Northwest Gets Close Win over Western Oregon
KIRKLAND, WA - The Eagles celebrated the end of final exams with a high scoring and narrow, 86-83 victory over NCAA Division II Western Oregon on Saturday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action in The Pavilion.
In a game that had nine ties, the Eagles put the game away with 11 seconds remaining on two free throws by NU guard, Rachel Travis (Jr., North Bend, WA), and then held on as Sara Zahler's three-point attempt failed to find its mark at the buzzer. Jennah Mitchell (Sr., Kalispel, MT) gave the Eagles a 82-80 lead with 1:23 to go, and the hosts would never trail again. Wyffels hit one of two free throws to make it 82-81, but Erika Hornyak (Fr., Everett, WA) hit a basket with 22 seconds left to make the score 84-81. Berkey hit a shot eight seconds later with the score 84-83 and then fouled Travis, but the Eagle point guard hit both free trhows with 11 seconds remaining to help get the victory for NU.
Travis finished with 19 points to lead the Eagles (2-6, 1-1 CCC), and she also had a game high 7 assists and three steals for NU. Dani Drivstuen (Jr., Monroe, WA) dropped in 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds while teammates Brittany Bowsher (Jr., Issaquah, WA) and Erika Hornyak each scored 13 for the Eagles. NU took good care of the ball, showing only 9 turnovers at the end of the game while WOU turned the ball over 23 times during the contest.
Western Oregon was led by Vanessa Wyffels, who hit 10 of 12 shots from the floor for a game high 24 points. Leada Berkey added a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves, who fell to 3-4 on the season. The Wolves shot 54% from the field in the first half to take a 49-41 lead at the break. But the visitors hit only 31.4% in the second half while Northwest U. shot an impressive 51.4% in the second stanza.
The Eagles will travel with the men's team to Klamath Falls for their conference game with OIT on Tuesday, December 18 and then on to Ashland, Oregon, to take on Southern Oregon on the 19th. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.