MONMOUTH, Ore. –The Western Oregon University women's basketball team returns home for their final four games of the regular season. This week the Wolves host Concordia Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and MSUB Feb. 21 at 5:15 p.m. at NPE Gym. Thursday's game will serve as the first of a doubleheader in Monmouth as a part of Central Youth Sports Night.
 
CYS FUNDRAISER: Teaming up with Central Youth Sports in a time of need for the local organization, Western Oregon Athletics has announced it will be donating $2 to the group for every ticket sold on its Feb. 21 basketball doubleheader.

CYS is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization located in Monmouth/Independence that provides sports programs for youth. CYS offers youth opportunities in several sports including baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball. Earlier last month a storage unit modular used by CYS was destroyed by a fire with all of its contents lost due to the damage. The Wolves will be offering a chance for the community to help the group directly by attending the doubleheader or to learn more about the organization by heading to: Central Youth Sports

ABOUT CU (12-12, 7-9 GNAC): Concordia has a very important two weeks ahead of them as they battle for a spot in the GNAC tournament. Currently sitting in 6th place, the Cavaliers hold a one-game lead over both MSUB and Seattle Pacific for the final spot in the tourney. CU gets a meeting with the Yellowjackets at home on Saturday and play their final regular season game at home against Seattle Pacific.
 
The Cavs have won six of their last 10 games to bounce back to a .500 overall record and return to the postseason picture.
 
Concordia is led by the conference's leading scorer, sophomore Olivia Vezaldenos. She is averaging 15.5 points over 24 appearances while also being a pesky defensive presence by pulling away 1.6 steals per game.
 
Keesha Sarman hasn't seen much time off the floor, playing 34.0 minutes per night for the second-highest average in the GNAC behind Saint Martin's Makenna Schultz.

WOU vs. CU: WOU is 7-5 against Concordia since 2000. CU won their most recent meeting, 65-61 Jan. 22 in Portland to snap a two-game losing streak to the Wolves. It was their first win since Feb. 7, 2017. WOU is 4-1 at home in the series.

ABOUT MSUB (10-12, 6-10 GNAC): Currently on a three-game slide, the Yellowjackets have an uphill climb over the next four games if they want a chance to defend their GNAC tournament title.
 
Facing No. 10 Alaska Anchorage and No. 7 Northwest Nazarene in consecutive games, MSUB put up a fight in both contests, coming within six of the Nighthawks before their eventual defeat.  With four games left during the regular season, MSUB will see two road and two home contests to close.
 
One of the major factors to watch in the matchup against the 'Jackets Thursday will be the almost 11-point gap in rebounding margin between the two teams. MSUB holds a    -6.2 margin in rebounds per game, beating out only Alaska for the bottom spot in the GNAC.
 
Hannah Collins enters the week second in the conference with 15.3 points per game. She is joined by three other 'Jackets averaging at least 10 points a game.
 
Taryn Shelley's 8.3 rebounds makes her one of three freshmen in the top four spots of the individual rankings along with CWU's Kassidy Malcolm (9.1) and SMU's Claire Dingus (7.6).

WOU vs. MSUB: Western Oregon is 6-24 against MSUB since 2001. The Wolves have split their last two meetings with the Yellowjackets, losing earlier this season 65-53 in Billings. WOU has won just two of the previous 12 games dating back to Jan. 31, 2013. WOU is 3-12 at home in the series.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (7-15, 4-12 GNAC): The Wolves went 0-2 last week, falling 68-65 to Alaska and 97-52 to Alaska Anchorage to run their losing streak to a season-long four games. The 97 points scored by the Seawolves was the most for a WOU opponent this year and just the second time an opponent has reached 90 points.
 
Ronnie Harris was the only player to score in double figures both games, posting a combined 27 points including a season-high 17 points Feb. 14 in Fairbanks.
 
The Wolves close out their road schedule with a 4-10 record away from NPE Gym.
 
ALL-TIME SHOOTERS: Two Wolves are having two of the best shooting seasons in the school's NCAA-era history. Tresai McCarver (.487) and Ali Nelke (.568) are currently on pace to finish 8th and 2nd, respectively, in field goal percentage for a season.
 
UNWAVERING UNDERNEATH: Forwards Ali Nelke and Natalie DeLonge are the only two players to start every game for WOU this season.
 
FREE THROW LOW: WOU made just three trips to the line Feb. 9 against Simon Fraser for six total free throw shots. It was the first time this season they have taken less than 12 free throws in a game.
 
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: WOU is averaging 14.0 assists per game, their best team average since 2002-03.
 
27 IN A ROW: Ali Nelke made 27 straight free throws before her first miss of the season when she went 1-for-2 at the line Feb. 2 at Central Washington.
 
OPENING SUCCESS: Western Oregon is out-scoring opponents 346-333 in the first quarter this season.

THIEVERY ON THE MIND: WOU has nabbed 10 steals three times in their last nine 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 14.6 points per game through 18 appearances. In her last 12 games, she has at least 6 rebounds in every contest and has scored less than 12 points just once.

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 40.3 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 15 of 22 games this season.

KEEP 'EM OFF THE BOARDS: Western Oregon has allowed the second-fewest opponent defensive rebounds in the conference, giving up just 525 for a .336 offensive 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 2nd in the Great Northwest Athletic conference in field goal percentage (.576). She is also in the GNAC's top-10 in assist/turnover ratio (6th), offensive rebounds (2nd), minutes played (5th), 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 four of the top 35 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 5th in the GNAC in minutes played, averaging 32.8 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 three games so far this year. Her current average leaves her just 2.7 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 final D2SIDA West Region poll Feb. 11. The top eight in the poll held their position while Hawai'i Pacific moved into a tie for 10th.
 

D2SIDA West Region Poll (Feb. 11, 2019)
Rank / School	Record	Points
1. UC San Diego (6)	20-0	60
2. Northwest Nazarene	21-1	54
3. Alaska Anchorage	21-1	48
4. Cal Poly Pomona	19-3	42
5. Dominican	19-3	33
6. Azusa Pacific	19-4	30
7. Humboldt State	13-6	24
8. Simon Fraser	14-7	20
9. Central Washington	14-7	11
T10. Hawai'I Pacific	17-5	3
T10. Chico State	12-7	3