for purchase on the new GNAC Network.
The Vikings are coming off an 18-11 record in 2024-25 and went 12-6 in conference play to finish in 4th place in the conference standings. WWU advanced to its sixth consecutive GNAC Championships tournament last spring, defeating Northwest Nazarene 82-70 in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual tournament champion Alaska Anchorage 67-38 in the semifinals. Among the Vikings key returners is junior
Demi Dykstra, who was third on the team last season with 11.6 points per game and second on the team with 2.96 assists per game. Senior forward
Aspen Garrison, who contributed 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2023-24, also returns after missing the 2024-25 campaign. Junior guard
Libby Stumpwas limited to just 11 games in her first year after transferring from Montana, figures to be a key piece of the Vikings this season.
WWU's lineup will be bolstered this winter by a breadth of high level transfers, including
Vivienne Berrett (C, 6-4, Hawai'i),
Rakiyah Jackson (G, 5-10, Nevada),
Joy Haltom (G, 5-11, Portland State) and
Olivia Hodges (F, 6-1, Cal State LA), and freshman guards
Victoria Nguyen (5-6, Eugene, OR) and
Eden Sander (5-8, Spokane, WA). Senior guard
Anna VanderYacht made the full-time transition from the volleyball squad for her final collegiate season and redshirt guard
Elizabeth Swift enters her second season in the program.
Carmen Dolfo, the winningest coach in GNAC history, begins her 35th season piloting the program. WWU projects to be a contender for its seventh GNAC title, with the last coming in the form of back-to-back crowns in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Vikings are also four-time GNAC Championships tournament champions and were the 2022 NCAA Division II national runners up.
WWU opens its season at the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic in Langley, B.C. on Oct. 31-Nov. 2. The Vikings will also play non-conference tournaments in Seattle (Nov. 14-15), Irvine, California (Nov. 21-22), Las Vegas (Dec. 19-20) and at home in Bellingham, Wash. (Nov. 28-29) for the Lynda Goodrich Classic.
2025-26 GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Here is a look at the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll leading into the 2025-26 season:
| 2025-26 GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
| Rk |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
2024-25 |
GNAC (Place) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Western Washington (5) |
18-11 |
12-6 (4th) |
90 |
| 2. |
Central Washington (4) |
23-8 |
14-4 (t-2nd) |
89 |
| 3. |
Saint Martin's |
18-11 |
9-9 (6th) |
72 |
| 4. |
Montana State Billings (1) |
25-8 |
14-4 (t-2nd |
64 |
| 5. |
Northwest Nazarene |
16-12 |
10-8 (5th) |
63 |
| 6. |
Alaska Anchorage |
28-5 |
16-2 (1st) |
62 |
| 7. |
Simon Fraser |
14-13 |
7-11 (7th) |
42 |
| 8. |
Western Oregon |
9-17 |
5-13 (8th) |
32 |
| 9. |
Seattle Pacific |
8-23 |
2-16 (9th) |
24 |
| 10. |
Alaska Fairbanks |
6-20 |
1-17 (10th) |
12 |
| Votes awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis |
VIKING JAM SET FOR WEDNESDAY
The annual event to open basketball season – Viking Jam – will be held tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 15) inside Carver Gym. Viking Jam builds excitement for students and community members leading into the upcoming basketball season with a night filled with long-distance shooting, dunks, dance performances by WWU Cheer and the WWU Dance team, a local high school band and intrasquad scrimmages. The 2025-26 event also features a Pizza! Pizza! Party with the first 300 fans treated to free pizza from Little Caesars. The event offers free admission for all fans and is open to WWU students, community members and all basketball fans. Free parking will be offered in C lots on the south portion of campus. Fans are encouraged to wear their WWU Blue gear to Viking Jam to celebrate the start of basketball season.
