The top-seeded Western Washington University women escaped an upset by feisty Saint Martin’s University, beating the No. 9 seed, 60-54 in the quarterfinal round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament Thursday afternoon at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.
It was the tournament opener for the Vikings, ranked No. 14 and No. 22 nationally in polls. Western Washington came in with a conference-best defense and needed every bit of it to turn back Saint Martin’s, which had to win a play-in game Wednesday against No. 8 Western Oregon.
Western, the regular-season conference champion, needed clutch play late from leading scorer Emma Duff to turn back Saint Martin’s, playing on its home court, to advance to Friday’s 2:15 p.m. semifinal against No. 5 Montana State Billings.
With the teams tied 27-27 at the half after a wild surge by Saint Martin’s, Duff, a senior guard from nearby Tumwater, scored 14 of the Vikings’ 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the Vikings (19-4 overall, 11-4 conference) advance. Duff, a first-team all-GNAC selection, helped Western turn a three-point lead into a nine-point margin when she hit back-to-back 3-pointers with under five minutes to go.
“She’s a senior and like she’s done all year, put us on her back,” said coach Carmen Dolfo, the GNAC coach of the year. “She hit some big threes and attacked the basket and really did a great job.”
Duff did so despite foul trouble that saw her pulled from the game in the first half. The Vikings shot poorly, managing just 38% from the field on 24-for-63 shooting. But they held SMU to 36% on 21-for-58 shooting overall.
“There was just a lid on the basket for us,” Dolfo said. “We had a lot, a lot, of open shots that we could just not knock down.”
“She’s a senior and like she’s done all year, put us on her back. She hit some big threes and attacked the basket and really did a great job.” — Vikings Coach Carmen Dolfo on guard Emma Duff
After being up by seven, 27-20, in the first half, the Vikings went cold. Saint Martin’s scored a remarkable seven points in the final 3.4 seconds to tie after two free throws, a technical foul, two more free throws, and a 3-pointer.
In addition to Duff, who scored a game-high 19 points – 16 of them in the second half – sophomore Brooke Walling had 12 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Katrina Gimmaka, also key inside down the stretch, had eight points and five rebounds.
Saint Martin’s was led by Josie Matz with 15 points and 12 apiece from Rian Clear and Tierney DeDonatis. Claire Dingus had eight points and nine rebounds.
The Vikings next play Montana State Billings. Oddly enough, the teams have not met this season. Western Washington traveled to Billings for a Jan. 6 game, only to have a player test positive with COVID-19 the morning of the game. Just before Billings was to come to Bellingham Feb. 5, one of its players tested positive and the team did not make the trip.
“It’s just been a weird year,” said Dolfo, whose coaching staff was scrambling Thursday night to game plan for a conference opponent they haven’t seen. “We match up well. They’re really strong and physical. I feel like they’re a lot like us. It’s going to be a great game.”
