Saturday, March 4, 2023

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – In a tale of two halves, Western Washington came out on top in the one that mattered most, taking a 76-71 win over Montana State Billings to claim its first GNAC Championship since 2014.

The Vikings were lifted to victory by junior forward Brooke Walling on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block. She shot 10 for 14 from the field against the Yellowjackets and was consistently a dominant presence on the hardwood.

Montana State Billings came out of the gates hot, shooting 69.2% from beyond the three-point arc in the first half to lead 44-32. Three of the nine three-pointers the Yellowjackets made in the first 20 minutes came from sophomore guard Aspen Giese who continued her run of form from the semifinals. Giese finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists on 4 of 8 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. Junior Natalie Andreas also picked up where she left off in the semifinals, hitting a pair of shots from long range with less than a minute to go in the first half.

The Yellowjackets went to work down low early on picking up 22 points in the paint compared to Western Washington’s four. Along with picking up points down low, MSUB was also very efficient at drawing fouls, drawing seven through 20 minutes.

The Yellowjackets’ defense also played large in the opening stanza, forcing nine turnovers while MSUB allowed just one to go the other way. Montana State Billings sophomore guard Chloe Willams snagged two of those turnovers with a pair of steals to open the contest.

Western Washington pushed back in the third quarter, led by Walling and sophomore guard Maddy Grandbois who seemed to be all over the ball in the biggest moments of the game for WWU. Grandbois hit a pair of big three-pointers, first to cut the lead to under 10 and then within four.

Walling was a key piece during that sequence as well, coming up with a critical block on Giese between those three-pointers. Grandbois finished the game with 10 points while shooting a perfect 2 for 2 from three-point range and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.

The Western Washington offense came alive down the stretch, outscoring Montana State Billings 44-27 in the second half. The Vikings had their best defensive period in the fourth quarter where they held the Yellowjackets to just 13 points while MSUB was chasing the run of play.

That defense was greatly helped by Western Washington’s press which consistently caused issues for the Yellowjackets late in the game. Senior guard Avery Dykstra showed why she was named the  GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, picking up three rebounds, a pair of blocks and a steal while leading the defense in holding MSUB to 37.3% from the field. Dykstra also finished the game with 12 points and five assists while shooting 4 for 5 from the field.

The win came at the perfect time for the Vikings, who dropped both regular-season matchups with the Yellowjackets. With the victory, Western Washington becomes the first host on the men’s or women’s side to win the GNAC Basketball Championships.