BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Tabbed to win its second consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title, Western Washington was picked as the favorite in the 2026-27 women's basketball preseason coaches poll announced on Friday.

The Vikings accumulated 93 points thanks in large part to four first-place votes, earning a five-point margin ahead of second-place Central Washington, which also received four first-place votes in the coaches poll.

 

WWU emerged on top amid a tight GNAC title race last season, posting a 15-3 conference record to edge second-place Central Washington and Saint Martin's by a single game. The Vikings reached the GNAC Championships title game where they fell 66-61 to Montana State Billings. They went on to defeat Point Loma 74-50 in the opening round of the NCAA West Region Championships before a 57-54 defeat against Cal Poly Pomona brought the campaign to a close. WWU went 25-8 overall in yet another successful year, as the regular-season title was the program's seventh and third in the last five seasons.

Head coach Carmen Dolfo has produced one of the most impressive coaching ledgers in the history of Division II women's basketball, upping her record to 734-281 (.723) since taking the helm ahead of the 1990-91 season. Since the GNAC was founded in 2001, Dolfo is 502-187 (.729) overall and 313-101 (.756) with her win totals being more than 100 higher than the next-closest GNAC women's basketball coach. She was in charge for all seven of WWU's regular-season crowns and for all four of its conference tournament titles, the most recent of which came in the form of back-to-back tournament wins in 2023 and 2024. WWU will be on the hunt for its 22nd NCAA berth under Dolfo, who led the team to an NCAA Division II national runner-up finish in 2021-22.

 

The Vikings return six letterwinners from last year's squad, led by the backcourt trio of Libby Stump (14.2 points/game), Demi Dykstra (11.1 points/game) and Joy Haltom (6.9 points/game). Additional returners include forward Vivienne Berrett, and guards Rakiyah Jackson and Elizabeth Swift. The returning letterwinners are joined by transfers Annalee Coronado (from Central Washington), Rachel Roderick (from Azusa Pacific) and Olivia Loomis-Goltl (from Northern Colorado) and freshman Sadie Hollander (from Hazen/Liberty HS).

 

The 2026-27 women's basketball season officially kicks off on October 30 with the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Ellensburg, with the Vikings facing Midwestern State, UT Tyler and MSU Moorhead. Western's home opener is set for Friday, November 20 vs. CUI as part of the Viking Crossover Classic.

 

The first round of GNAC contests runs December 3-5 with the remaining 16 games following after the new year. The top six teams in the regular-season standings will earn spots in the 2027 GNAC Basketball Championships, which run March 4-6 at Johnson Sports Center on the campus of Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The winner of the conference tournament will earn the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which follow March 11-15 at the site of the top seed in the region.

 

The complete 2026-27 season schedule can be viewed at WWUVikings.com and season and single-game tickets can be ordered online at WWUVikings.com/Tickets.