Western Oregon Women Tip Off GNAC Season at Red-Hot Seattle

The Wolves are 1-10 on the year.

WOU stat leader Leada Berkey. Photo: WOU Athletics

MONMOUTH - With all non-conference play now behind them, the WOU women’s basketball team begins a run of 16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference games, beginning on Thursday night in Seattle.

Thursday (7:00 PM): Western Oregon (1-10) at Seattle (8-2), Connolly Center.

Saturday (7:00 PM): Western Oregon vs. Seattle Pacific (6-4), PE Building.

Well Rested:

The Wolves have not played since Dec. 21st, when they wrapped up two days of action at the GNAC-CCAA Challenge in Chico, Calif.

TV Time:

Saturday’s home game against Seattle Pacific will be taped for television replay on Monmouth-Independence cable channel 17 (WIMPEG).

The Wolves-Falcon encounter can be seen on Monday (Jan. 8th) and Tuesday (Jan. 9th) at 8:00 PM. WOU student Ty Brack will provide the play-by-play.

Slow Start:

Western Oregon fell behind early in both games at the GNAC-CCAA Challenge on Dec. 20th-21st, and couldn’t recover in falling to 1-10 on the season.

Cal State Stanislaus outscored the Wolves 50-35 in the first half in the Warriors’ 82-70 win, while No. 9 nationally ranked Chico State led 30-11 after nine minutes of action in the Wildcats’ 100-49 victory.

Leada Leads Again:

Junior forward Leada Berkey (Amity) scored 30 points in the loss to Cal State Stanislaus, marking the third time this season that she has hit for 30 or more.

She also had 11 rebounds in the game, claiming her seventh double-double of the season. The 5-8 slasher was named to the all-tournament team.

Berkey’s The Best:

WOU stat leader Leada Berkey not only paces her team in nearly all stat categories, she also sits atop the GNAC leader board.

Berkey leads the conference in scoring at 20.6 points per game and is also the league’s leading rebounder at 10.3.

In addition, she is fifth in the GNAC in assists per game at 3.7. She has seven doubles-doubles on the season, which is also tops in the GNAC.

Fire It Up:

Western Oregon ranks second in the GNAC in three-pointers made per game with 7.0.

Grading Out:

WOU’s squad passed the fall term with flying colors, posting a 3.01 team grade point average. Eight players exceeded 3.0, led by Kaila Hawley’s 3.66 and Claire Carpenter’s 3.65.

Seymour Sits:

WOU’s second leading scorer Kori Seymour has missed the Wolves past four games with a leg injury. Her status will be re-evaluated prior to WOU’s road trip to Seattle University.

A sophomore from Grants Pass, Seymour is averaging 9.7 points per game and had 23 in a loss earlier this season against Metro State.

Seattle’s Best:

Western Oregon will face two of the GNAC’s best teams when they open conference play at Seattle Thursday and versus Seattle Pacific Saturday.

Seattle, picked to finish fourth in the GNAC, is off to a sizzling 8-2 start. Their only losses thus far was a 52-49 setback against Cal State LA and a loss last week to No. 4 nationally ranked North Dakota (74-65).

The Redhawks have tremendous balance, with only one person averaging in double figures, but with seven players averaging six points or better per outing.

5-11 junior Laina Sobczak leads the team with 12.3 points per game and adds 6.2 rebounds. Seattle won both games between the two schools last season, but WOU leads the all-time series, 17-14.

Seattle Pacific, the ’06 GNAC runner-ups, is 6-4 thus far in 2006-07.

They picked up a pair of wins at the Great Western Shootout at Las Vegas, topping Cal Poly Pomona (64-47) and UC San Diego (70-60).

Three of their losses have come to high-powered opponents—Division I Gonzaga (74-58), No. 9 nationally ranked Chico State (61-56) and No.. 4 North Dakota (72-58).

If Seattle is balanced, Seattle Pacific is almost non-descript, with no player averaging in double figures, but six SPU shooters are posting six points a game or better.

6-2 sophomore Kelsey Hill leads the way with 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds an outing. Seattle Pacific has won the last 18 games played between the two schools, and leads the all-time series, 19-4.

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