BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team closes out the 2024-25 regular season this week on the road taking on Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings.

 

WWU is 16-9 overall and in 4th place in the GNAC standings at 11-5 with two games remaining until the postseason. The Vikings have punched their ticket to the postseason as one of the six teams that will compete in the GNAC Championships March 6-8 in Lacey. WWU is the two-time defending postseason GNAC champions and has qualified for the tournament in 13 of the 14 years of the event (4 titles).

 

The weekly schedule includes a 7 pm game Thursday night against SPU in Brougham Pavilion in Seattle and the regular season closes out Saturday with a 4:15 pm MT/3:15 pm PT game at No. 21 nationally ranked Montana State Billings. Seeding for the 2025 GNAC Basketball Championships will be announced Saturday after the conclusion of all games.

 

The Vikings are coming off a 65-55 victory over Simon Fraser last Saturday on Senior Night, sending guards Olivia Wikstrom and Maddy Grandbois out in style in their final game in Carver Gym.

 

WWU has battled numerous injuries all season, but fought through it to qualify for the postseason and heads into the final week having won three of its last four games. The Vikings are ranked No. 10 in the West Region via the NCAA regional rankings.

 

Junior forward Alyson Deaver leads the team averaging 13.6 points per game, while also grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game. Senior Olivia Wikstrom is averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and sophomore guard Demi Dykstra has been a sparkplug averaging 11.8 points, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Junior shooting guard Mason Oberg has been steady averaging 10.4 points per game and sophomore guard Libby Stump has returned from a knee injury to average 9.3 points per game making eight appearances (1 start).

 

The Vikings defense has limited opponents to 60.6 points per game to rank 3rd in the GNAC and is 2nd holding opponents to a .373 shooting percentage.

 

 

The Vikings (16-9, 11-5 GNAC) head on the road this week completing the regular season against Seattle Pacific on Thursday and No. 21 Montana State Billings on Saturday. The GNAC will be announce the postseason tournament schedule Saturday following the completion of all games. The complete season schedule, with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/WBB.

 

The 2025 GNAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will be held March 6-8 at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in Lacey. The top six teams in the GNAC standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the GNAC Championships (tiebreakers will be applied as necessary). All but one spot has been secured with the Vikings already punching their ticket to the postseason. The top two seeds earn byes to the semifinal round. The quarterfinal round will match the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in one game and the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the other game. Quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals. Semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the championship. The winners of the GNAC Championships will automatically qualify for their respective NCAA Division II Championships events. WWU has now advanced to play in the GNAC Championships in 13 out of 14 tournaments with four titles and an all-time record of 19-8 in the tournament.

 

The first ordered NCAA Division II regional rankings were distributed Wednesday with the Vikings listed No. 10 in the West Region. These rankings will ultimately determine the eight-team regional playoff field upon the conclusion of the regular season.

 

 

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

 

 

Here is a look at the 2024-25 GNAC Women's Basketball standings and overall records heading into the final week of the 2024-25 regular season. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held March 6-8 in Lacey. UAA, MSUB, CWU, WWU and NNU have all clinched spots in the GNAC Tournament:

 

 

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

 

·         Seattle Pacific: Defeated Seattle Pacific 83-68 on December 7 in Carver Gym during the opening week of the conference season…WWU has won its last 13 games vs. SPU dating back to the 2018-19 season and lead the all-time series 74-33.

·         Montana State Billings: MSUB defeated the Vikings 64-58 in the first meeting this season on December 5 in Carver Gym…the Yellowjackets were ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time improving to 8-1…the Vikings lead the all-time series 31-20 with nine wins in the last 13 meetings…two teams have met in the GNAC Championships final each of the last two years, each won by the Vikings…WWU is 10-11 all-time in game played in Alterowitz Gym, compared to 17-7 in home games.

 

The Vikings have made 20 NCAA Championship appearances in 25 possible seasons (since 1998-99) and made their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA West Regional Tournament last season. WWU has advanced to the postseason (conference, regional, NCAA) in 50 of 53 possible seasons of program history (including this season) and has won three regional championships to advance to the Elite Eight in 2000 (Pine Bluff, Arkansas), 2013 (San Antonio, TX) and 2022 (Birmingham, AL). The Vikings own an all-time 21-19 record in NCAA tournament play, recording at least one win in 12 of 19 prior regional appearances (with a game played).

 

The Vikings have always been a program that prided itself on defense and ranks 2nd in the GNAC this season holding opponents to a 37.3 field goal percentage. WWU has held opposing teams to a shooting percentage below 50-percent in 120 of its last 121 games, dating back to the GNAC Championship final in 2020. Over the last five seasons, the Vikings have gone 95-26 and held opponents to a combined .357 shooting percentage. Here is a chart looking at opponent shooting totals over the last five seasons:

 

 

WWU celebrated seniors Maddy Grandbois and Olivia Wikstrom prior to the home finale vs. Simon Fraser. Grandbois and Wikstrom, along with WWU student managers George Irwin and Grant Brewer, were introduced to the Carver Gym crowd celebrating their final home game.

 

WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo recorded her 700th career victory in her 968th career game in 34 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings. Her career record now stands at 707-271 for a .723 winning percentage. Here are a few fun facts about Dolfo's 700 career wins:

 

·         Among all-time NCAA Division II women's basketball head coaches, only 13 have reached the 700-win mark.

·         Among active NCAA II women's basketball head coaches, only 5 have reached the 700-win mark.

·         Only 45 head coaches at all levels of NCAA women's basketball have reached 700 career wins.

·         Dolfo became the 18th active women's basketball head coach with 700 career wins.

 

In the Vikings 67-65 triumph over Central Washington on January 11, they overcame a 13-point 4th quarter deficit to record Carmen Dolfo's 700th career win. WWU was down 58-45 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game prior to the Vikings going on a 19-4 run to take the lead and ultimately gain the two-point victory over the Wildcats. 

 

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 missing substantial time. 

 

Both games this week feature a live (and free) webcast on YouTube with a direct link available at WWUVikings.com/Live. 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 games)

·         GNAC Live Streams

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

·         Direct Link to follow WWU games via Live Stats (wwuvikings.com/WBB_Stats)

 

Junior guard Mason Oberg has made 141 career three-pointers (in 72 games) to rank No. 10 in program history. For her career Oberg is 141-for-371 to record a .380 three-point field goal percentage, currently No. 10 in program history. Here is a look at the top three-point shooters in program history by three-pointers made and accuracy from beyond the arc:

 

 

In the January 16 win at Alaska Fairbanks, Western held the Nanooks to 25.4-percent shooting for the game (15-for-59) and limited an opponent to fewer than 40 points for the second time this season. The 18-0 scoreline in the third quarter marked the first time WWU has shut out an opponent in a quarter since the four-quarter format was adopted in 2015-16.

 

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 has appeared in 19 games averaging 9.2 minutes per game 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 game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season heading into this week's schedule:

 

Over the last six seasons (since 2019-20), the Vikings have combined to go 117-35 for a .770 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.

 

Head coach Carmen Dolfo is in her 34th season leading the program, owning an all-time record of 707-271 (.723) 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 as 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, and tallied No. 700 on January 11 vs. CWU. WWU has recorded 23 seasons with 20-or-more wins under Dolfo. She was named the 2021-22 GNAC Coach of the Year, 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.

 

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 707 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 1139-406 for a career winning percentage of .737.

 

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 707, 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 1,139 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.