LACEY, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team used a powerful 4th quarter performance to pull away from Northwest Nazarene for an 82-70 victory Thursday in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference quarterfinals round inside Marcus Pavilion.

 

No. 4 seed WWU trailed at halftime (34-37) and heading into the 4th quarter (55-6) before out-scoring No. 5 NNU 27-14 over the final 10 minutes to record the 12-point victory. The two-time defending GNAC Tournament champion Vikings advance to the semifinal round for the sixth consecutive tournament where they will face No. 1 seed and No. 20 nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage Friday at 5:15 pm on the campus of Saint Martin's University. WWU improved to 18-10 overall with the win eliminating NNU from the postseason.

 

Western opened the final quarter of play on a 12-2 run and never looked back for 82-70 victory. While the Vikings pulled away late, the game was back-and-forth throughout featuring 16 lead changes and nine tie scores. WWU had five players reach double figures in scoring, led by 17 points from junior forward Alyson Deaver.

 

"Having my guards feed me and then kicking the ball out to them really helped, and we had such good ball movement," said Deaver, a first-year Viking who transferred from Utah Tech. "When the defense would collapse on me they were wide open, so it was fun to kick out and play with them."

 

In addition to Deaver's 17-point, 9-rebound, 2 block performance, senior First Team All-GNAC selection Olivia Wikstrom contributed her seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Wikstrom also dished out a career-high six assists and had three steals. Deaver scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the 4th quarter.

 

Sophomore guard Demi Dykstra (15 points), junior guard Mason Oberg (13 points) and senior guard Maddy Grandbois (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring. WWU shot 48.2-percent for the game (27-for-56), was 5-for-14 (.357) from beyond the arc and went 23-for-29 (.793) from the free throw line. The Vikings also held a 33-28 advantage in rebounding with a 10-6 edge in offensive rebounds.

 

"NNU is a great team. They play so hard, and they just disrupt you," said WWU head coach Carmen Dolfo, the winningest coach in GNAC history. "In the second half towards the end of the game in particular we did a good job of moving the ball, finding the open person and really taking good shots."

 

NNU (16-12) was led by a game-high 24 points by Madeline Gebers on 9-for-17 shooting and 15 points by Kendall Clark (6-for-8 FG, 7 Reb).

 

 

WWU entered the final quarter trailing 56-55, but out-scored the Nighthawks 27-14 in the final quarter to earn the 12-point victory. The Vikings opened the 4th quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 67-58 lead and never looked back while punching their ticket to the semifinal round of the GNAC Championships.

 

Here is a look at the GNAC Championships schedule heading into Friday's semifinal round with the Vikings taking on No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Alaska Anchorage at 5:15 pm. All games during the GNAC Championships will stream live and free online on YouTube at GNAC.tv with Shawn Walli and Dustin Daniel on the call. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA II West Regional Championships.

 

2025 GNAC Women's Basketball Championships

March 6-8 | Lacey, Wash. | Saint Martin's University | Marcus Pavilion

 

Thursday, March 6, 2025

No. 4 Western Washington 82, No. 5 Northwest Nazarene 70

No. 6 Saint Martin's 60, No. 3 Central Washington 52

 

Friday, March 7, 2025

5:15 p.m. – No. 4 Western Washington vs. No. 1 Alaska Anchorage

7:30 p.m. – No. 6 Saint Martin's vs. No. 2 Montana State Billings

 

Saturday, March 8, 2025

7:30 p.m. - Women's Championship Game

 

WWU has advanced to play in the GNAC Championships in 13 out of 14 tournaments with four titles and owns an all-time record of 20-8 in the tournament. The Vikings are the two-time defending GNAC Tournament champions, defeating Montana State Billings 54-52 last season in Ellensburg and 76-71 in 2023 in Carver Gym. The Vikings four tournament titles (2013, 2014, 2023, 2024) are second-most trailing the six by Alaska Anchorage (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020). WWU has advanced to the tournament championship game 10 times during the 14-year history of the event.

Here are ways you can follow the 2025 GNAC Women's Basketball Championships:

 

·         Tournament Website

·         Tickets

·         Live webcast via GNAC.tv

·         Live Stats

·         Tournament History

 

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

 

 

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 following the GNAC quarterfinal victory over NNU:

 

 

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 709, 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 1,141 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.