LACEY, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team ran into a tough opponent in Friday's semifinal round of the GNAC Championships, falling to No. 1 seed and No. 20 nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage 67-38 in Marcus Pavilion.
A night after scoring 82 points in a quarterfinal victory over Northwest Nazarene, the No. 4 seed Vikings were held to season lows in points and shooting percentage (.235/12-for-51) in the 29-point loss to the Seawolves.
WWU is a longshot to make a return trip to the NCAA championships with the season record at 18-11 following Friday's loss.
The Vikings were out-scored 16-5 in the opening quarter and could never regroup with UAA recording the wire-to-wire victory to advance to Saturday's championship game against tournament host and No. 6 seed Saint Martin's.
Sophomore guard Demi Dykstra led the Vikings with 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting and tied two other players with five rebounds. Junior guard Mason Oberg led the team with three assists and senior guard Maddy Grandbois contributed seven points and five rebounds.
UAA featured a balanced offensive attack with GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year Emilia Long scoring 15 points, dishing out eight assists, grabbing five rebounds and recording three steals. The Seawolves (26-4) had a 19-6 advantage in assists and 11-1 in steals. Tori Hollingshead neared a double-double with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and tied for the game high with eight assists.
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GNAC Tournament Semifinal
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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Final
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Western Washington (18-11)
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5
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11
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11
|
11
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38
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#20 Alaska Anchorage (26-4)
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16
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19
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17
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15
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67
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Here is a look at the GNAC Championships schedule heading into Saturday's final with host and No. 6 seed Saint Martin's facing No. 1 Alaska Anchorage Saturday night at 7:30 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
No. 1 Alaska Anchorage 67, No. 4 Western Washington 38
No. 6 Saint Martin's 50, No. 2 Montana State Billings 48
Saturday, March 8, 2025
7:30 p.m. – No. 1 Alaska Anchorage vs. No. 6 Saint Martin's
WWU has advanced to play in the GNAC Championships in 13 out of 14 tournaments with four titles and is 20-9 all-time in the tournament. The Vikings entered this year's tournament as the two-time defending GNAC postseason champions, defeating Montana State Billings 54-52 in 2024 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 Alaska Anchorage:
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COMPARISON
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WWU
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UAA
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Points
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38
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67
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Field Goal Pct.
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.235 (12-51)
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.458 (27-59)
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3 Point FG Pct.
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.176 (3-17)
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.300 (3-10)
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Free Throw Pct.
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.846 (11-13)
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.556 (10-18)
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Rebounds
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34
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39
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Offensive Rebounds
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11
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11
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Assists
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6
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19
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Turnovers
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20
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11
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Steals
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1
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11
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Blocked Shots
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3
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5
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Time Led
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0:00
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38:42
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Points off Turnovers
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3
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25
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Points in the Paint
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12
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38
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Bench Points
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5
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14
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Fouls
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16
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20
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Biggest Lead
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0
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33
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Lead Changes: 0 Times Tied: 0
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Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024-25 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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18-11
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GNAC
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12-6
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Non-Conference
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6-5
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Streak
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L1
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Home
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7-3
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Away
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7-4
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Neutral
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4-4
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vs. Ranked Teams
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0-5
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Leading at Half
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14-0
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Trailing at Half
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4-11
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Tied at Half
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0-0
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Overtime
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0-1
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BY UNIFORM
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White
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4-2
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Black
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4-3
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Navy
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2-2
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Light Blue
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8-4
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Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season following the GNAC semifinal loss to Alaska Anchorage:
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Record: 18-11 GNAC: 12-6 Home: 7-3 Away: 7-4 Neutral: 4-4
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Date
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Opponent
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|
Score
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Top Scorer
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Top Rebounder
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CCAA/GNAC Crossover Challenge (Carson, CA)
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|
11/8
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@Cal State Dominguez Hills
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L
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50-76
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Wikstrom/Oberg/Deaver (12)
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Wikstrom/Watts (5)
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11/9
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vs. Cal State LA
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L
|
55-63 OT
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Deaver (16)
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Arosemena (8)
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11/12
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Cal State East Bay
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W
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84-59
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Wikstrom (21)
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Wikstrom (11)
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SPU West Region Crossover (Seattle, WA)
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11/15
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vs. Azusa Pacific (#18)
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L
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77-88
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Grandbois (20)
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Watts (9)
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11/16
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vs. Cal State San Marcos
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W
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65-48
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Deaver (24)
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Deaver (7)
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CWU Thanksgiving Classic (Ellensburg, WA)
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11/29
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vs. Biola
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W
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61-51
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Deaver/Dykstra (13)
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Deaver (9)
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11/30
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vs. Westminster
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W
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63-50
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Deaver (23)
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Wikstrom (9)
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Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
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12/5
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Montana State Billings (#3) GNAC
|
L
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58-64
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Dykstra (14)
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Deaver (11)
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12/7
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Seattle Pacific GNAC
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W
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83-68
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Wikstrom (23)
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Wikstrom (7)
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Big Island Holiday Classic (Hilo, HI)
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12/20
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@Hawai'i Hilo
|
W
|
66-62
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Dykstra (18)
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Wikstrom (12)
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|
12/21
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vs. Quincy
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L
|
68-74
|
Oberg (21)
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Wikstrom (10)
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|
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
|
1/2
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@Wesern Oregon GNAC
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W
|
63-30
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Wikstrom (20)
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Wikstrom (16)
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|
1/4
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@Saint Martin's GNAC
|
W
|
63-50
|
Wikstrom (18)
|
Wikstrom (11)
|
|
1/9
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Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
L
|
51-63
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Deaver/Grandbois (13)
|
Wikstrom (8)
|
|
1/11
|
Central Washington GNAC
|
W
|
67-65
|
Wikstrom (20)
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Wikstrom (8)
|
|
1/16
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@Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
W
|
67-37
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Wikstrom (12)
|
Wikstrom (10)
|
|
1/18
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@Alaska Anchorage GNAC
|
L
|
59-67
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Wikstrom (24)
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Wikstrom (6)
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|
1/25
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@Simon Fraser GNAC
|
W
|
78-69
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Deaver (23)
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Deaver (11)
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|
1/30
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Saint Martin's GNAC
|
W
|
79-56
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Dykstra (25)
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Watts (7)
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|
2/1
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Western Oregon GNAC
|
W
|
82-61
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Dykstra (17)
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Grandbois (13)
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2/6
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@Central Washington GNAC
|
L
|
63-74
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Deaver (14)
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Watts (5)
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2/8
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@Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
W
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67-64
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Stump (15)
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Deaver (7)
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2/13
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Alaska Anchorage (#20) GNAC
|
L
|
40-72
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Oberg (10)
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Wikstrom/Deaver (5)
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|
2/15
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Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
W
|
68-50
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Dykstra (20)
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Grandbois (9)
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2/22
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Simon Fraser GNAC
|
W
|
65-55
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Deaver/Grandbois (14)
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Wikstrom (14)
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|
2/27
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@Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
W
|
81-52
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Oberg/Deaver (15)
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Watts (9)
|
|
3/1
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@Montana State Billings (#21) GNAC
|
L
|
51-66
|
Deaver (14)
|
Deaver (10)
|
|
3/6
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC Tourney
|
W
|
82-70
|
Deaver (17)
|
Wikstrom (11)
|
|
37/
|
Alaska Anchorage (#20) GNAC Tourney
|
L
|
38-67
|
Dykstra (15)
|
3 Players (5)
|
|
GNAC Basketball Championships – March 6-8 in Lacey, WA (Marcus Pavilion)
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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.
