ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's basketball team put together a dominating second-half performance to earn a West Regional Quarterfinal 74-60 victory over Point Loma Nazarene on Friday in NCAA Championships action inside Nicholson Arena.

 

The No. 2 seed Vikings trailed No. 7 seed Point Loma 34-22 at the half but rallied in the second half out-scoring the Sea Lions 42-26 over the final 20 minutes to record the 14-point victory. The Vikings improved to 25-7 overall advancing to face No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona (27-4) in Saturday's 5 pm regional semifinal. Western continued its late-season winning ways with a 13-2 record over the last 15 games, winning 10 of the last 11 games.

 

The GNAC regular-season champion Vikings heated up in the second half shooting 57.7-percent in the final two quarters, going 15-for-26 from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the three-point arc. WWU opened the decisive third quarter on a 16-0 run to turn the two-point halftime deficit into a 16-point lead.

 

Point Loma opened the game scoring the first eight points and led 18-13 through the first quarter of play. WWU settled in defensively limiting PLNU to 14-for-46 shooting (30.4%) over the final three quarters.

 

WWU had a 13-3 scoring run in the second quarter, fueled by back-to-back three pointers by Joy Haltom, to take a 30-25 lead. PLNU answered with a 9-0 run to take the two-point lead into halftime.

 

Western scored 18 consecutive points spanning late in the second quarter and early third quarter to take control of the game. Haltom scored eight points and Libby Stump had five during the extended scoring run.

 

Stump led all players with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting (2-for-3 3FG), filling the stat sheet with eight assists, three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot. Haltom added 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting while connecting on 4-for-8 from three-point range.

 

All-West Region selection Olivia Hodges tallied her 24th double-double of the season (9th consecutive) with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Hodges was limited to zero points and three rebounds in the first half while drawing two fouls, but came out in the second half on a mission scoring all 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.

 

Junior guard Demi Dykstra added 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting and tied her career high with three blocked shots. Sophomore center Vivienne Berrett scored nine points on efficient 3-for-4 shooting in 14 minutes and freshman guard Eden Sander continued a trend that has seen her contributed valuable minutes with seven points, five rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.

 

Overall WWU shot 50.9-percent for the game (27-for-53) and was 9-for-16 from three-point range for the highest shooting percentage from beyond the arc this season (56.3%).

 

Point Loma was led by 20 points from all-region guard Izzy Navarro, who also had nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 35 minutes. The Sea Lions had their season come to an end with a 21-8 overall record, advancing to the West Regional Championships for the third consecutive season.

 

The Vikings (25-7) returns to action Saturday evening with an NCAA West Regional Semifinal match-up against No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona at 5 pm in Nicholson Arena in Ellensburg. The winner advances to Monday's regional final game, with a trip to the Elite 8 and Pittsburgh on the line. The complete 2025-26 schedule complete with links to follow the Vikings at home and on the road will be posted at WWUVikings.com.

 

 

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Point Loma:

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2025-26 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the West Regional bracket, with a link to the Field of 64 NCAA II Championships Bracket by clicking on the image.

Here are some handy links on how to follow the 2026 NCAA II Championships West Regional:

 

• Regional Website
• Free Webcast via NCAA Champs Pass
• Live Stats
• NCAA Bracket
• NCAA Statistics

 

The Vikings are making their 21st NCAA Championships appearance in 27 possible seasons (since 1998-99) and fifth trip to the NCAA West Regional Tournament in the last six possible seasons. WWU has advanced to the postseason (conference, regional, NCAA) in 51 of 54 possible seasons of program history 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 22-19 record in NCAA tournament play, recording at least one win in 13 of 20 prior regional appearances (did not play in 2020 due to COVID). Below is a game-by-game listing of WWU in NCAA Tournament play with the regional host site listed next to the year:

 

1998-99 (Davis, CA): 

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 77-69 (OT) 

Lost to Montana State Billings, 70-48 

 

1999-2000 (Pomona, CA):

Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 78-59 

Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 84-66 

Defeated Slippery Rock, 84-67 – Elite Eight

Lost to Northern Kentucky, 80-74 – Final Four 

 

2000-01 (Pomona, CA): 

Defeated Central Washington, 74-66 

Lost to Cal Poly Pomona, 91-85 

 

2001-02 (Pomona, CA):

Defeated Sonoma State, 71-60 

Lost to Cal Poly Pomona, 71-70 

 

2002-03 (Seattle, WA):

Lost to Northwest Nazarene, 83-79 

 

2003-04 (Seattle, WA):

Defeated Sonoma State, 85-71 

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 80-66 

 

2004-05 (Seattle, WA):

Defeated CSU Dominguez Hills, 82-74 (OT) 

Lost to Chico State, 85-75 

 

2005-06 (Bellingham, WA):

Defeated Northwest Nazarene, 66-54 

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 70-50 

 

2006-07 (La Jolla, CA):

Lost to UC San Diego, 78-45 

 

2008-09 (Seattle, WA):

Lost to Humboldt State, 74-64 

 

2009-10 (Seattle, WA):

Lost to Chico State, 79-68 

 

2010-11 (Pomona, CA):

Lost to Alaska Anchorage, 55-48 

 

2011-12 (La Jolla, CA):

Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 65-58 

Lost to UC San Diego, 81-66 

 

2012-13 (Bellingham, WA):

Defeated Academy of Art, 70-50 

Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 71-63 

Defeated Simon Fraser, 75-58 

Defeated Nova Southeastern, 80-76 (OT) – Elite Eight

Lost to Ashland, 66-54 – Final Four 

 

2013-14 (Pomona, CA):

Lost to Simon Fraser, 77-70

 

2016-17 (Anchorage, AK):

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 74-48

Lost to Cal Baptist, 80-68

 

2019-20 (Honolulu, HI):

vs. Alaska Anchorage, DNP (COVID-19)

 

2021-22 (Hayward, CA):

Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 76-64

Defeated Central Washington, 64-58

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 73-59 – West Regional Final

Defeated Valdosta State, 58-55 – Elite Eight

Defeated North Georgia, 74-68 – Final Four

Lost to Glenville State, 85-72 – National Championship Game

 

2022-23 (Carson, CA):

Lost to Azusa Pacific, 62-46

 

2023-24 (Azusa, CA):

Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 66-61

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 62-56

 

2025-26 (Ellensburg, WA):

Defeated Point Loma, 74-60

vs. Cal Poly Pomona, Saturday, 5 pm

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2025-26 schedule and results:

 

 

Senior forward Olivia Hodges has set the WWU single-season record with 24 double-doubles and is the current NCAA Division II national leader in the statistical category. Hodges is tied for 3rd in GNAC single-season history, aiming for the conference record established by former CWU All-American Samantha Bowman (26 in 2021-22 and 2022-23). Hodges has recorded nine consecutive double-doubles heading into Saturday's regional semifinal.