MONMOUTH, Ore. – It was a successful return to the court for the Western Oregon University women's basketball team Tuesday night as they defeated Lewis & Clark 71-61 inside New PE Gym in exhibition action. It was the first home game for the Wolves since Feb. 2020.
Kaelin Williams-Kennedy scored a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Wolves, while also adding three rebounds, three steals and two assists. It was her first game as a member of the Wolves, having last played in early 2019 at Pierce CC. Cali McClave added 11 points and Casandra White gave the Wolves three in double-figures when she finished with 10 points. Ten Wolves scored at least two points on the night, as Meadow Aragon led the way in rebounds with six, Tresai McCarver added six assists, Aragon sent back two blocks and Cali McClave also added three steals to tie Williams-Kennedy for the team-high.
"It felt great to be back in uniform and in the gym after over a year and a half. The crowd was great and I thought our energy was solid all night," head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "Lewis & Clark is a solid team and I thought they played harder than us for a good part of the night. They crashed the boards hard and we couldn't seem to get a body on them."
Out of the gate, Lewis & Clark scored the first five points of the game before a pair of free throws by Cali McClave had WOU on the board just under three minutes in. Trailing 9-7, the Wolves reeled off a 9-0 run to take the lead. Aragon started the run with a jumper in the paint and after Williams-Kennedy converted a three-point play, Princy Paaluhi-Caulk hit four straight free throws that left WOU holding a 16-9 lead.
The Pioneers didn't go away quietly the rest of the first quarter, instead they came back with a 7-2 run that left WOU with a 18-16 lead through the first 10 minutes.
WOU stretched the lead back out to four early in the second quarter with a layup by White and free throw from McCarver. Over the final minutes before halftime, WOU had the lead out to nine when Williams-Kennedy hit a jumper in the paint and later added a foul shot with under a minute. Lewis & Clark hit a three on the next trip down the floor before Williams-Kennedy drew a foul and hit two more from the line to leave WOU with a 36-28 halftime lead.
Similar to the start of the game, Lewis & Clark came out strong to start the second half getting back to within five just over three minutes into the third quarter. The Wolves responded with a 7-0 run over the next three-plus minutes to open up a 12-point advantage. Caitlin Wheeler had an offensive rebound and put back, McCarver went right down the lane for a layup and Cali McClave found sister Ana McClave for a three-pointer to close the run and move WOU out to a 48-36 lead.
The lead got as high as 19 before the quarter ended, with Aragon hitting a layup with 15 seconds left in the third to help WOU take a 58-39 lead into the final quarter.
Lewis & Clark made one last push to start the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit down to 11 before White put the game away with back-to-back three-pointers near the midway point of the quarter to help WOU complete the 10-point victory.
"Overall I thought we had a pretty balanced attack. Points aside, I'm really proud of how Kaelin played tonight on both sides of the ball, she gave us a lot of energy. Casandra gave us a great lift off the bench as well," Howard-Carpenter said. "We have a lot to work to do, but I'm excited for the next week and a half of practice to get better and grow as a team."
WOU went 25-61 from the field (41), 5-24 (20.8) from three and 16-26 (61.5) from the foul line. Lewis & Clark went 17-61 from the field (27.9), 4-23 (17.4) from three and 23-31 (74.2) from the foul line. The Wolves held a 10-0 edge in fastbreak points, 36-20 on points in the paint and 27-16 on bench points in the win.
Delsie Johnson led the Pioneers with 17 points, while Peyton Romo added 15.
WOU will now be off until they open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 12 against Hawaii Pacific in a neutral site game that will take place on the campus of Saint Martin's in Lacey, Wash., beginning at 3 p.m.
