Women's Basketball | 1/9/2014 10:04:00 PM

Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The University of Alaska-Anchorage women's basketball team defeated Western Oregon University for the 20th straight time with a 97-71 victory Thursday.

The Seawolves (10-2, 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) entered the game receiving votes in the NCAA Div. II National Poll. They also entered the contest sixth in the nation averaging 86.8 points per outing. Alaska-Anchorage finished 51 percent from the field in the game, while the visiting Wolves shot 46 percent. UAA also forced Western Oregon into a season-high 32 turnovers. Alaska-Anchorage's 16.2 steals per game is third in the country, and it finished with 18 Thursday.

Kylie Burns led the Seawolves, which have now won six of their seven and is 7-1 at home, with 19 points. She was 8-for-13 from the field. Alli Madison chipped in 16 points. Emily Craft and Alyssa Hutchins added 14 and 12 points. Burns grabbed seven rebounds, while Kiki Robertson dished out seven assists. Robertson came into the contest leading the country in steals per game with an average of 4.5, she had five versus WOU.

The Wolves nearly matched their season-high field goal percentage. They made 46.3 percent of their shots in a win over Willamette earlier this season, and made 46.0 percent Thursday. WOU dropped to 3-2 this season when it outrebounds opponents. It had a 34-31 edge on the boards at Alaska-Anchorage. The Seawolves had a 50-28 advantage in the paint, and turned the Western Oregon turnovers into 34 points. The UAA bench also outscored their counterparts, 40-19.

The game featured a pair of early ties, including the second at 7-7, but Alaska-Anchorage never trailed and led for the final 35 minutes. The Seawolves had a 45-34 halftime advantage, after shooting 55 percent from the field in the first half.

In the game, Alaska-Anchorage made 10 of its 24 three-point attempts, while the Wolves were 3-of-13. WOU did make 22 of its 28 free throw attempts; both those totals were season highs. UAA was 11-for-16 from the free throw line. The Wolves dished out a season-high 20 assists, and Alaska-Anchorage threw 34, a season-high for a WOU opponent. The last time Western Oregon tossed 20 assists was against Simpson on Dec. 17, 2012.

Dana Goularte led Western Oregon (4-8, 1-3 GNAC) with 20 points. The junior has reached 20 points four times this season, and six times in her career at WOU. It was 11th game in double-digits this season, and 27th overall. Goularte also had a team-high eight rebounds. Chantel Divilbiss added 13 points, and Kelsey Henry had 10 points for the Wolves. Elise Miller dished out a career-high six assists. That total is also a team season-high. The last WOU win in the series was a 73-56 road victory in 2002.

Western Oregon travels to Fairbanks, Alaska, for a meeting with Alaska (8-5, 2-3) Saturday. The Nanooks snapped SMU's conference-high six-game win streak Thursday. WOU has won eight of the last 10 games in the series against Alaska. Saturday's tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Alaskan Time. Live video and stats will be on WOUWolves.com.

Western Oregon vs Alaska Anchorage
01/09/14 7 pm at Wells Fargo Sports Complex-Anchoarage,AK
At Wells Fargo Sports Complex-Anchoarage,AK
ALASKA ANCHORAGE 97, WESTERN OREGON 71
WESTERN OREGON (4-8, 1-3 GNAC)
Goularte,Dana 9-13 2-2 20; Divilbiss,Chantel 4-6 4-4 13; Henry,Kelsey 2-6
6-8 10; Miller,Elise 2-5 3-4 8; Steiger,Jackie 2-5 2-2 7; Fowler,Melissa 3-3
1-2 7; Akins,Shyla 1-6 3-4 5; Goddard,Katie 0-2 1-2 1; Rodriguez,Whitney 0-0
0-0 0; Titus,Angie 0-0 0-0 0; Mottershaw,Jordan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-50
22-28 71.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (11-2, 4-1 GNAC)
Burns,Kylie 8-13 1-3 19; Madison,Alli 7-15 0-0 16; Craft,Emily 6-12 2-2 14;
Hutchins,Alyssa 4-6 1-2 12; Wright,KeKe 3-7 3-4 9; Madison,Jessica 3-5 2-2
8; Davis,Christina 2-5 1-2 7; Robertson,Kiki 2-5 1-1 5; Devine,Alysha 2-4
0-0 4; Buchanan,Jenna 1-2 0-0 3; Castle,Melissa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-74
11-16 97.
Western Oregon................   34   37  -   71
Alaska Anchorage..............   45   52  -   97
3-point goals--Western Oregon 3-13 (Steiger,Jackie 1-2; Divilbiss,Chantel
1-3; Miller,Elise 1-3; Akins,Shyla 0-3; Goddard,Katie 0-1; Mottershaw,Jordan
0-1), Alaska Anchorage 10-24 (Hutchins,Alyssa 3-5; Burns,Kylie 2-5;
Madison,Alli 2-5; Davis,Christina 2-5; Buchanan,Jenna 1-1; Devine,Alysha
0-1; Madison,Jessica 0-2). Fouled out--Western Oregon-None, Alaska
Anchorage-Devine,Alysha. Rebounds--Western Oregon 34 (Goularte,Dana 8),
Alaska Anchorage 31 (Burns,Kylie 7). Assists--Western Oregon 20
(Miller,Elise 6), Alaska Anchorage 34 (Robertson,Kiki 7). Total
fouls--Western Oregon 15, Alaska Anchorage 22. Technical fouls--Western
Oregon-None, Alaska Anchorage-None. A-479
Great Northwest Athletic Conference game