Following a conference road loss last Thursday to Saint Martin's in Lacey, Wash., the UAA women's basketball team returned to its hotel, watched the entire game video of that defeat, which coach Ryan McCarthy found lacking in effort, and held a team meeting.
The Seawolves resolved to rebound.
Monday morning, they did, figuratively and literally.
Dominating the glass and hounding Western Oregon into 22 turnovers, UAA generated a 73-47 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory in Monmouth, Ore.
"They responded really well,'' McCarthy said by cell phone. "That's about as well as you can respond in that situation, I think.''
The unusual hour and day of the game -- an 11 a.m. PST opening tip on a Monday, when GNAC games customarily are played Thursdays and Saturdays -- were prompted by snow storms that all but shut down Oregon's Willamette Valley. Conditions forced postponement of a game originally scheduled for last Saturday evening.
UAA's roughly 20-mile drive from its team hotel in Salem to the New P.E. Building in Monmouth, after a 7:30 a.m. wake-up call, took 45 minutes to an hour, McCarthy said.
The Seawolves (15-6, 8-5 GNAC) outrebounded the Wolves (6-14, 3-9 GNAC) by a 54-33 margin overall and a 19-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
They held Western Oregon to just 27.8-percent shooting from the field, including 23.1 percent in the second half, when their early surge earned them a comfortable cushion.
That was the type of relentless effort that McCarthy wanted to see from his young team, which counts just one senior (Kylie Burns) and four juniors among its 12 players.
"We did lock down defensively and on the boards,'' McCarthy said. "To me, rebounding and defense have a lot to do with energy and effort.''
Leading 33-26 at halftime, the Seawolves quickly blew open the game with a 20-3 run in the first seven and a half minutes of the second half. That generated a 53-29 lead.
UAA's victory, which leaves it in fifth place in the 10-team GNAC, held to form in a couple of ways. The Seawolves beat the Wolves by 26 points the last time the team met -- UAA won 97-71 in Anchorage a month ago. Monday's win was a program-record 21st straight against the Wolves, and 11th straight in Monmouth.
Jessica Madison's 15 points and six rebounds helped the Seawolves snap a three-game conference losing streak. Alli Madison contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, including four offensive rebounds.
Kiki Robertson turned in 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Burns grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Emily Craft. in 18 minutes of playing time before fouling out .delivered six points, nine rebounds (six of them offensive) and five steals. Christina Davis dished five assists in just 14 minutes.
Dana Goularte, who had 20 points for Western Oregon the last time the teams played, led the Wolves with 14 points and five blocks Monday, but was limited to just 2 of 10 field goal shooting.
The Seawolves were scheduled to fly home from Portland late Monday night. They entertain rival UAF (9-12, 3-10 GNAC) on Saturday. UAA beat UAF 96-87 in Fairbanks last month.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog
UAA (73) -- Devine 2-3 0-0 3, Burns 3-10 0-0 7, A. Madison 3-12 5-6 12, Robertson 5-8 0-0 11, J. Madison 6-15 2-2 15, Castle 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 1-6 0-0 2, Utchins 2-3 0-0 6, Buchanan 2-5 1-2 6, Wright 2-2 0-0 4. Craft 3-6 0-0 6. Totals: 29-71 8-10 73.
WESTERN OREGON (47) -- Fowler 1-6 0-0 2, Goulare 2-10 10-14 14, Henry 3-6 2-2 8, Divilbiss 3-10 0-0 9, Miller 0-4 0-1 0, Akins 2-3 0-0 4, Mottershaw 2-7 0-0 6, Goddard 0-3 0-0 0, Steiger 1-3 0-0 2, Reade 0-0 0-0 0, Buck 0-1 0-2 0; Titus 1-1 0-0 2, Nickalson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-54 12-19 47.
UAA 33 40 -- 73
WESTERN OREGON 26 21-- 47
3-pointers -- UAA 7-28 (Hutchins 2-3, Buchannan 1-4, A. Madison 1-4, Robertson 1-4 Burns 1-5, J. Madison 1-6, Castle 0-1, Davis 0-1), WOU 5-18 (Divilbiss 3-6, Mottershaw 2-2, Goularte 0-3, Henry 0-2, Miller 0-2, Goddard 0-1, Steiger 0-1, Fowler 0-1). Total fouls -- UAA 19, WOU 11. Fouled out -- Craft. Rebounds -- UAA 54 (Burns 11), WOU 33 (Goularte 5, Mottershaw 5). Assists --UAA 14 (Robertson 5, Davis 5), WOU 10 (Two with 2). Steals -- WOU 11 (Henry 3). Turnovers -- UAA 19 (Devine 5), WOU 22 (Henry 5). Blocks --UAA 1 (Craft), WOU (Goularte 5). A -- 105. Officials -- Patterson, Flanagan, Eckert.
By DOYLE WOODY