Women's Basketball | 12/3/2013 4:35:00 PM

NORTHWEST NAZARENE GAME NOTES                 CENTRAL WASHINGTON GAME NOTES                   GNAC WEEKLY RELEASE

MONMOUTH, Ore. -- The Western Oregon University women's basketball team opens its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule Thursday against No. 18 Northwest Nazarene University. The Wolves then welcome Central Washington University Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON BEGINS GNAC SCHEDULE
• Western Oregon opens its 13th season in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference versus No. 18 Northwest Nazarene Thursday.
• The Wolves are 5-7 in their GNAC season-opening games all-time.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the New P.E. Building. The game will be broadcast online on WOUWolves.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• Western Oregon claimed its second straight Capital City Classic crown with a 64-46 victory over California Maritime last Saturday.
• Chantel Divilbiss was named the tournament's most valuable player after she finished the classic with five made-three pointers and 27 points.
• Dana Goularte was named to the All-Tournament team after totaling 14 points in both games.
• WOU's defense held Cal Maritime to just 17 percent shooting from the field. The Keelhaulers made 10 of their 58 shots from the field.

WESTERN OREGON STORYLINES
• Western Oregon is 27th in NCAA Div. II with a .759 free-throw percentage, and 30th in scoring defense (57.2).
• The Wolves' .340 field goal percentage defense leads the GNAC.
• Dana Goularte is seventh in the conference in scoring (15.4) and second in reobunds (9.0).
• Goularte leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in defensive rebounds per game at 7.0.

THE OPPOSITION
• Northwest Nazarene enters the game as the 18th-ranked team in the country, after climbing from No. 25 last week.
• The ranking is a program-high at the NCAA Div. II level.
• Megan Hingston leads the Crusaders averaging 20 points per game.
• Undefeated NNU is outscoring opponents by 15.8 points this season.
• The Crusaders lead the conference in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
• Northwest Nazarene's Kylee Schierman averages a team-high nine rebounds per contest.

SERIES HISTORY
• Western Oregon has won 39 of the 70 meetings in the all-time series.
• The series dates back to a 75-37 WOU victory in Monmouth in 1979.
• Northwest Nazarene has won three straight in the series, with the last Wolves' victory, 57-46, coming in Monmouth in 2012.
• Western Oregon has won three of the last four over NNU in Monmouth, but fell in last year's home meeting, 73-62.

WESTERN OREGON WELCOMES WILDCATS
• Western Oregon ends its seven-game homestand that opened the 2013-14 schedule against Central Washington Saturday.
• The Wolves are in their opening weekend of their GNAC schedule.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the New P.E. Building. The game will be broadcast online on WOUWolves.com.

THE OPPOSITION
• Central Washington plays its first true road games this week, after playing only at home and on a neutral court.
• The Wildcats are 13th in NCAA Div. II averaging 9.2 three-pointers per game.
• Central Washington leads the GNAC with a +10.4 rebound margin.
• Jessica VanDyke is second in the GNAC with 21.4 points per game.
• VanDyke is adding a team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest.
• CWU is making 42 percent of its shots from the field.

SERIES HISTORY
• Western Oregon has won 14 of the 33 meetings in the all-time series.
• The series dates back to a 72-54 CWU victory in Ellensburg in 1977.
• Western Oregon has won four straight at home over Central Washington, dating back to a 76-68 CWU win in 2009.
• Only one of the last 10 matchups has been decided by single digits, and that was the last meeting's WOU six-point win at home.