MONMOUTH, Ore. –The Western Oregon University women's basketball team continues their road trip this week with visits to No. 8 Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. They take on the Nighthawks Jan. 31 with a 6 p.m. PST tipoff in Nampa, Idaho and the Wildcats Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. PST in Ellensburg, Wash.

ABOUT NO. 8 NNU (17-1, 9-1 GNAC): Northwest Nazarene was dealt their first loss of the season this past weekend, falling 76-73 to Simon Fraser on the road to snap their 17-game winning streak to start the year. Leading by nine going to the fourth quarter, the Nighthawks were out-scored 24-12 in the final period to be dealt the loss.

The loss cost them five spots in the national rankings and drops NNU into a tie for first place in the GNAC standings with Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves host NNU Feb. 28 in their final meeting of the regular season.

The Nighthawks are the conference leaders in scoring offense (86.9 ppg), scoring margin (+22.2), field goal percentage (.480), 3-point percentage (.399), free throw percentage (.768) and offensive rebounds (14.7/g). On a national scale, their 86.9 points per game average is good for the third-highest scoring offense while their 39.8 percent 3-point shooting ranks fourth in Division II.

NNU has three players averaging double figures in scoring while 10 players are averaging at least five points per game.

Avery Albrecht has the fourth-highest free throw percentage in the country at 90.8 percent from the line while leading the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game.

WOU vs. NNU: Western Oregon is 12-25 against NNU since 2001. The Nighthawks have won four straight in the series and six of the last seven meetings. WOU's last win came on the road, 78-75 Jan. 21, 2017. WOU is 5-13 on the road.

ABOUT CWU (12-5, 7-3 GNAC): Central Washington has split their last two weeks, falling to Simon Fraser 79-69 last Thursday before a 76-61 win over Western Washington two days later. The Wildcats have wins in six of their last eight games dating back to their first game of 2019.

Averaging 77.0 points per game, CWU ranks second in the GNAC in scoring offense. They are additionally holding opponents to a conference-low 39.0 percent in field goal shooting.

Alexis Pana sits in a tie at 15.4 points per game as the conference's leading scorer. She is also the GNAC leader in assists (5.6/g) and second in field goal percentage (.550). Teammate Kassidy Malcolm is second in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game.

WOU vs. CWU: Western Oregon is 11-26 against CWU since 2001. The Wildcats have won 10 straight in the series dating back to Feb. 27, 2014. The Wolves' last win came in overtime, 71-63 Dec. 7, 2013 at home. Their last win in Ellensburg was a 77-61 victory Dec. 1, 2011. WOU is 3-15 on the road in the series.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (6-10, 3-7 GNAC): Western Oregon was dealt a pair of road losses last week, falling Tuesday to Concordia  65-61 before a 65-53 loss on Saturday at MSUB.

The Wolves had their third-highest rebounding margin at +16 against CU, winning the battle on the boards 49-33. Only a 55-rebound night against Academy of Art saw a higher rebound total in a game this season for WOU. The -5 margin against the 'Jackets broke a streak of five consecutive games WOU has out-rebounded their opponent. They have not been out-rebounded in consecutive games this season.

Natalie DeLonge scored a combined 31 points and pulled in 18 rebounds over the two games. The junior forward is now fourth in the GNAC, averaging 14.5 points per game.

Taisha Thomas set a season-high with 11 points Saturday at MSUB, leading the Wolves in scoring in her 17 minutes.

OPENING SUCCESS: Western Oregon is out-scoring opponents 259-236 in the first quarter this season.

THIEVERY ON THE MIND: WOU has nabbed 10 steals in two of their last three games. The +7 steal margin against MSUB Jan. 26 was the highest this season for the Wolves.

THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS: In WOU's 79-50 win Jan. 19 at home against Alaska, the Wolves matched their highest point total of the season while also holding the Nanooks to an opponent-low. As a result, the Wolves had their largest win of the season at 29 points. The Nanooks were also the victims of WOU's lowest points allowed last season, scoring 49 Feb. 8, 2018, in Monmouth.

BACK-TO-BACK CAREER NIGHTS: Natalie DeLonge set a career-high with 23 points Jan. 17 at home against Alaska Anchorage. She wasted no time topping that mark, going for 24 points in her very next game Jan. 19 against Alaska. She is now averaging 14.5 points per game through 16 appearances. In her last 10 games, she has scored at least 14 points and picked up at least six rebounds in all but one contest, including three double-doubles.

