Monday, March 21, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – After defeating two GNAC rivals in the first two rounds of the NCAA West Regional, Western Washington faced CCAA opponent and regional No. 1 seed Cal State East Bay on their home floor in Hayward, California for the West Regional title. The third-seeded Vikings, however, were not intimidated in the slightest.

With an experienced core led by head coach Carmen Dolfo and senior Emma Duff, the Vikings led by double digits for nearly the entire second half, defeating the Pioneers 73-59 on March 14. With the win, the Vikings earned the third West Regional championship in program history and advance to the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama, which begins Monday at 6:30 p.m. (PT).

For earning the regional crown and becoming one of eight Division II teams to play for the national title in Birmingham, the Vikings have also been named the GNAC Team of the Week.

“We’re just so excited and thrilled,” Dolfo said after the Vikings’ victory. “Our defense has really carried us all year, and I think that was the key for us tonight.”

The West Regional title is the first for Western Washington since 2013 and the first for the GNAC since Montana State Billings won in 2018. It comes at the end of a stellar season for the conference as the GNAC sent four of the eight teams to qualify for the West Regional.

Western Washington proved its class throughout the tournament, which saw them drawn against two longtime rivals in the first two rounds. The Vikings began with a 76-64 quarterfinal victory over Alaska Anchorage behind 17 points and 17 rebounds from sophomore center Brooke Walling, then used a roaring fourth-quarter comeback to beat Central Washington in the semifinals, 64-58, avenging a previous loss to the Wildcats in the GNAC Championships final.

Cal State East Bay took a 10-7 lead early on in the championship game, but as it turned out, that would be the largest lead of the night for the Pioneers. Walling hit a three-pointer to tie the score with 5:25 left in the first quarter before the Vikings scored eight of the next 10 points, including two baskets from junior guard Mollie Olson, to end the first quarter with an 18-14 lead.

The Vikings put some distance between themselves and the home team by outscoring the Pioneers 22-13 in the second quarter. Free throws were huge for WWU all night long, as the Vikings went 9 for 9 from the stripe in the second quarter, including 4 for 4 from Duff. The senior achieved career highs in both free throws made and attempted by going a perfect 10 for 10 from the line for the game.

Western Washington’s hot shooting from the line refused to allow the Pioneers a chance to get back into the game. The Vikings’ lead never got lower than seven points and was under double digits for only two-and-a-half minutes of game time in the second half, ballooning to a high of 17 on a Maddy Grandbois free-throw with 25 seconds to play.

Duff was the game’s star, finishing with a strong double-double of 16 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, but Walling earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds over the three games of the regional. Walling finished with 16 points and eight rebounds against the Pioneers.

The Vikings continue their postseason march Monday at 6:30 p.m. against Valdosta State. At 26-5 overall, the Blazers went 17-2 in the Gulf South Conference, finishing second, and bowed out in the semifinals of their conference tournament. As the No. 7 seed in the South Regional, Valdosta State beat No. 2 Tampa, No. 3 Lee and No. 1 Union back-to-back-to-back to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1984.

Western Washington and Valdosta State have played once, with the Blazers winning 59-56 at Carver Gym in November 2017. Should the Vikings win this match-up, they will face the winner of No. 1 North Georgia and No. 8 Pace in the national semifinals on Wednesday, with time to be determined.

“We just have this fabulous team,” Dolfo said. “We’ve had a lot of crazy ups and downs through the year with lots of different things, and they’ve weathered it so well because they’ve been together and they’ve respected each other. To end here is a testament to them and their strength and their togetherness.”