Basketball has the potential to take you far. For Katrina Gimmaka, Avery Dykstra and Riley Dykstra, it’s taken them about 30 minutes from their hometown.
The trio currently play for the Western Washington University women’s basketball team, not too far from where they grew up in Everson.
Also on the team is former Ferndale High School star Jamie Johnson, who’s redshirting this season and won’t see much time on the court.
They’ve gone from competitors in high school, with the Dykstras attending Lynden Christian High School and Gimmaka at Nooksack Valley High School, to teammates on one of the top Division II teams in the country.
For Avery and Gimmaka, it was even more special as they finally teamed up. The pair graduated high school in 2018, but had been competing against each other since the third grade.
“I didn’t really think of it as being weird,” Gimmaka said. “All of a sudden it was like, ‘OK, now she’s my teammate.’ I can’t really see her as not being my teammate now.”
Avery has appreciated not having to worry about Gimmaka and the damage she can do to a defense.
“It’s really exciting because she was the girl on the other team we would be scouting against, like, ‘How are we going to guard Katrina?’ It’s exciting to play with someone that good,” Avery said.
As for Avery and Riley, a transition period wasn’t necessary for different reasons.
The sisters played together at Lynden Christian High School for two seasons before Avery graduated.
They both have a pair of state titles to their name, winning one together when Avery was a senior and Riley a sophomore in 2018. Avery also won one her sophomore year in 2016 and Riley earned her second in 2020.
The Dykstras are no strangers to Western basketball. Avery and Riley are the most recent to don the Vikings uniform, but they aren’t the first.
“I grew up coming to Western games and watching my uncle Grant play here,” Avery said. “It was always kind of like a dream for us to play college ball together. It was something that wasn’t super likely, but it’s so cool that it happened.”
Riley said Avery already being part of the team played a significant influence in deciding where she wanted to continue her basketball career after high school.
“I’ve always looked up to her ever since day one and I think once she came to Western it really made me more interested,” Riley said. “I just knew it was a perfect fit and the fact that I’d get to play with her again sealed the deal.”
The quality of the women’s basketball program at Western also factored into all three picking Bellingham as a landing spot.
There’s a history of success at Western with Carmen Dolfo leading the program since 1991. That kind of longevity has bred not only victories on the court, but a sense of comfort among the players.
“It feels like a family here,” Gimmaka said. “Everyone here is all of my best friends and I look at the coaches like second moms. It’s just a great environment.”
Dolfo said a benefit of recruiting in Whatcom County was being able to see them play a lot in high school.
“They know how to win. All of them do,” Dolfo said. “They’re all super hard workers. They’re all impact players for us and I just feel really fortunate to be able to coach them.”
After going an undefeated 6-0 in their abbreviated season last spring because of the pandemic, everything is back on the table for the Vikings this year.
Western is off to a hot start this season as the Vikings won their first 10 games before falling to Central Washington University Thursday, Jan. 13, for their first loss. They’ve earned a top-20 national ranking, but the first thing they’re worried about is winning their conference, Avery said.
“Taking it game by game, playing together, playing hard and playing smart. Those are the things we focus on each game,” she said. “If we do that everyday, hopefully we can achieve those things.”
