• News
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Roster
• |
• Stats
• |
• Archives

Nov. 17, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Following a two-week break after three exhibition games, the Western Washington University women's basketball team opens its regular season this weekend, traveling to northern California for non-league contests with Cal State East Bay on Friday (7 p.m.) and San Francisco State on Saturday (5 p.m.).

Western posted a 1-2 record during a tough exhibition schedule. The Vikings defeated Trinity Western BC, 80-58, then fell 65-62 to three-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport national champion Simon Fraser BC, and lost 80-66 at NCAA Division I and Big Sky Conference favorite Portland State.

Senior center Jessica Summers, who was the 2008-09 GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year and a second-team league all-star, averaged 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 steals in the three games. Senior forward Willow Cabe averaged 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds, and junior guard Amanda Dunbar, a second-team all-conference pick last season, averaged 12.3 points and 5.0 assists.

Rounding out Western's starting lineup are senior guard Ashley Fenimore, who sat out last year after transferring from arch-rival Central Washington, and junior guard Megan Pinske, who saw action with the Canadian Senior National Team in Brazil this fall.

Junior center Lauren Hefflin was the Vikings' starting center in the first two exhibition games, but she suffered a fractured finger on her left hand against Simon Fraser and is not expected to return to action until mid-December.

Cal State East Bay, which opens its season against Western, lost both of its preseason exhibitions - 94-52 at Nevada-Reno and 62-44 at San Jose State.

San Francisco State won one of three games at the Disney Tip-Off Classic, defeating Southern Indiana, 62-59, in between losses to Fort Lewis, 89-74, and Western Oregon, 75-67. The Gators, who travel to Notre Dame de Namur on Tuesday, dropped an exhibition game at Nevada-Las Vegas, 42-34.

THREE-DOT NOTES: Senior center Krystal Robinson ranks second among Western career leaders in blocked shots with 190 ... Last season, Dunbar scored 37 points, the second-highest total in school history, in Western's 88-79 loss at Northwest Nazarene, connecting on 12-of-19 field goals, 7-of-14 from 3-point range ... Dunbar was named Most Valuable Player at the 2008 WWU Great Western Shootout and was the 2007-08 GNAC Freshman of the Year ... Western won GNAC titles in 2002 and 2006 ... Summers was named MVP at the 2008 WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic and earned all-tourney honors at both the GNAC/CCAA and CCAA/GNAC Crossover Classics last year.

VIKINGS FOURTH IN GNAC COACHES POLL: Western, which finished 19-8 last year, was picked to place fourth in the preseason Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches poll. Last year, the Vikings tied for third place in the GNAC at 11-5 with Northwest Nazarene; and Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific tied for first place at 14-2. Alaska Anchorage was picked No.1 this season by the coaches, receiving 72 points. Seattle Pacific was second (69), Northwest Nazarene third (65) and Western fourth (64). Alaska Anchorage received three first-place votes with two each going to Northwest Nazarene, Seattle Pacific and Western.

HOME COURT DOMINANCE: The Vikings are 387-69 (84.9 percent) in their first 37 seasons at Carver Gym.

COACH DOLFO: Carmen Dolfo is in her 19th year as head coach at Western. She has a 375-152 (71.2 percent) record and ranks No.14 among active NCAA II coaches in winning percentage and No.23 in victories. Dolfo's teams have reached post-season play 16 times and have won 20 or more games 13 times. She was named GNAC Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2006, Northwest small college Coach of the Year in 2000 and Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. Dolfo was the top Viking assistant for four seasons (95-28, 77.2) and earned All-America honors as a player at Western.

TRADITION OF SUCCESS: With 807 victories (287 losses) in its 38-year history, Western is one of just 10 colleges in all divisions of the NCAA to reach the 800-plateau... The Vikings have made 36 post-season appearances, including one stretch of 28 straight, with one national semifinal and three quarterfinal finishes ... They have made 10 West Regional appearances in their first 11 seasons as a NCAA II member, and also have had 27 20-win seasons ... Western has had 20 winning streaks of 10 or more games with its longest being 20 ... Former Western coach Lynda Goodrich, now the Vikings' director of athletics, is a member of the NAIA National Hall of Fame. She coached Western for 19 seasons, winning more than 400 games (411-127, 76.4 percent). Another Viking NAIA Hall of Famer is forward Jo Metzger (1977-81), who earned first-team All-American honors in 1980 and 1981 ... Western has had 13 first, second or third-team All-Americans.

ON THE WEB: All Viking home games are being video streamed live and are available free at http://www.greatnorthwest.tv. For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com

RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected Western games are being broadcast this season on KBAI Radio (930 AM) with Doug Lange handling the play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing the color commentary. They also can be heard on the internet at www.wwuvikings.com.

PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:

F Willow Cabe, 5-9, ***Sr., McCleary, WA/Elma
F Megan Pinske, 5-9, *Jr., Coquitlam, BC/Port Moody/UBC
C Jessica Summers, 6-1, *Sr., Blaine, WA/Blaine/Idaho
G Amanda Dunbar, 5-9, **Jr., Marysville, WA/Marysville-Pilchuck
G Ashley Fenimore, 5-8, Sr.-TR, Lynnwood, WA/Meadowdale/CWU

F Kristin Schramm, 5-9, *So., Chelan, WA/Chelan
C Krystal Robinson, 6-1, ***Sr., Kent, WA/Kentridge
F Erika Ramstead, 6-0, Fr., Everson/Nooksack Valley
G Corinn Waltrip, 5-6, Fr., Tigard, OR/Tigard
Inj. F Lauren Hefflin, 6-2, **Jr., Ridgefield, WA/Ridgefield
*letters won

GAME SUMMARIES:

Oct. 26 - Exhibition - WESTERN 80, Trinity Western 58 at Bellingham

Summers had game-highs of 24 points, nine rebounds and eight steals as Western defeated Trinity Western University, 80-58, in an exhibition game on Haggen Court at Carver Gym. Cabe added 13 points and Pinske had 12 points and five steals for the Vikings, who had 27 steals as a team. Forward Keely Goertzen led Trinity Western from Langley, B.C., with 10 points. Western jumped to a 15-2 lead a little over five minutes into the contest. The Vikings maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the first half, holding a 45-31 advantage at halftime. Trinity Western opened the second half with a 9-2 run, pulling to within seven, 47-40, on a layin by Lauren Doubroff with 17:44 to play. But the Vikings used full court pressure to reassert control, scoring the next 16 points to take a 63-40 lead with 11:13 to play. The Spartans never got closer than 18 after that. Western shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field, and had a 39-35 edge in rebounding. The Vikings committed 26 turnovers, but forced 39 by Trinity Western.

Nov. 1 - Exhibition - Simon Fraser 65, WESTERN 62 at Bellingham

Western opened up a 16-point lead early in the second half, but couldn't hold on and fell to Simon Fraser, 65-62, in an exhibition game on Haggen Court at Carver Gym. Summers led the Vikings with 18 points. Simon Fraser, the three-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport national champions, was led by freshman forward Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who had a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Center Laurel Weigl added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Vikings held a 40-24 lead less than two minutes into the second half, but then went cold, scoring just five points in the next 10 minutes as Simon Fraser rallied to tie the game at 45-45 on a layin by Kate Hole with 8:20 to play. The game see-sawed from there, with Western taking a 60-57 lead on a Ramstead free throw with 2:52 left only to have the Clan score the next eight points. Weigl had the first four, including a jumper in the key with 1:32 to play that put Simon Fraser up, 61-60, and guard Kristina Collins capped the run with two free throws that made the score 65-60 with 31.1 seconds left. Two free throws by Dunbar narrowed the margin to three with 17 seconds to play, and the Vikings got the ball on a turnover two seconds later. Western looked for a potential game-tying 3-pointer, but Pinske missed from the left wing with four seconds left. Dunbar had 12 points and five assists for Western and Cabe added 10 points and eight rebounds. Simon Fraser shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field despite going 0-of-9 on 3-pointers. Raincock-Ekunwe was 10-of-13, and Weigl was 7-of-10. Western shot only 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field, but was 75.0 percent (15-of-20) on free throws.

Nov. 7 - Exhibition - Portland State 80, WESTERN 66 at Portland, Ore.

A furious rally midway through the second half fell short as Western lost 80-66 to NCAA I Portland State in an exhibition game at Stott Arena. Dunbar led the NCAA II Vikings with a game-high 18 points, 13 in the first half. Cabe had 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots; and Summers added 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Portland State, picked to win the Big Sky Conference in both the preseason coaches and media polls, was paced by forward Lexi Bishop with 16 points. Forward Kelli Valentine had 14 points, five steals and four assists; two-time first-team BSC all-star Claire Faucher had 10 points and five assists and center Katy Wade added a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points. Western trailed by 29 points, 62-33, with 14:17 remaining in the contest before going on a 28-11 run that cut the deficit to 12 points, 73-61, on a layup by Pinske with 3:45 left. But that was as close as the Vikings would get. Cabe had nine points during that 11-minute stretch. Western fell behind, 26-10, in the game's opening 11 minutes. The Vikings cut the lead to six, 26-20, before Portland State upped it to 22 points, 46-24, with 1:15 left in the period. Dunbar had a layup and 3-pointer in the final minute as Portland State led, 46-29, at halftime. Pinske scored 10 points for Western on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting.