By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
Coming off a heartbreaking 61-62 loss on Thursday, Feb. 4 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Seawolves, the women’s basketball team looked to climb up the GNAC standings with an upset over the No. 2 ranked University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) on Saturday, Feb. 6.
UAA had dominated the GNAC conference, coming into the game in first place with a record of 12-1. Western on the other hand, was positioned at the bottom of the GNAC, but a victory would have moved the Wolves up from the bottom spot.
Although the Wolves hung in there for the first half of the first quarter, the Seawolves built an early lead and crushed Western’s hopes of an upset, winning 77-42.
Senior Emily Howey (C) led the Wolves in scoring with eight points and had six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 23 minutes of play. Senior Michelle Bromagem (G) had six points and junior Launia Davis (G) and freshman Kaylie Boschma (G) each scored five points.
From the opening tipoff, the Seawolves swarmed the Wolves on defense and showed why they belong at the top of the GNAC. UAA took the early lead but the Wolves hung in there, only trailing by five points or less with five minutes to play in the first quarter.
Western tried to keep pace with UAA but costly turnovers and the Seawolves stifling defense proved to be too much for the Wolves to handle and the score got out of hand.
The first half ended with UAA up 38-13. Western shot a dreadful 6-of-27 from the floor in the first half, including going 0-for-7 from distance.
In the second half, the Wolves’ shots started falling and they finished the second half shooting 9-of-23. Unfortunately, the Seawolves continued their red-hot shooting and increased their lead.
Western finished the game shooting 30 percent (15-for-50) from the floor.
The Achilles’ heel for the Wolves this season has been coughing up points from turnovers. This game was no different with the Seawolves scoring 26 points off of 22 Western Oregon turnovers. In contrast, the Wolves only scored two points off of 15 UAA turnovers.
Up next, the Wolves hit the road on Thursday, Feb. 18 to face Northwest Nazarene University. Western is looking for revenge against the Crusaders who edged the Wolves 63-51 last month. The next home game is on Thursday, Feb. 25 against Saint Martin’s University.
