Daniel Sokolov

WWR- Wolves Hit the Road to Seattle

2/8/2017 10:58:00 PM

Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director

College Place, Wash. –The Wolves have finished the last of their home basketball games and are headed back out of the road to the Seattle area this weekend. They will be in Kirkland, Wash. Saturday night to take on Northwest University and on Sunday, they will be in Olympia to play The Evergreen State College.

Women's Basketball

The Wolves should be excited to rematch this weekend with Northwest University and The Evergreen State College. They just played Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech, two of the top teams in the conference. Earlier this season when they played great after facing those two very tough teams. The Wolves top scorers Alyssa Blankenship, Emily Downs, and Lexi Elhers have all had strong individual performances, If the Wolves can put all of that effort together in one game they have a couple of great opportunities for success this weekend.

February 11, 6:30 p.m. Lady Wolves at Northwest University (12-15, 7-10)

Northwest University is on a two-game winning streak after beating Corban and Northwest Christian at home last weekend. They had a five-game losing streak coming into this past weekend, but outside of a lopsided loss to Eastern Oregon, the Eagles had been close in all of the losses. Northwest has five players averaging double-figures in scoring and Center Miranda Langenhorst, leads them all with just over 11 points per game. Miranda ranks nationally in the top 20 in four categories including blocks per game (1.8), Offensive rebounds per game (3.9), Total blocks (42) and rebounds per game (9.2). As a team, the Eagles are built around defense and rebounding. In fact, they are among the top teams in the country when it comes to steals and rebounds this year. The Wolves started slow against the Eagles last time these two teams met. But after the first quarter, Northwest only outscored Walla Walla by 2 points over the final three quarters, and the Wolves topped that off with a 29-point fourth quarter. If the Wolves can get their offense started a bit sooner against the Eagles on Saturday night they will be a good position against the unrelenting defense of Northwest University.

February 12, 2:00 p.n. Lady Wolves at The Evergreen State College (5-19, 4-13)

The last time these two teams played, the Wolves jumped out to an early 19-16 lead after the first quarter. Walla Walla could not maintain that hot start and the Geoducks opened up a sizeable lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Wolves attempted a furious comeback, but were unable to make up their lost ground, and fell to The Evergreen State College 65-54. Since that game, the Geoducks lost five of their last six games, breaking that losing streak this past Sunday in a 64-61 victory over Corban University. Post Gabi Fenumiai, is still the main producer of points and rebounds for the Geoducks. Averaging 13 points and 8.4 rebound per game. She had 16 points and 17 rebounds against the Wolves in their first matchup. If the Wolves can control the paint against the Geoducks, it should be a great matchup for them.

Men's Basketball

The Wolves have played a tough stretch over the last three weeks. Since their win over Multnomah on January 21, the Wolves had played the top two teams in the conference as well as facing a red-hot Southern Oregon team. Walla Walla shot extremely well from deep against Multnomah and The Evergreen State, and they will look to get back their sharpshooting this weekend. The Wolves have had several different player step-up recently, and if they can get three or four players into double figures in points then they have a good chance in their two games this weekend.

February 11, 8:30 p.m. Wolves at Northwest University (17-8, 9-8)

Since they played the Wolves on January 14, the Eagles have a record of 3-3 in the Cascade Conference, running a gauntlet of some of the toughest teams in the conference. Northwest has locked up a playoff spot but they do have potential to move up so they are looking for all the wins they can get right now. Guard Michael Dupree, has been a man on a mission this year, and is leading his team in scoring (16.7 ppg) and assists (3.8) per game. He is the point man behind their high-powered offense that is averaging over 90 points per game. In the last meeting between these two teams, the Eagles started the game out shooting hot and built a big lead over the Wolves in the first half. The Wolves will look to slow down the high scoring Eagles and improve their shooting from deep, which has been a key factor in the Wolves wins this season.

February 12, 4:00 p.m. Wolves at The Evergreen State College (6-17, 3-14)

The Geoducks got their first conference win since early December this past Sunday in a win over Corban University. Evergreen hit 23-28 free throws against Corban and had six players reach double-figures. In their first meeting, the Wolves had a significant lead, and Evergreen made a push late to take the lead over the Wolves. Hot shooting from the three-point line made the difference for the Wolves, with Dylan Browning, Ethan Osias and Isaiah Taylor combined to make nine three-pointers as the Wolves beat the Geoducks 86-77. The Wolves will need to slow down the Geoducks pick-n-roll attack and keep them from getting to the free throw line on Sunday if they hope to sweep Evergreen for the season.

For the Men's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE

For the Women's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE

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