Lauren Hefflin’s basketball career at Western Washington University began sooner than it was supposed to.
Now that she is a senior, the Ridgefield High School graduate could be playing for a while.
The Vikings are ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II and No. 2 in the NCAA-II West Region, with a December overtime loss to No. 17 Chico State the only blemish in a 20-1 season. They have won their last 15 games, 21 consecutive home contests at Sam Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, and are unbeaten at 13-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
Hefflin, a 6-foot-2 senior center, is averaging 13.0 points a game and leads the team in field goal percentage (57.1 percent), rebounding (7.7 a game), blocked shots (1.4) and steals (1.9).
Team chemistry and everyone knowing her role are the main reasons for the team’s success, Hefflin said — and hers is in the paint.
“I’m the center,” she said. “I definitely stay inside most of the game. My job is to be on the block. In our offense, we’re really balanced. We have really good shooters and really good drivers and we have pretty strong posts, so when a team comes to play us and tries to take away one of our strengths, we do a pretty good job of being able to attack in other areas.”
Personal progress
Playing summer games against top competition and having been recruited by Division I schools, Hefflin was not intimidated playing at the collegiate level after her Class 2A high school career. She was a two-time All-State selection.
WWU intended to redshirt Hefflin in her first season, but that plan didn’t last.
“My freshman season was really kind of weird,” as she put it.
Two starters — the team’s point guard and shooting guard — were injured on the first day of practice. The starting center went down with a knee injury in the first exhibition game.
Suddenly, Hefflin was playing as a true freshman, including starting nine games. As the injury plague continued, the Vikings used 17 different starting lineups — including one with four freshmen.
WWU finished 9-21, the only season in the last 12 that ended without the Vikings in the NCAA-II national tournament.
“I think now that it was a blessing because I got that experience,” she said. “But at the time it was hard for our whole program because it’s such a winning program that it was difficult to have such a rebuilding year.”
The Vikings were 19-9 in Hefflin’s sophomore season, then 23-5 in her junior campaign — second in the GNAC at 14-2 — as Hefflin backed up All-American Jessica Summers.
Hefflin’s playing time doubled from her sophomore to junior seasons, and she averaged 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds as a junior.
“I definitely think I’ve improved a lot,” she said. “We’ve always had some pretty good scoring posts on the team. My sophomore and junior years we had Jessica Summers, who is an amazing offensive threat. I think that playing behind her, I learned a lot of stuff that served to make me better. I take offseason really seriously and got in really good shape, and that’s definitely paying off for me now.”
Playing together
In stark contrast to Hefflin’s freshman season, the Vikings have put the same starting unit on the court in all 21 games this season.
“We’ve had the same starting five, and I think a good thing about our team is that we all have a role and we all really take pride in our role — whether it’s to start the game, or come in and have a big impact coming off the bench,” she said. “We all take pride in what we do. There’s no drama. We know that everybody has a role, and that’s how a team has to be. We’re all supportive of everybody.”
Schedule strain
The addition of a conference tournament condensed the WWU schedule. The Vikings just played three games in six days, capped with Monday’s 59-50 win at Western Oregon.
The first of that recent stretch of games, a 67-57 home win over rival Seattle Pacific, brought its own unique challenge: It was a live regional telecast on cable network FSN Northwest.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for us,” Hefflin said. “That was kind of a big deal. It was kind of weird in pre-game to have a camera following you around during warmups, but it was definitely an amazing experience. It was really good for our fans, too. We have really good crowd support, and I think it was great that they were able to show that. Our fans mean a lot to us, and that was a big deal to them.”
The Vikings have five regular season games remaining, with the next three at home and the possibility of hosting the GNAC tournament
“Our coach (Carmen Dolfo) does a great job of keeping us focused game by game,” Hefflin said. “That’s something we’ve been working hard at — to stay in the moment and not look too far ahead, because that makes you lose focus. Every team in our conference is really good and worthy.”