BLOCK PARTY: WOU'S seven team blocks Dec. 1 at Seattle Pacific matches their highest single-game total since an eight-block performance Dec. 7, 2013 in a 71-63 overtime win against Central Washington. It also matches the highest total for a game finished in regulation since Nov. 17, 2012 when Western Oregon beat Pacific Lutheran 74-62. They repeated that effort Jan. 19 against Alaska with another seven blocks.

NOT BY A LONG SHOT: Western Oregon is having one of their best shooting seasons from the paint in their NCAA history. As a result, they have taken fewer shots from 3-point range. The five 3-point attempts Jan. 10 against Simon Fraser was the fewest taken since they attempted just four Jan. 14, 2012 in a 67-53 win over Saint Martin's.
 
EFFICIENCY IS THE KEY: WOU is currently shooting 39.8 percent from the field as a team. That mark is their best team shooting line since the 2011-12 campaign when they finished with a 41.6 percent shooting season. It is also the second-highest clip since 2003-04.
 
LEADING SCORER: Junior Natalie DeLonge has been the Wolves' leading scorer in 11 of 16 games this season.

KEEP 'EM OFF THE BOARDS: Western Oregon has allowed the fewest opponent offensive rebounds in the conference, giving up just 159 for a .733 defensive rebounding percentage.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: The seven turnovers committed Dec. 10 against Northwest Christian is the fewest turnovers committed by the Wolves in a game during their NCAA-era history dating back to the 2000-01 season.
 
SHARP-SHOOTING SENIOR: Ali Nelke currently ranks 5th in the Great Northwest Athletic conference in field goal percentage (.543) while staying perfect at the free throw line this season at a perfect 24-for-24. She is also in the GNAC's top-10 in assist/turnover ratio (2nd), offensive rebounds (2nd), minutes played (2nd), blocks (5th) and rebounding (9th).
 
TEAM CONTRIBUTION: In the Wolves' 79-62 win Dec. 10 over Northwest Christian, nine separate players scored at least five points in the game while four scored in double figures. Five players have a season average of seven or more points as well.
 
JONES' OFFENSIVE RUN: Sophomore guard Keyonna Jones scored in double figures in four consecutive games between Nov. 17 and Dec. 10, including a career-high 23 points Dec. 1 at Seattle Pacific. She is averaging 10.1 points per game this season.
 
TIGHT START TO THE SEASON: Of the Wolves' first six games, three were decided by five or fewer points.
 
REBOUNDING FORTE: Western Oregon players account for five of the top 40 list of rebounders in the conference. Currently three Wolves are averaging five rebounds or more per game. The team's 21 offensive rebounds Dec. 19 is tied for the most in a game since Dec. 17, 2014 when WOU pulled down 26 offensive boards in a 73-60 win over Holy Names.
 
NELKE PUTTING IN WORK: Senior forward Ali Nelke is currently 2nd in the GNAC in minutes played, averaging 33.8 minutes per game. That has included playing all 40 minutes of the game Nov. 17 against Colorado Mesa. Nelke has logged at least 30 minutes in all but two games so far this year. Her current average leaves her just 1.7 minutes shy of the school NCAA-era record for single season average set by Michelle Laski during the 2003-04 campaign.

2018-19 GNAC PRESEASON POLL: The Wolves were picked to finish in 10th place according to the GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll… Picking up six first-place votes, Northwest Nazarene was chosen to repeat as regular season champions after going 22-5 overall and 18-2 in GNAC play a year ago… Also picking up first-place votes was Alaska Anchorage (5).

2017-18 REVIEW: The Wolves ended last year with an 11-15 overall record and a 7-13 record in GNAC play to place 9th in the league standings… were ranked ninth in the GNAC after scoring 65.8 points per game… ranked seventh in defense, allowing 68.6 points per game and second in free throw percentage (.793).

D2 WEST REGION POLL: Four GNAC teams were represented in the D2SIDA West Region poll this week. Northwest Nazarene was dealt their first loss of the season to drop them out of the top spot while Simon Fraser rose to No. 9 after knocking off the Nighthawks.
 

D2SIDA West Region Poll (Jan. 28, 2019)
Rank / School	Record	Points
1. UC San Diego (5)	17-0	59
2. Northwest Nazarene (1)	17-1	52
3. Alaska Anchorage	17-1	50
4. Cal Poly Pomona	16-2	43
5. Azusa Pacific	16-3	30
6. Central Washington	11-5	22
T7. Chico State	12-5	20
T7. Dominican	14-3	20
9. Simon Fraser	11-6	15
T10. Humboldt State	11-6	7
T10. Cal State San Marcos	10-7	7