Western Washington women show great resilience, reach Final Four of Division II basketball tournament

For 31 years, Carmen Dolfo has led one of the best Division II women’s basketball teams in the country.

About the only thing that she hasn’t accomplished as coach Western Washington is win a national title. That might change soon.

The Vikings (24-5), the No. 5 seed in the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama, rallied to defeat Valdosta State 58-55 on Monday to earn a spot in the national semifinals against No. 1 seed North Georgia (29-3) on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. (PDT).

Western Washington fell behind 13-1 against Valdosta State — its second-largest deficit of the season — but showed the resiliency that has characterized its season by battling back and winning.

“For all teams right now, with COVID and injuries and all the things they go through in a season, they develop that grit and toughness,” said Dolfo, who played at Western and was assistant for the Vikings from 1986-90 before becoming head coach. “I was really proud of our team that we didn’t panic when we were down. We just kind of chipped away at it.”

Dolfo was asked what a title would mean to her, but she brought the conversation back to her team.

“It would be so awesome for this team,” Dolfo said. “We’ve had this crazy up-and-down season — lots of different things — and I would be so proud of them and their resilience that they’ve showed and how together they have been. It would obviously be super fun for them.”