Women's Basketball | 12/11/2010 3:44:08 PM

Box Score [Box Score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Freshman forward Melissa Fowler notched her first career double-double and was one of five players in double-figures as the Western Oregon women's basketball team routed Simpson 96-64 Saturday, Dec. 11, in the New P.E. Building.

The win is WOU's third straight and improves their record to 4-4. Simpson drops to 1-7 with the loss.

Fowler (Canby, Ore./Canby) registered 17 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Senior guard Sara Zahler (Newberg, Ore./Newberg) also dropped 17 points, including three treys. Senior forward Danielle Bellando (Eugene, Ore./Willamette), sophomore guard Hannah Whitsett (Hermiston, Ore./Hermiston), and junior forward Rylee Peterson (Newport, Ore./Newport) added 16, 15, and 10 points, respectively. Fowler also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while Bellando and Zahler contributed with nine and eight caroms, respectively.

"I really think we're just getting better and playing well together," Fowler said. "Our chemistry is getting better everyday, and we're just growing closer as a team."

Western trailed 12-11 after the first 4:15, but would go on to outscore Simpson 20-4 to take a 31-16 lead with 7:55 left in the first half. Simpson registered just one field goal during that span. The Wolves would take a 50-28 lead into halftime and would extend their lead to 37 points at the 10:32 mark of the second stanza. Simpson would reduce the deficit to 25 points with 5:49 remaining, but that was as close as they would get as WOU pulled away over the final minutes.

The Wolves shot 40.8-percent (29-71) from the field, 33.3-percent (8-24) from beyond the arc, and 88.2-percent (30-34) from the charity stripe. Simpson was held to 28.3-percent shooting, the third opponent in four games to shoot less than 30-percent against WOU. Western won the battle on the boards 51-41, including 21 offensive rebounds. They assisted on 17 of their 29 field goals, forced 13 steals, and turned the ball over a season-low 16 times.

"I thought our passing was the highlight tonight," WOU head coach Greg Bruce said. "We had some turnovers as a result of bad passes, but overall I thought everyone did a great job of moving the ball and finding open people.

"I think we're on the right track, and we can really build off of this win, as well as our last two wins, and really make some noise this season."

Simpson was led by guard Melanie Shank's 14 points. Forward Bekah Wofford and guard Kylie Shaw added 12 points apiece.

The Wolves will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule when they travel to California for a pair of games as part of the GNAC/CCAA Challenge. They will face Cal Poly Pomona Friday, Dec. 17, at 5::00 pm, and Cal State L.A. Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2:30 pm.

NOTES
Fowler's 17 points and ten boards were both career highs. Bellando also registered career-highs in points (16) and rebounds (9), as did Whitsett (15 points) ... Freshmen guard Ashley Hanson (Junction City, Ore.) and Olivia Hettrich (Hillsboro, Ore./Glencoe) scored their first career points in a WOU uniform ... Fowler is the second Western player to make at least ten free throws in a game this season (Zahler was 10-10 against Humboldt State earlier this season) ... The 21 offensive rebounds were the most since Jan. 21, 2010 (WOU registered 22 at Alaska Fairbanks).