Viking women's basketball opens tournament play Friday

Western Washington will find a familiar foe when it travels to California for Friday’s NCAA Division II women’s basketball tournament opener — conference rival Alaska Anchorage.

On Sunday, Western, the regular-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, received an at-large berth in the 64-team tournament, which features eight regional brackets of eight teams each. 

“You never take for granted that exciting feeling when you see the team react to making the tournament,” said 31-year coach Carmen Dolfo, who held a team party to watch the tournament selection show Sunday night. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but through it all, we have stuck together and we look forward to going back on the road for another challenge.”

The Vikings, who lost to Central Washington in the GNAC tournament final Saturday night, are the West Region’s No. 3 seed. Alaska Anchorage (20-6) is seeded sixth.

The West Region will be held in Hayward, California, hosted by region No. 1 seed Cal State East Bay (22-2), winner of the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.