Lake Larsen | Sports Editor
After falling to the Seawolves in their previous meet up on Jan. 3, Western was suited up and ready to battle back on Feb. 2. Recently, Alaska Anchorage had been mentioned in an article in the GNAC news as a hot team late in the season due to their daunting play. While this may have been worrisome to some teams, the Wolves looked unphased.
The opening minutes of the game showed signs of what would look like an all out war on the court. As time ticked away on the clock, neither team could hold a manageable lead. The Wolves would quickly jump out ahead only to see their lead vanish and find themselves in the hole. But this back and forth didn’t last long.
By the midpoint of the opening half, the Wolves seemed to have finally established a solid lead to which they could expand on. The swish of the net began to echo on the Wolves’s side as they grew their lead two points at a time. By the buzzer, Western was ahead of the Seawolves by a firm seven points.
In their last match up, the Wolves looked outclassed by the Seawolves. But this time around, Western was ready for their revenge. Immediately into the second half the Wolves pushed their single point lead to double digits. While Alaska Anchorage fought back, their efforts proved futile. The Wolves kept adding to their lead, growing it to 20 points at times.
With only a handful of minutes left in their match, Western’s lead hovered steadily in the high teens. No matter what the Seawolves did, Western was there to not only match their push, but force their lead even higher. After dropping their first matchup 57-61, the Wolves finalized their revenge with a commanding 81-61 win.
Western remains at third place in the GNAC standings. The Wolves have only seven matches left in their season, two of which are against Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene, the top ranked opponents. Western takes the home court again Feb. 9 against Montana State Billings.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis
