Saturday, March 16, 2024
by Thomas Lal

Azusa, Calif. –  Western Washington’s season has come to an end in the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball West Region Championships after falling 62-56 to Cal State San Marcos.

The No. 3 seeded Vikings led the No. 2 seeded Cougars through the opening stages and battled all the way until the final minutes of the game as foul trouble and San Marcos’ hot offense came into play. Western Washington picked up over half of its points from Brooke Walling and Riley Dykstra as both finished in the double digits. Walling led the way in her final game for WWU, notching a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high four blocks, three assists and two steals. Dykstra, meanwhile, knocked down 13 points, including three treys, and snagged 11 rebounds for her own double double alongside six assists and two blocks.

Neither team shot particularly well through the first 10 minutes as the teams headed into the first break in action with San Marcos leading 12-9. Through that time, turnovers proved costly for the Vikings as they conceded eight while forcing just two from their higher-seeded opponents. Both teams began to find their flow in the second quarter with Dykstra leading the charge for WWU. She connected for her second three-pointer of the game to tie the score at 12-12 early in the period before Walling gave the Vikings a lead with a driving layup.

As the clock ticked on, however, the fouls began to add up for WWU, with both Aspen Garrison and Stephanie Peterson earning two before halftime. Despite the foul trouble, the Vikings led for a good portion of the period, even as the Cougars chipped away at the advantage and eventually took the lead for themselves. Dykstra responded to San Marcos’ surge with another three-pointer, giving WWU a lead once again and putting her on 11 points for the day. Despite that lead, it would be the Cougars who narrowly led at halftime, 26-25.

The close nature of the contest continued to play out in the third quarter as neither team could pull away by more than five points. Maddy Grandbois connected for her first points of the game with a calm and collected midrange jumper to give WWU a 29-28 lead early in the period, but the Cougars answered right back. The pattern continued as Walling tied the game at 33-33 and put herself into the double digits but a San Marcos three-pointer flipped the script once again. Through 11 ties in the first 30 minutes, the Vikings led for just 36.6% of the game, and tied it one more time heading into the final frame as Demi Dkystra knocked down a pair of free throws to even the score at 44-44.

The final 10 minutes pushed the Vikings further into foul trouble with Garrison fouling out on nine points, three rebounds and two assists while Riley Dykstra hit four fouls. By the end of the game, every player to hit the hardwood for WWU had picked up at least one foul. After the Cougars pulled out to a game-high 11-point lead, the Vikings challenged down the stretch, culminating in a huge three-pointer by Demi Dykstra to cut the lead to just four points, but that was as close as Western Washington could get as the final second ticked off the clock.

Western Washington finishes the 2023-24 season with a 24-7 record as the GNAC Championships winner and the GNAC regular season runner-up.