Feb. 14, 2009

Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Forward Gabby Wade (Jr., Lacey/River Ridge), who had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, was one of three reserves to score double-figure points as Western Washington University dominated University of Alaska Fairbanks, 81-48, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball contest Saturday at Patty Center.

The Vikings, ranked No.4 in the West Region of NCAA Division II, improved to 15-6 overall and remained third in the GNAC standings at 7-3 with their sixth win in seven games. The only loss during that stretch was 70-67 at nationally No.1-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Thursday.

Western was led in scoring by guard Marelle Moehrle (So., Lynnwood/Meadowdale), who came off the bench with 15 points, hitting 5-of-11 3-pointers. Reserve point guard India Soo (Sr., Kamuela, HI/Kamehameha) scored 12 points on 4-of-8 accuracy beyond the arc and had a game-high six assists.

UAF dropped to 5-15 overall and is winless in 11 league contests following a 5-4 start. The Nanooks got game-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds from Ronisha Edwards and Sheena Brown added 19 points, hitting all 11 of her free throws but making just 4-of-20 from the field. Brown scored a school-record 44 points in an 89-85 overtime loss to Central Washington on Thursday.

Edwards was just 7-of-30 from the floor as UAF shot just 21.5 percent (14-of-65) from the field.

UAF has been decimated by injuries, having only four of its original roster players in uniform. Rounding out the players who saw action were three who made their collegiate debuts Thursday.

Western scored the first 10 points of the game and led 37-16 at halftime. The Vikings' biggest lead was 36 points, 60-24, with 11:46 remaining and they never led by less than 27 from that point on.

Western starting forwards Willow Cabe (Jr., McCleary/Elma) and Jessica Summers (Sr., Blaine) had 13 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.

The Vikings, who had a huge 58-36 advantage in rebounds, now lead the series, 30-5.

Western completes a grueling 6,602-mile road trip with a GNAC counter at Montana State University Billings on Wednesday (7 p.m. MT).

Banged-up Nanooks fall to Western Washington

By Joshua Armstrong, Fairbanks News Miner

FAIRBANKS -- Yet again, the Alaska Nanooks were down a player, only this time there was no exciting comeback or gutsy finale.

The loss of sophomore forward Megan Thigpen may have been the final straw for a women's basketball team that has three players remaining from its season-opening roster.

The Nanooks dropped an 81-48 Great Northwest Athletic Conference decision to the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday afternoon in the UAF Patty Center.

"You can only ask so much of the kids," Alaska coach Darryl Smith said. "... How do you try to convince them that it's OK?"

The 31-point loss was Alaska's largest margin of defeat since Feb. 10, 2007, when the Nanooks fell 98-57 at WWU.

With Thigpen sidelined, the Alaska bench looked like an extension of the Patty Center stands with nine injured players in plainclothes.

Thigpen had been suffering from shin splints that became too severe to play with.

She will not play again this season, Smith said.

Alaska was forced to start two players who had been with the team less than a week.

The remaining three original members played the entire game showing the wear from their overtime loss to Central Washington two nights earlier.

Under their duress, the Nanooks were guarded easily by the Vikings, who limited Alaska to two scorers -- guard Sheena Brown and forward Ronisha Edwards -- for most of the game.

Edwards had game highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Brown had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The remainder of the Nanooks squad scored eight points, and the entire team made just 21.5 percent of its shots.

Alex Wood, a former Eielson High School player and the Nanooks' newest addition, was the first Alaska player to score other than Brown and Edwards with 10 minutes, 37 seconds left in the game.

Brown, a senior, did not express sorrow for the volatility of her final collegiate season.

"I think this team has a lot more class than any team I've been on," Brown said. "This team is more of a team than any I've ever seen."

With only three major scoring threats on the floor, 5-foot-3 Alaska point guard Caitlin Hamsley was neutralized by the WWU defense.

She hit a 3-pointer and a free throw for four points in a seven-turnover night.

Offensively, the Vikings (15-6, 10-1 GNAC) were able to penetrate Alaska's zone defense early, allowing them to create wide-open 3-point shots off kick-outs from the paint.

WWU's Gabby Wade notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Marelle Morhle hit five shots beyond the arc for a team-high 15 points.

"We wanted to play hard, but I also felt bad for them," Vikings coach Carmen Dolfo said.

The Nanooks (5-15, 0-11 GNAC) will hit the road for four games, beginning with a trip to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday.

Smith said the number of players that will be on Alaska's roster during the stretch is unknown.

The Nanooks have one home game remaining, a March 5 tilt against Montana State-Billings that will close Alaska's season.