Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director
College Place, Wash. – The Wolves basketball teams will be making their longest conference road trip of the season this weekend.
- Saturday night the Wolves will be in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to take on the Owls of Oregon Tech
- Sunday afternoon Walla Walla will play Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon
Women's Basketball
Walla Walla (2-10, 0-6) is just about half way through their schedule right now, but the pace will be picking up the rest of the way. They play two games every weekend for the next seven weeks. The Wolves currently have six players averaging more than 20 minutes per game, and five of them are contributing at least 6 points per game. At the top of that is
Alyssa Blankenship, who averages just over 17 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Lexi Ehlers is the second leading scorer on the team, averaging just under 11 points per game. Walla Walla has struggle so far in Cascade Conference play, but with this young group of players there are flashes of success and growth in each game. This past weekend, the Wolves recorded two of their highest shooting percentage games of the season (only shooting better against College of Idaho on December 12). Against Northwest Christian, they had their second highest assist game of the season with 15 for the team (16 was their previous high against Northwest Indian College). The Wolves currently rank third in the conference in offensive rebound, pulling down 14.4 offensive boards per game. They have a tough challenge this weekend as they face two of the top three teams in the conference on the road.
Saturday, January 7th, 6:00 p.m. Walla Walla @ (RV) Oregon Tech (13-1, 6-0)
Currently sitting in third place in the Cascade Conference, the Owls of Oregon Tech are undefeated in league play and on a nine game winning streak. The Owls have the top ranked scoring defense in the conference, and ranked second nationally, only allowing 53 points per game, they have not only been winning, but doing so in dominate fashion, with an average scoring margin of +12.3 points per game. On the other side of the ball, Oregon Tech uses their selective three-point shooting and their outstanding free-throw percentage to their advantage. They rank in the lower third in the conference in attempts, but their shooting percentage of 32.5% is good enough for third in the conference. Oregon Tech leads the conference in free-throw attempts on the season (314) and shooting them at a percentage of 73.9%.
The Owls have three players averaging double figures in scoring. Guard Ashlei Vandenbrink, leads the team in scoring with 14.3 ppg. She shoots almost 40% from the three-point line and shoots an impressive 86.4% from the free-throw line. Right behind her in scoring is Morgan Roberts-ILI and Noheaililani Waiwaiole, who both average 10.3 ppg and Morgan averages nearly 8 rpg. Carl McIsaac is another excellent shoot, she shoots 46% from the field and just a hair under 40% from the three-point line.
Sunday, January 8th, 1:00 p.m. Walla Walla @ #4 Southern Oregon (13-1, 6-0)
After losing their first game of the season to Lewis-Clark State College (who is currently ranked #2 in NAIA Division I women's basketball), the Raiders have not lost a game. They sit atop of the CCC having won their first 6 league games. The Raiders have the top offense in the league and ranked 8
th nationally, averaging 81 points per game and they are also atop the league in scoring margin (+21). The Raiders share the ball well, averaging 17.3 assists per game, limiting turnovers to only 13.4 per game and create extra possessions on defense through steals (13.4 spg). This combination of effective offense, sharing the ball, and create extra possession on defense has put them in control of the CCC so far this season.
Leading the Raiders in scoring this year is forward Autumn Durand. Autumn averages 18 ppg, and 9.4 rpg. She shoots nearly 53% from the floor, and averages 1.9 steals per game. She has already been named Cascade Conference Player of the Week twice this year. Alongside Autumn, the Bradford sisters, Toria and Tiani, are a pair of guards who both average double figures in scoring. Between the two of them, they have compiled 71 steals this season and pull down almost 9 rebounds per game. With eight players averaging more than 15 minutes per game, the Raiders have a balanced attack, with many players who can contribute in a variety of ways.
Men's Basketball
After a couple of tough games this weekend, the men's basketball team will look to bounce back Saturday night. Walla Walla has continued to use their depth as an advantage, with 10 players averaging more than 12 minutes per game. Alex Calloway remains the Wolves leading scorer, averaging just under 14 ppg and just short of 5 rebounds per game.
Dylan Browning is leading the team and rebounding with 5.7 per game and
Andrew Nye leads the team in assists with 2.5 per game. Freshman post player
Austin Jennings made is Cascade Conference debut last weekend, and provided a spark off the bench for the Wolves. Saturday night against Corban, Austin had 7 points and 3 rebounds. Austin's addition should help strength the post rotation for the Wolves going forward. The Wolves shot excellent from the free-throw line this past weekend, they will continue to work for more opportunities from the free-throw line.
Saturday, January 7th, 8:00 p.m. Walla Walla @ Oregon Tech (11-5, 4-2)
The Owls are currently riding a 5-game winning streak; they will be looking to defend that tomorrow night when they take on Southern Oregon University on the road. After that, the Wolves will be in town on Saturday night. Oregon tech averages 86 ppg, and leads the confernce in team assists (18 apg) and offensive rebounding (12.8). The Wolves can expect a fast paced game, with the Owls moving the ball well and locating the open man for a shot.
The Owls top scorer this season is Joel Yellow Owl. Yellow Owl averages 21.8 ppg, and he excels in transition and slashing to the basket. He is a creative scorer around the basket, and his wide variety of fakes that are difficult to defend. Three-point specialist Brandon Halter is the second leading scorer on Oregon Tech, at 13 ppg. He shoots 33.6% from the three-point line, and has three games already this season where he has hit 5 or more three-pointers. Post player Bryan Beard leads the team in rebounding with just under 8 rebounds per game. No one player dominates offensive rebounds for the Owls, and Walla Walla will need to block out well on defense, as Oregon Tech will be hunting for rebounds on offense.
Sunday, January 8th, 3:00 p.m. Walla Walla @ Southern Oregon University (10-6, 4-2)
Last weekend the Raiders of Southern Oregon University beat Multnomah University and Warner Pacific University. Tomorrow night they face the Owls of Oregon Tech before taking on the Wolves on Sunday afternoon. The Raiders average 78 points per game, shoot 47% from the field as a team, and are an excellent free-throw shooting team (72.2%). The Raiders have struggle at times with turnovers, but they compensate for that with an efficient offense. Southern Oregon is also second in the league in blocked shots, averaging 3.6 blocks per game.
The leading scorer for the Raiders is junior guard Ben DeSaulnier, who averages 17.4 ppg, and 2.2 apg. Ben is one of several excellent three-point shooters for Southern Oregon, shooting 41% from beyond the arc. Behind him is point guard Tristen Holmes, with an average of 11 ppg. He is an excellent scorer in transition and finds most of his buckets inside the three-point line. Behind these two, the Raiders have four more players contributing at least 8 points per game. The Wolves will have to shut down the balanced attack of the raiders, who generate a lot of three-point shot attempts as well as getting to the free-throw line.
For the Men's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE
For the Women's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE
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