Monday, December 12, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Oregon women’s basketball took home two strong non-conference wins en route to earning GNAC Team of the Week honors.

The Wolves opened the week on Friday by finishing off an eight-game road trip with a 77-54 win over Corban in Salem. The WOU offense was firing on all cylinders with four players scoring in the double-digits led by senior guard Princy Paaluhi-Caulk. She put up 17 points to go along with five rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Paaluhi-Caulk shot 80% from the field against the Warriors, going 8 for 10.

Paaluhi-Caulk was joined in double-digit scoring by sophomore guard Ana McClave, freshman forward Kiylynn Dawkins and freshman forward Kylee Arzner. Ana McClave was second for the Wolves in scoring, notching her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds along with four assists and three steals.

The Wolves did the majority of their damage in the third quarter where they outscored the Warriors 29-13. In that frame, WOU went 10 for 15 from the field, 3 for 5 from three-point range and  6 for 11 from the free-throw line. The defense also did its part to extend the Wolves’ lead, forcing six turnovers with four steals and a block.

Western Oregon wrapped up the week by winning its home opener over Willamette on Saturday 67-51. Paaluhi-Caulk was the leader for WOU once again, racking up 20 points while also adding six boards, five steals and an assist. The Wolves opened the game strong, going 10 for 17 from the field in the first quarter.

Junior guard Cali McClave followed up Paaluhi-Caulk with 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Dawkins also registered her second double-digit performance of the week with 12 points to go with six boards.

Head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter points to a more balanced scoring effort for the young Wolves team as a strength over the week along with playing closer to home for the first time this season.

“It was really nice to be close to home Friday and on our new court Saturday,” Howard-Carpenter said. “We had a fairly good crowd both nights and both Corban and Willamette played tough and made us earn it. We shot the ball better and had a more balanced scoring attack than we have been and that makes a huge difference. As a young team, we still have a long way to go. We’ll get in the gym this week and work to get better before heading to southern California for two really solid teams.”

Western Oregon will return to the road this week, traveling to California to face Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday and Cal State San Bernardino on Sunday.