MONMOUTH, Ore. – Sophomore guard Sydney Azorr scored 11 points, dished three assists and had two steals, but the visiting Chico State Wildcats held off a late Wolves rally to post a 65-54 win over Western Oregon at New P.E. Building during the Hampton Inn D2 Shootout.
 
"Despite the outcome, I saw a lot of positives tonight," WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "We are finally seeing the things we work on in practice translate to the game.  We just can't wait so long to get going.  We outscored them in the last three quarters but just dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first."
 
The deficit was 24-9 for the Wildcats, who had 12 bench points in the opening 10 minutes.
 
"Our offense looked much better than it has been and we shared the ball well tonight," Howard-Carpenter added. "Sydney had a great game on both ends, she's really seeing the floor well."
 
Azorr played with a relative balance, scoring five points in the first half while adding seven points and three rebounds in the second half.
 
Kelsey Henry came off the bench with a solid 10 points and five rebounds. Jordan Mottershaw and Jasmine Miller each had 10 points, while Miller ripped down a team-high six rebounds.
 
Playing from behind after a tough first quarter, the Wolves were only able to slice the Wildcat lead to single digits twice in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throw makes.
 
The Wildcats forced 23 turnovers that led to 26 points off the giveaways. WOU did have a slight advantage in the paint, outscoring Chico State 26-24.
 
Western Oregon returns to action on Sunday afternoon when they host Evergreen State at 2 p.m.
 
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