MONMOUTH, Ore. – A dominant second half helped lift the Humboldt State women's basketball team over the Phoenix Inn DII Shootout host Western Oregon University, 83-72, Saturday.

The Lumberjacks improved their overall record to 3-1, while the Wolves fall to a 2-2 overall mark.

The first half saw eight ties and seven lead changes, with HSU dominating the majority of the half. But 17 trips to the line gave the Wolves the lift they needed to enter halftime with a 42-36 lead over the Jacks.

With the Wolves close behind, the Jacks held their final lead of 22-21 with seven minutes and 41 seconds left in the half before WOU went on a 12-2 run to give the Wolves a 34-24 lead with three minutes and 36 seconds remaining. But Jennifer Enos and Andrea Bobic hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 33-30, and then Bobic drained another to pull the Jacks even with 1:54 left in the half.

The teams exchanged free throws on the next three trips down the floor, but the Wolves used their extra opportunities from the line and Alsa Brasel's jumper to take a 42-36 lead at the break. Western Oregon sank 15 of their free throws in the opening period, while HSU was 4-of-9 from the line.
 
“I thought there were periods in the first half where we defended and executed well,” said Humboldt State head women's basketball coach Joddie Gleason. “When WOU made its surge in the first half, we didn't react to it very well. We took tough shots instead of going inside. In the second half we did a good job of executing on offense and got the ball inside.”

A Brittney Taylor layin, Paige Peterson three-pointer and Taylor Kilgore jumper just under four minutes into the second half was all the Lumberjacks needed to change the fate of the game.

HSU took its largest lead of the game with a 71-58 score with seven minutes and 33 seconds left.

Katie Franci posted a double-double game with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Taylor's 16 points and Taylor Kilgore's 11 added to the Lumberjacks' three athletes in double figures.

“Katie earned the tournaments MVP award and Brittney earned all-tournament honors,” said Gleason. “Both provided a spark inside for us. Bobic took a couple big shots for us and Taylor (Kilgore) found the net in big situations.”

Brasel recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Katie Torland paced the Wolves' with a team-high 21 points. Whitney Case and Shayla Corder added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lumberjacks conclude their tournament portion of the season with a trip west to Nampa, Idaho. HSU is scheduled to face Western Oregon, Friday, and host Northwest Nazarene, Saturday. Both games are set to begin at 2 p.m.

“Western Oregon is a real good team and this was a good team for us to play on the road,” said Gleason. “We will need to come out hard and clamp down on defense, while continuing to move the ball well the next time we face them.”

Newspaper Box Score
Humboldt State vs Western Oregon
11/22/08 3:15 pm at New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
At New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
HUMBOLDT STATE 83, WESTERN OREGON 72
HUMBOLDT STATE (3-1)
FRANCI, Katie 9-21 1-3 19; TAYLOR, Brittney 7-11 2-5 16; KILGORE, Taylor 4-5
0-0 11; BOBIC, Andrea 3-6 0-0 8; ENOS, Jennifer 3-5 0-0 8; PETERSON,Paige
3-13 0-1 7; ALEXANDER, Sallye 2-4 1-2 5; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1 4-4 4; ALABA,
Trisha 1-1 0-0 2; HALSEY, Bree 1-3 0-0 2; O'KEEFE, Kristina 0-0 1-2 1.
Totals 33-70 9-17 83.
WESTERN OREGON (2-2)
Torland, Katie 7-13 6-6 21; Brasel, Alissa 7-13 3-3 17; Chase, Whitney 4-10
4-4 12; Corder, Shayla 4-10 1-2 10; Albus, Danielle 0-5 5-6 5; Goss, Jessica
1-2 0-0 3; Zahler, Sara 0-2 2-2 2; Hughes, Kelly 1-3 0-0 2; Wilson, Erika
0-0 0-0 0; Nordstrom, Sammy 0-0 0-0 0; Bellando, Danielle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
24-58 21-23 72.
Humboldt State................   36   47  -   83
Western Oregon................   42   30  -   72
3-point goals--Humboldt State 8-18 (KILGORE, Taylor 3-4; ENOS, Jennifer 2-4;
BOBIC, Andrea 2-5; PETERSON,Paige 1-2; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1; FRANCI, Katie
0-2), Western Oregon 3-10 (Goss, Jessica 1-2; Corder, Shayla 1-2; Torland,
Katie 1-4; Chase, Whitney 0-2). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, Western
Oregon-None. Rebounds--Humboldt State 43 (FRANCI, Katie 10), Western Oregon
35 (Brasel, Alissa 10). Assists--Humboldt State 13 (FRANCI, Katie 4;
PETERSON,Paige 4), Western Oregon 13 (Hughes, Kelly 3; Zahler, Sara 3).
Total fouls--Humboldt State 19, Western Oregon 17. Technical fouls--Humboldt
State-None, Western Oregon-None. A-115
Phoenix Inn D2 Shootout, Game 6
Hosted by Western Oregon