Women's Basketball | 1/15/2011 4:31:44 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Four Wolves reached double-figures as the Western Oregon women's basketball team defeated Alaska Fairbanks 70-57 Saturday, Jan. 15, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game in the New P.E. Building.

The win was the 600th in the history of the Wolves' basketball program. It also ended a two-game skid for the Wolves, who improve to 7-8 (5-2 GNAC) on the year. The Nanooks, now 1-13 on the season (1-7 GNAC), dropped their third consecutive game with the loss.

Senior guard Sara Zahler (Newberg, Ore./Newberg) led all scorers with 18 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and connected on four of WOU's seven three-pointers. She also led the team in assists (5) and steals (3). Junior forward Rylee Peterson (Newport, Ore./Newport) registered 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Senior forward Danielle Bellando (Eugene, Ore./Willamette) and sophomore guard Jamie Richardson (Grants Pass, Ore./Hidden Valley) added ten points apiece. Freshman forward Melissa Fowler (Canby, Ore./Canby) recorded a team-high nine rebounds.

“I wanted to put our last game behind me,” Zahler said. “I was confident in my ability to make shots tonight, and when they went zone and we were struggling, as a senior I knew I had to step up and hit some shots for us.”

Western struck first on a Richardson trey, but back-to-back baskets by UAF would give the visitors a 4-3 lead, their only lead of the game. A lay-up from Richardson would put WOU back on top for good at the 18:23 mark. It would also start a 28-10 run spanning 13:01 that put the Wolves up 31-13 with 5:22 left to play. Western would manage just one field goal over the remaining minutes but would shoot 5-of-6 from the free throw line to extend their lead to 39-17 going into the locker room.

“I thought we played with a high level of defensive intensity in the first half,” WOU head coach Greg Bruce said. “We played a pretty clean half in terms of turnovers and fouls, and we were able to find a rhythm offensively.”

WOU shot just 33.3-percent (13-39) in the first stanza but held the Nanooks to 22.2-percent (6-27) shooting. The Wolves also dominated the paint, scoring 16 points while allowing just two. Western had a 29-20 advantage on the boards and forced UAF into 13 turnovers.

After trading baskets early, Western would push its lead to 47-22, their largest lead of the night. Using a 2-3 zone, the Nanooks would respond with a 21-9 run, cutting the deficit to 13 with 10:26 remaining in the game. The Wolves would score the next nine points to go up 65-43 at the 8:04 mark, but another UAF run would bring the visitors to within 11 with 1:34 left to play. A Peterson lay-up would seal the Western victory.

“The second half was the exact opposite from the first half in a lot of ways,” Bruce continued. “It was not clean, we did not make smart decisions, and I thought our defensive intensity let down. Give Fairbanks a lot of credit for battling back. They were definitely the aggressors in the second half.”

WOU upped its shooting percentage to 38.7-percent (12-31) in the second stanza, but allowed Alaska Fairbanks to connect on 44.8-percent (13-29) of their field goal attempts. The Wolves also committed 14 turnovers and were outrebounded 21-18.

Alaska Fairbanks was led by senior guard Caitlin Hamsley's 12 points. Junior guard Autumn Greene grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior forward Nicole Bozek was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting after coming into the game averaging 14.1 points.

The Wolves continue GNAC play next weekend with a two-game road swing. They meet Montana State Billings Thursday, Jan. 20, before clashing with #22 Seattle Pacific Saturday, Jan. 22. Game times are set for 6:00 pm and 1:30 pm, respectively.

NOTES
WOU's victory was their sixth consecutive over the Nanooks. Western has outscored UAF by an average of 21 points over that span . . . With 16 assists the Wolves have now gone five consecutive games with double-figure dimes . . . UAF is only the second opponent in the last seven games to shoot better than 40-percent from long range against Western.