MEDIA INFORMATION
Live video and live stats can be found under the “Upcoming Events” heading at WOUWolves.com.

MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT
Western Oregon will hold Military Appreciation Night Saturday, Jan. 29. Members of the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Western Oregon and Oregon State will be on hand to be honored along with other military veterans. These veterans and cadets will be honored at halftime of both the men's and women's games, and will present the colors during the Star Spangled Banner prior to the women's game.

Military personnel attending the game in their uniform will receive free admission. Any fans wearing a yellow ribbon in support of our troops will have the option to buy tickets at the discounted price of $2.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Since losing in overtime at then-No. 13 Western Washington, Saint Martin's has won four of its last five games, including victories over then-No. 11 Alaska Anchorage and then-No. 20 Seattle Pacific . . . WOU defeated the Saints 59-53 earlier this season behind a career-high 22 points from sophomore guard Hannah Whitsett . . . Senior forward Dara Zack (15.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .462 FG) leads SMU. Junior guard Marelle Moehrle (7.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .338 3FG) scored 33 points and hit nine three-pointers in two games this past week.

THE SERIES VS. SAINT MARTIN'S
Record: WOU trails 12-25 (8-9 at WOU)
Last Meeting: WOU 59-53 (12/30/10 at SMU)
Streak: WOU 1
Notes: WOU is 4-18 against SMU in Division II contests . . . Prior to its victory this season, WOU had not won at SMU since the 1992-93 season . . . The series started in 1983-84 (75-64 WOU win).

OFFENSIVELY
The Wolves have had a hard time scoring of late, managing to break 55 points just once in their last four outings. They are shooting it better, especially in the second half. WOU shot 51.9 percent in the second period against MSUB and 44 percent against SPU. They also connected on 50 percent of their three-point tries after halftime in those games.

Sophomore guard Lorrie Clifford's team-high 13 points against MSUB made her the seventh different Wolf to lead the team in scoring this season.

DEFENSIVELY
In nine GNAC games, Western has held five opponents to fewer points than 65 points after doing that just twice in eight non-conference games. Those five GNAC teams were also held below their season averages.

Steals and forced turnovers have been down as WOU forced a season-low nine turnovers against MSUB and managed just seven steals. The single-digit steals mark broke a streak of three-consecutive games with at least ten takeaways.

HALFWAY THERE
Last Saturday's contest marked the halfway point in the GNAC season for Western Oregon. Their 5-4 record puts them in a four-way tie for fourth place; they have victories over Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's, two of the three other fourth-place teams. WOU also owns victories over the teams in eighth, ninth, and tenth place, respectively.

Western's best finish was in the GNAC's first season (2001-02), when they finished fourth. No WOU team has ever had a winning record halfway through a GNAC slate prior to this season.

GNAC TOURNAMENT UPDATE
This season will conclude with the inaugural GNAC Tournament, a postseason tournament featuring the top eight teams in the conference standings. The top four teams will host the bottom four teams in the first round. The second and final rounds will be played at the higher seed's home site. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

If the tournament started today, the Wolves would face Montana State Billings as the tournament's fifth seed by virtue of record. WOU holds tiebreakers over the other two 5-4 squads, but has lost its lone match-up with MSUB.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUTY
Junior forward Rylee Peterson recorded back-to-back double-doubles this past weekend's two games. Against Montana State Billings, she scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. She matched her scoring total against Seattle Pacific while snagging ten caroms. The double-doubles were Peterson's fourth and fifth of the season, giving her the second-highest total among GNAC players.

TWO IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
For a team that gets up a lot of threes, Western has been shooting it better inside the arc this season than in recent memory. WOU is hitting 44.2 percent of their two-point shots compared to 30.7 percent of their long-range attempts. The last time a Western team shot better than 44 percent from close range was the 2002-03 squad who connected on 45.2 percent of their two-point attempts.

Junior forward Rylee Peterson leads the Wolves in two-point percentage at 52.6 percent. Senior forward Danielle Bellando (45.4), and sophomore guards Jamie Richardson (47.8) and Lorrie Clifford (44.9) are also shooting well from inside the arc.

NATIONAL STATISTICS (as of 1/23/11)
As a team, WOU ranks in the top 125 in many national statistics, including free throw percentage (73.5; 42), steals per game (10.4; 65), blocked shots per game (3.5; 83), three-point field goals made per game (5.7; 107), three-point field goal percentage (.307; 123), three-point field goal percentage defense (.307; 123), and scoring offense (66.1; 125). There are 294 teams eligible for ranking.

Individually, junior forward Rylee Peterson ranks in the top 200 in blocked shots per game (2.4; 21), steals per game (2.2; 131), and rebounds per game (7.3; 166). Senior guard Sara Zahler ranks in three-point field goal percentage (.425; 25) and three-point field goals made per game (2.2; 81). Sophomore guard Jamie Richardson ranks in steals per game (2.3; 109). There are 500 student-athletes eligible for ranking.