"Women extend win streak" -- Feb. 28, 2006

By C. Jennings Breakey
The Western Front

One by one, members of Western’s women’s basketball team gathered at the center of Carver gym Saturday night, extending their arms around each other before taking on Seattle University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game.

Wearing their shiny white home jerseys, seniors Tina Donahue, Courtney Clapp, Kelly Dykstra, Samantha Hubbard and Stephanie Dressel led the Vikings in shouting, “Western.”

Fans praised the five seniors with cheers as the players proceeded to exchange hugs with Western head coach Carmen Dolfo minutes before playing their last regular season game as Vikings.

“They have just been amazing seniors,” Dolfo said. “It’s a lot of years, a lot of experience, a lot into the program and we love them.”

Still, the Vikings expect to play more games at home after crushing Seattle University 84-57 on senior night.

“I’m so confident that we are going to be hosting regionals,” said Clapp, who finished with a game-high 16 points. “It doesn’t feel like our last (regular season) game.”

Western, 24-1 overall and 16-0 in GNAC, needs to win its next two games against Seattle Pacific University and Northwest Nazarene University to have the opportunity to host the regional tournament, which begins March 10.

Seattle University, 13-11 overall and 8-8 GNAC, played physical against Western, diving for steals and pushing for position in the paint, which kept the score close for most of the first half, Clapp said.

But the Redhawks’ rough play lead to early foul trouble for Seattle University, and the Vikings used a 10-1 run to jump out to a 31-17 lead with 5:03 remaining in the first half.

Seattle University head coach Dan Kriley said his team competed for the first 20 minutes, but failed to step up in the second half.

“We talked about it at halftime, how explosive they are,” he said. “Against a team like Western, if you get down by more than 15 points, it’s pretty much over.”

Western forwards Dykstra and Donahue finished the game with 14 and 12 points, respectively, and the 5-foot-6-inch guard Hubbard contributed eight points.

Dressel, Western’s injury-plagued backup forward, played three minutes before injuring her right knee with 4:01 left in the first half while playing defense.

Dressel suffered a torn ACL in the right knee Jan 10., causing her to miss nine games before returning to. Dressel said she will be ready to play in the regional tournament.

Western junior guard Mollie Stelmack also chipped in with three assists and 12 points, including two three-pointers.

With four players scoring in double figures against the Redhawks, Dolfo attributed the win to the team’s chemistry and broad scoring attack.

“I think it’s kind of been our bread and butter all year, our balance,” she said. “It certainly showed tonight, and I think it showed their unselfishness of just one extra pass. They don’t care who does it as long as it gets done.”

Donahue, who moved into the 15th spot on Western’s career scoring list last week with 1,128 points, enjoyed her last regular season home game and is counting the days to next week’s game against Seattle Pacific.

“I’m not sad, I’m excited — just looking forward to the rest of the season,” she said. “It’s just the beginning.”

Chris Huber / The Western Front

Western senior guard Samantha Hubbard drives to the hoop against Seattle University defenders Saturday at Carver Gym.