Women's Basketball Brings Home the Title

Walla Walla, WA. - Coach Bobbi Hazeltine and the Walla Walla Community College Warrior's Basketball program will sit atop the NWAC Women's Basketball mountain top for the next 365 days after securing the 2024-2025 NWAC Women's Basketball Championship in a 65-58 victory over the two-time defending champions, Lane Community College. The 2024-2025 championship marks the 4th title for both the school's and Coach Hazeltine's resume, with the last championship coming back in 2018. Coach Hazeltine previously led the Warriors to championship seasons in 2001 and 2010 as well.

After winning the East Region title with a 13-1 record, Coach Hazeltine and the Warriors took on the gauntlet of the NWAC Tournament, only to find themselves matched up with the undefeated (32-0 entering the contest) and two-time defending champions of Lane Community College. The first quarter of action started with the Warriors taking an early lead, highlighted by a three-pointer from Sintia Varela to make it 5-0. After the Warriors led by as much as 9-2, the Titans responded with a run of their own, including a three-pointer by Emma McDonald, which closed the gap to 9-8. Lane went on a scoring run led by Brittea Byrge and Micah Wicks, building a 16-9 lead with under two minutes to go. The Warriors closed out the quarter with a layup by Hadley Fraas at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 16-14.

As the second quarter got going, so did the Warriors, led by Hadley Fraas. The freshman Forward for the Warriors netted five shots in the second alone, matching the Titans in scoring herself, with 11 in the quarter. Fraas also grabbed 4 of her 8 rebounds on the night in the second quarter. Holding the Titans to just 11 second-quarter points really came down to Walla Walla's "bread and butter" all season long - lock down defense. In the 2024-2025 season, the Warriors finished first in the entire NWAC in opponents' points per game, opponents' rebounds per game, and opponents' assists per game. Defense truly led the way for the Warriors on the way to their 4th NWAC Championship. After holding the Titans to just 11 second-quarter points, the Warriors took a 41-27 lead into halftime.

If there was one thing that Coach Hazeltine and the Warriors knew coming back out from the halftime break, it was that the two-time defending champions were not going to go down without a fight. The Titans of Lane Community College came out of halftime with their hair on fire on the offensive side of things. A surge of scoring by Lane, led by Maitlin Young, saw the Titans cut down the lead to single digits before going on another late run in the last two minutes of the quarter to bring the score to 50-48, Walla Walla, heading into the final quarter of play.

In crunch time, it was again Freshman Hadley Fraas who stepped up big for the Warriors. In the fourth quarter alone, Fraas scored 8 of her game-high 22 points on the night and led the way offensively as the Warriors closed out the championship victory. Fraas scored 22 points while grabbing 8 rebounds and adding 3 assists. Three other Warrior Sophomores - Jaisha Gibb, Sintia Varela, and Hallie Arnold, all contributed with 9 points each. The Warriors' go-to option all season long, Brielle Magnuson, scored 14 points and racked up 11 rebounds in the championship game before being named the 2024-2025 NWAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament MVP after averaging 22.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per game.

Coach Hazeltine and the Walla Walla Community College Women's Basketball program finish an incredible season with a 27-5 overall record and on an 11-game winning streak to win the championship.

2024-2025 NWAC Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player – Brielle Magnuson, Walla Walla
Most Inspirational Player – Sintia Varela, Walla Walla

First Team
Micah Wicks, Lane
Lillee Duffin, Lane
Ciera Tugade Agasiva, Peninsula
Brooklyn Fely, Umpqua
Hadley Fraas, Walla Walla

Second Team
Emma McDonald, Lane
Alexa Mackey, Peninsula
Rebekah Beltran, Umpqua
Sintia Varela, Walla Walla
Jaisha Gibb, Walla Walla