NAMPA, Idaho – The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball seniors have had incredible careers and the home faithful showered them with love Saturday in response.

Avery Albrecht, Zoe Wessels and Marina Valles played the final home games of their careers against Western Oregon and in front of a big crowd, the three helped deliver an 82-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory.

And while the group certainly appreciated all of the standing ovations, it wasn't a sad night as the Nighthawks have at least two more weeks of basketball ahead of them.

"It was a happy feeling, but it didn't feel like other senior nights because we have a long way to go," Valles said.

The victory gives the Nighthawks 20 wins for the third consecutive season and the No. 2 seed to the conference tournament, assuming Anchorage defeats Western Washington later Saturday.

A big part of that success this season is not only because of the three seniors, but also because of the growth of the underclassmen.

"I think we have a real fire on this team," Albrecht said. "In a lot of programs, the young kids come in and have a casual attitude. As soon as this group came in, they had that fire in them that our culture is so known for having."

The Nighthawks (20-6 overall, 15-3 GNAC) started the season 2-3, but quickly righted the ship and have winning streaks of eight, five and four this year.

"I think it's proof that we are not just a top-heavy team," NNU coach Steve Steele said. "People thought when we graduated all those seniors that we are going to be down. We always try to be about 10 to 12 people coming at you every night. I think that shows we are moving in the right direction as far as that philosophy goes."

That success bore out Saturday as the Nighthawks easily handled a team they struggled with mightily on the road earlier this season. In that first matchup, the Wolves led by 10 heading into the fourth when NNU outscored them 23-3 to get the victory.

This time the Nighthawks were comfortably ahead all night.

"All of the girls on our team have a lot of confidence and they are amazing athletes," Wessels said. "I think that shows in our play. We had 38 bench points tonight, which shows our depth."

NNU had five players in double figures, shot 46.8 percent from the field and made seven 3-pointers.

Valles had 16 points, eight steals and five assists, while Albrecht had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. McKenna Emerson finished with 14 points, Emma Clark had 12 and Clare Eubanks had 10 points and five rebounds. Nicole Gall added eight points and five rebounds.

"I feel like we have grown a lot this season," Steele said. "Everybody has come in with a plan to attack our press and slow our offense down and what we've learned is to make adjustments quicker. Tonight the players were recognizing the adjustments on the court before I even told them in timeouts. That is a way we have grown."

Shariah Green's 15 points led Western Oregon (5-20, 2-16).

The Nighthawks close out the regular season with games at Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Saint Martin's on Saturday.

The conference tournament will be March 5-7 at Seattle Pacific.