Women's Basketball | 11/14/2008 12:07:37 AM
This week...
The Western Oregon University women's basketball team will be in Belmont, Calif., this weekend as it opens the 2008-09 season against Cal Poly Pomona Saturday (Nov. 15) at 3:00 p.m., and Cal State Monterey Bay, Sunday (Nov. 16) at 1:00 p.m., in the Norte Dame De Namur Tip-Off Tournament.
Western Oregon preview...
The Wolves return three starters and eight letterwinners as the program searches for its first winning season since 2001-02.
Junior Katie Torland and sophomores Sara Zahler and Whitney Chase will all be back in the starting lineup for the Wolves. Torland is the leading returning scorer at 11.8 points per game and rebounder with 6.4 per contest. Chase averaged seven points on the season but stepped it up to 8.1 p.p.g., in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Zahler averaged 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds during the 2007-08 season for the Wolves and is the team's top returning three-point threat, as she shot 34.7 percent from behind the arc last season.
Head coach Greg Bruce enters his third season at the helm of the Western Oregon women's basketball team and the culture of the program has begun to change for the positive. "We have worked really hard at recruiting good players that have a competitive attitude and a winning spirit," said Bruce. "I think we have a group in here now that will bring more of that to the table."
The Wolves were picked to finish eighth (22 points) in the conference in the preseason GNAC Coaches' Poll.
Cal Poly Pomona preview...
The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos are 1-2 this season after playing three games in the Disney Tip-Off West Coast Classic (Nov. 7-9). It dropped its first two games to Indianapolis (67-57) and Concordia-St. Paul (68-64) before defeating Central Washington (52-43) to close out the tournament.
The all-time series is tied at one game apiece. The two teams met last year in Monmouth, Ore., with the Wolves winning 76-69. Western Oregon had a 51-36 rebounding advantage in the game and Torland registered a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds while going 12-15 at the free throw line.
Cal State Monterey Bay preview...
The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters will open the season Saturday (Nov. 15) against the University of Mary before taking on Western Oregon Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Last season, CSUMB was 3-24 and 2-18 in the California Colligate Athletic Association.
The Otters return two starters including first team All-CCAA selection and the conference's second-leading scorer in Dana Andrews (18.8) but they lost all but three letterwinners.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
