OPENING TIP
•   The Western Oregon women's basketball team returns home after spending the last two weekends on the road with two Great Northwest Athletic Conference games against ranked teams in the D2SIDA Division II poll. WOU hosts RV/#15 Western Washington on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. and RV/#21 Simon Fraser on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in The 109 at the New P.E. Building.
• After the first round of conference play ended on Saturday, the Wolves sit tied for eighth in the league standings with Montana State Billings. Western Oregon is currently 1.5 games behind the sixth spot held by Alaska. The top six teams at the end of the regular season will play in the GNAC Championship in early March.
•   Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Western Oregon is coming off a 1-1 week on the road that capped off a string of six of the last eight contests being away from Monmouth. WOU fell at Central Washington, 77-63, last Thursday before coming back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, 78-75. Sydney Azorr scored the go-ahead layup in posting her first collegiate double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

MILESTONES AND COMEBACKS
With a win at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter posted her 25^th win in her fourth season at Western Oregon. Howard-Carpenter is one victory away from tying a single-season high for wins (eight in 2014-15.)
 
The victory at NNU featured the largest WOU comeback in a game under Howard-Carpenter. Down 14 points early in the fourth quarter, the Wolves took the lead for good at the 1:24 mark with a Sydney Azorr layin. The comeback effort surpassed a nine-point deficit overcome by WOU against Seattle Pacific nearly two years to the day prior on Jan. 22, 2015.

PROBABLE STARTING FIVE
- Shelby Snook scored 19 points and had five assists against Central Washington. She made 7 of 17 shots and 3 of 9 from 3-point territory. Snook is now averaging 15.5 points per game, which ranks fifth in the GNAC this year.
- Sydney Azorr was named WOU Female Athlete of the Week for her performances on the road. She has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games including a season-high 20 points in a home win over Alaska (Jan. 6).
- Ali Nelke was held scoreless for the first time this season at MSUB (1/14), but she continued her string to nine games of having at least three rebounds.
- Savannah Heugly returned to the starting five on Saturday at NNU and had three of her five assists in the opening quarter. Her final helper led to an Azorr 3-pointer that sparked the Wolves' rally from 14 points down.
- Jasmine Miller had the only two double-doubles on the season for the Wolves (12/3 vs. SMU, 12/10 vs. SOU), until Azorr's game at NNU. Miller connected on all three 3-point attempts at MSUB (1/14), a career-high for makes from downtown in a single game.

ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings boosted their winning streak to nine games last week with wins over Simon Fraser and Montana State Billings. The 84-72 win over Simon Fraser put Western Washington in sole possession of second place in the conference. Western Washington is ranked No. 15 in the D2SIDA national poll and come in at No. 3 in the West Region. For the first time since November, the Vikings are also receiving votes in the WBCA poll. The Vikings lead the GNAC in field-goal percentage at 46.2 percent, which ranks 11th in NCAA Division II. The Vikings also lead the conference and rank third in free-throw percentage, making 80.3 percent. Taylor Peacocke scored 41 points against Simon Fraser, which is the third most points scored in a single game in GNAC history. Peacocke remains the leading scorer in Division II with 23.7 points per game. Peacocke added 27 points against Montana State Billings and was named GNAC Player of the Week for her efforts. It was her third time receiving the honor this year, joining a list of nine players in GNAC history to do so and only the second this decade along with Simon Fraser's Erin Chambers. Peacocke ranks eighth in GNAC history in career points with 1,622. She is one point away from seventh place and only 23 points behind sixth. Hannah Stipanovich is the GNAC leader in free-throw percentage, making 91.2 percent of her shots from the charity stripe. That ranks fifth in Division II.

ABOUT SIMON FRASER
Simon Fraser earned a split last week with a loss at home to Western Washington on Tuesday, 84-72, before bouncing back on Thursday with an 86-72 win against Montana State Billings. The Clan is ranked No. 21 in the D2SIDA national poll and No. 4 in the West Region. In the WBCA poll, Simon Fraser is third among teams receiving votes. Ellen Kett has the third-best assists per game average in Division II with 7.1, which also leads the GNAC. As a team, Simon Fraser ranks 12th in Division II in assists this season. Ozi Nwabuko went 5 for 8 from the field last week to remain the conference leader in field-goal percentage at 62.6 percent. Meg Wilson led the team in scoring in both games last week, making 15 of 27 field-goal attempts. Her career field-goal percentage is now 53.8, which is the eighth best in GNAC history. Wilson has 195 career steals after collecting seven swipes last week. She needs just five more to become the 13th player in GNAC history to reach 200 career steals.