The Basics

• Final score: RV/#15 Western Washington 65, Western Oregon 45
• Records: Western Oregon 7-11, 3-8 GNAC; Western Washington 16-3, 10-1 GNAC
• Location: Monmouth, Ore. – New P.E. Building

How It Happened
No. 15 Western Washington pulled away in the second quarter Thursday and defeated the host Western Oregon women's basketball team, 65-45, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at the New P.E. Building.
 
WOU trailed 15-10 after one quarter, but the way the quarter started, the Wolves were happy with a five-point deficit. They didn't score until the 4:54 mark to spot the Vikings an 11-0 lead.
 
The Wolves closed out the quarter on a 10-5 spurt with balanced scoring. Savannah Heugly scored the final four points of the quarter with two free throws and layup.
 
A three-point play from Shelby Snook put the Wolves within two points, 17-15. But WOU could not score over the final 2:35 of the period while Western Washington closed on a 10-0 run to trail 37-21 at the break. WOU shot 31 percent (9-of-29) from the field in the first two periods while the Vikings hit 48 percent (12-of-25).
 
No Wolves player reached double figures in the first half, with Snook scoring five points on 2-of-6 shooting.
 
An evenly-played third quarter saw WWU only increase its lead by one point after a 16-15 score over 10 minutes. Snook was nearly perfect in the frame for WOU with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers.
 
The fourth quarter opened with the Wolves trying to trim the WWU lead back to single digits, but the team could only close within 14 points (55-41) after a Snook triple and two free throws from Kaylie Boschma. The Vikings pulled away hitting four of their next six shots while WOU missed three shots and had four turnovers. The 10-1 run produced for the visitors pushed the lead to 23 (65-42) with 2:30 left in the game.  
 
Wolves' Top Performers

• Shelby Snook scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting while adding five rebounds and two assists.
• Savannah Heugly had nine points and six rebounds in her second consecutive start.
• Jasmine Miller matched Heugly with six rebounds and Jasmine Miller finished with five boards.

 
For the Vikings

• Tia Briggs led three WU players in double figures with 14 points adding eight rebounds.
• Rachel Albert was 5-of-6 off the bench for 12 points.
• Hannah Stipanovich hit all four free throws she attempted en route to 12 points.
• Taylor Peacocke, the Division II leading scorer entering the night at 23.7 points per game, was held to nine points on 4-of-11 shooting.

 
Stats of the Game

• The WWU bench provided a big spark outpacing the Wolves 20-8 for the game.
• Western Oregon was able to force 16 turnovers, but only scored 10 points on the ensuing possessions.
• The Wolves went 17-of-54 from the floor in the game (31.5 percent) and 3-of-19 from 3-point land (15.8 percent).
• Western Washington won the rebounding battle (41-31) despite good efforts from both club on the offensive glass (WWU 14-12).

 
Coach Quotes
WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter after the loss:

• "I thought we got off to a decent start and our defense was pretty consistent throughout.  We had a solid collective effort on (Taylor) Peacocke between Kaylie, Syd and Shelby and were able to keep them under their average.  We just could not put the ball in the basket tonight and we can't win ball games on defense alone.  We had moments where we executed well but at times we played too fast and took rushed shots.  We have to be able to find easy baskets when we aren't hitting or get to the free throw line more consistently."
• "Savannah and Ali had their hands full with their posts and I thought they worked their tails off to get on the glass and give us some second opportunities.  Shelby found her rhythm tonight and made some good decisions for us.  I needed just a few more to step up and we just didn't have it tonight." 
   

Up Next
Western Oregon will host another D2SIDA ranked club when #21 Simon Fraser travels to Monmouth for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 28. The Clan defeated Concordia on Thursday night, 88-68.