Western Washington University women’s basketball remains unbeaten in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference following a decisive 81-65 victory over Saint Martin’s University on Thursday night.
The win marked Western’s 12th straight victory, moving to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in GNAC contests, adding to its first-place resume.
It wasn’t easy early for the Vikings, though. The last-place Saints came out swinging, winning the opening tip and controlling the game — sans a momentary 10-10 tie — for the entire quarter, going into the second leading 22-14.
Saint Martin’s junior guard Anjel Galbraith was a problem, accounting for seven points and five assists in the quarter.
Western junior forward Brooke Walling takes a shot in the face of a Saint Martin’s defender. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
“[Our defense] is our bread and butter. We did not have a good defensive first quarter and we didn’t come out with the intensity that we needed to,” said Western head coach Carmen Dolfo.
The Vikings awakened their trademark defense during the intermission. Holding Saint Martin’s to just 10 points in the second quarter, Western’s offense worked to close the gap, gaining its first lead of the night with a minute left in the first half.
Western went into the break leading 34-32.
“We knew once we got down 10, we couldn’t just come back right away. It had to be play-by-play, basket-by-basket,” said Western junior forward Brooke Walling. “With that mentality, we were able to get back into the game.”
Walling set the pace for the Vikings in the first half with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Western senior guard Avery Dykstra shoots a 3-pointer in front of the Saint Martin’s bench. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
The 6-foot-3 forward finished the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, her sixth double-double of the season.
“I’m just trying to do my best for my team,” Walling said.
Coming out of the half, Western posted a 7-1 run spanning three minutes, led by four points off the bench from sophomore center Truitt Reilly. The 6-foot-2 post finished the night with 12 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the floor and cashing in on 4-of-6 free throws.
Reilly joined three other Vikings in double digits, including sophomore guard Riley Dykstra who led the team with 16 points.
After a slow start to the season, the former GNAC Freshman of the Year has begun to find her rhythm these past three games since posting her season-high 18 points against Central Washington on Jan. 5.
Western sophomore center Truitt Reilly shoots a free throw. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
Dykstra attributed her success to her teammates and the depth they provide.
“[Working together] is what we’re so good at,” Dykstra said. “You can’t really stop one girl because everyone can do it; everyone has their games [on] different nights.”
Western has lost only three times to Saint Martin’s dating back to their first matchup in January 1996. The last time these teams faced off it resulted in a tight 60-54 Vikings win in the first round of last year’s GNAC tournament on March 3, 2022.
The Vikings will host Western Oregon (7-7, 1-5 GNAC) on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m.
