Runner-Up
The story of Western’s women’s basketball team’s national championship run.
Western’s Brooke Walling competes for the jump ball in the tip-off against opponent Glenville State in the NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight Championship game on March 25, 2022, at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. // Photo courtesy of WWU Athletics
Written by Kiana Doyle
The seconds count down to the final buzzer of the NCAA women’s basketball semifinal game of 2022. Western Washington University’s players, coaches and fans in the stands — who came all the way to Birmingham, Alabama, for this historic moment — can’t contain their excitement.
The Vikings on the bench clasp each others’ hands and look up at the scoreboard. Western is up 74 to 68 against opponent North Georgia.
0:03
0:02
0:01
BZZZZZZ
Whooping and hollering, the players on the bench jump up and rush to join their teammates on the court for a celebratory group hug, knowing what this win means.
For the first time in history, Western’s women’s basketball team is going to the national championship finals.
“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Carley Zaragoza, a senior on the team, said the next fall, looking back on the victorious moment. “Looking at the score and the time and realizing, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re actually going to win this game’ was incredible.”
After what the team describes as a “rollercoaster season,” it all came down to the Vikings’ penultimate challenge: playing against Glenville State in the final showdown, competing for the national champion title.
The news of the team’s trip to the top reverberated through Bellingham. As Bates College sociology professor Francesco Duina said, “Competition is a fundamental aspect of our lives.”
In his book, “Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession,” Duina looks at the attitude toward winning that is so unique to our society. He said one inspiration for the book was witnessing Michael Jordan win an NBA championship.
“He had just won his fifth and his first thing was to do this,” Duina said, holding up six fingers. “Six, meaning, ‘I’ll do it again next year.’”
It was like the win just made Jordan want to win more. Winning is an obsession — and addiction — in American society.
So after the Vikings’ win against North Georgia, they only had about 24 hours before the final game the next day. It was their last chance to win for the season.
And the №5 seed Vikings, positioned to be the underdogs, knew that their opponent in the final showdown would be a formidable one.
Known for their unrelenting pressure and fast pace, №3 seed Glenville State was the top-scoring offense in DII women’s basketball according to the NCAA, with an average of 95.8 points to a game. Western’s notable defense, allowing an average of just 57.3 points per game, would have to bring it to hold Glenville off.
To add to the stakes, neither school had ever won a national champion title in women’s basketball, and only one would be able to walk away with it.
But in the short time between the semifinals and finals the next day, the Vikings’ focus was not on the need to win; they just wanted to spend quality time with each other. They went shopping and sightseeing, visited the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and enjoyed every last minute together.
“It was kind of like the last time that we’d really be spending together as a team,” Brooke Walling, a transfer senior on the team said. “Because no matter what, it was the last game of the season the next day.”
Western’s head women’s basketball coach Carmen Dolfo said the Vikings weren’t feeling the pressure to win the championship despite the historic title at stake and all the eyes on them back home in Bellingham.
“Don’t get me wrong, we were so incredibly pumped,” Dolfo said. “I just don’t think they felt the pressure. I think their big thing was they wanted to keep playing together.”
Players on the bench cheer for their teammates on the court in the NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight Championship game on March 25, 2022, at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. // Photo courtesy of WWU Athletics
In Dolfo’s 32 years of coaching, she’s had teams that were successful but never made it past the NCAA Final Four. She credited last year’s players’ historic run to their incredible selflessness, chemistry and compassion for each other.
Zaragoza said Dolfo, or “Carm,” as she is affectionately called by the team, kept the pressure in perspective and helped them remember that the position of underdog had its advantages.
“I don’t even think there was pressure because we were the underdog,” she said. “It wasn’t like we were expected to even get that far.”
So the Vikings went into that last game ready to give it their all with the goal of winning, yes, but also just to play one last time together, come win or lose.
And Dolfo had a surprise in store for them. She typically has a strict rule against music at practice, but the championship game calls for an exception. She allowed one song during the shootaround: “Meet Me Halfway” by The Black Eyed Peas.
The Vikings danced in a circle as Fergie sang, “I can’t go any further than this.” And just like Fergie, the Vikings recognized that this national championship game was as far as they could go, too.
The Finals
The seconds count down to the final buzzer of the NCAA women’s basketball final championship game of 2022, and it’s a different story this time around for the Vikings. After a tug-of-war battle through three quarters, Glenville came out on top through the fourth, up 85 to 72 with less than a minute to go.
When the buzzer goes off, the Vikings on the bench still rush to their teammates on the court for another group hug. Confetti rains down from the ceiling, and the Vikings can’t help but watch Glenville’s players revel in their victory.
“My eyes started watering and we’re walking onto the court and the confetti literally was sticking to our tears,” Zaragoza said, half-grimacing, half-laughing at the memory.
In the locker room, there were more tears as the players went around and said kind words about the seniors who would be saying goodbye to the team. It would be a while before they came back out to see their fans.
A cheering crowd welcomes the Vikings home to Western Washington University on March 26, 2022, in Bellingham, Washington. // Photo courtesy of WWU Athletics.
The “Blue Crew,” composed of parents, friends, partners and even Western President Sabah Randhawa, were waiting on the other side of the locker room door. The support team was ready to greet their disappointed Vikings with cheers and open arms.
An even bigger welcoming party showed up to receive the Vikings when they returned to Bellingham. The weary women stepped off the bus, escorted by police cars, to be greeted by a crowd waving blue and white pom poms and signs that said “WELCOME HOME!”
This act worked as a huge mood lifter for the team, washing away the heavy feeling of disappointment that weighed on the players all the way home.
“We were so bummed, you know, but it was so nice,” Dolfo said, her eyes welling up with tears. “Our school just rallied and it made us feel a lot better.”
The Future
The next fall, the team conducts their first practice of the year, the start of a new season. Those walking by the gym can hear the squeaking of shoes on the court and shouts from the players as they cheer each other on.
Eight large blue banners for the women’s basketball team hang along the back wall. The years of the titles take center on the banners.
1973, 1974, 1986, 1989 and 1996 — Elite 8
2000 and 2013 — Final Four
2022 — National Runner Up
And when the players look at that last banner, back on their performance from last year, the good memories outweigh the sting of the final loss.
“Carmen told us multiple times, ‘You guys are gonna be so proud of this someday, like it hurts now but you’re gonna be proud of it.’” Zaragoza said. “And I think now I am, too.”