MONMOUTH, Ore.-Lindsay Brady had 22 points to help lead Northwest Nazarene to a conference-opening 84-71 women's victory over Western Oregon on Thursday night at the Physical Education Building.
 
The Crusaders improved to 8-2 overall with the victory and to 1-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  Western Oregon fell to 4-6 on the season and to 0-1.
 
Brady had double figure help from Kristin Hein's 17 points, while Brittney Roggenkamp added 16 off the bench.  Hein also had 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Western Oregon was led by Katie Torland's 18 points, while Vanessa Wyffels was also in double figures with 14.  WOU's Leada Berkey was held to a season-low seven points.
 
Both teams traded baskets in the first half, and were tied at 28-28 with 4:28 remaining before intermission.  But Northwest Nazarene went on a spirited run, outscoring their hosts 17-6 before the halftime horn, including a burst of seven points during a 14-second span.  The Crusaders went into the locker room with a 45-34 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, the host Wolves cut the lead to six points on two different occasions, but each time the Crusaders would answer.  When they needed to, NNU nailed their free throws down the stretch, hitting seven of eight in the second half.
 
The Crusaders out-rebounded the Wolves 38-30 in the game and forced 26 Western Oregon turnovers.  NNU converted 82 percent of their free throw opportunities (14-17) and shot 50 percent from the field (33-66).
 
Western Oregon will next host No. 8 nationally ranked and undefeated Seattle Pacific on Saturday night (5 pm), while Northwest Nazarene will travel to Lacey, Wash. to take on Saint Martin's.

Newspaper Box Score
Northwest Nazarene vs Western Oregon
1/3/08 5:30 pm pst at New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
At New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
NORTHWEST NAZARENE 84, WESTERN OREGON 71
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (8-2, 1-0 GNAC)
Brady,Lindsay 7-12 8-9 22; Hein,Kristin 8-16 0-0 17; Roggenkamp,Brittney 6-9
2-2 16; Olds,Janee 3-7 2-2 8; Knudson,Paige 2-2 0-0 5; Schutte,Nichole 2-4
1-2 5; Whipple,Mallory 2-5 1-2 5; Williams,Jennifer 2-9 0-0 4; Johnson,Beth
1-1 0-0 2; Oliver,Krista 0-0 0-0 0; Sullivan,Katy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-66
14-17 84.
WESTERN OREGON (4-6, 0-1 GNAC)
Torland,Katie 7-12 3-3 18; Wyffels,Vanessa 7-10 0-2 14; Crumb,Alison 4-9 0-0
9; Chase,Whitney 2-7 5-8 9; Berkey,Leada 2-6 3-4 7; Wells,Danielle 2-2 0-0
4; Corder,Shayla 1-5 2-2 4; Zahler,Sara 1-5 0-0 3; Carpenter,Claire 1-1 0-0
3; Gamez,Orie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 13-19 71.
Northwest Nazarene............   45   39  -   84
Western Oregon................   34   37  -   71
3-point goals-Northwest Nazarene 4-10 (Roggenkamp,Brittney 2-3;
Knudson,Paige 1-1; Hein,Kristin 1-3; Whipple,Mallory 0-1; Olds,Janee 0-2),
Western Oregon 4-12 (Zahler,Sara 1-1; Crumb,Alison 1-5; Torland,Katie 1-2;
Carpenter,Claire 1-1; Corder,Shayla 0-3). Fouled out--Northwest
Nazarene-Schutte,Nichole, Western Oregon-None. Rebounds-Northwest Nazarene
38 (Hein,Kristin 10), Western Oregon 30 (Zahler,Sara 6). Assists-Northwest
Nazarene 16 (Whipple,Mallory 5), Western Oregon 11 (Crumb,Alison 2;
Torland,Katie 2; Chase,Whitney 2). Total fouls-Northwest Nazarene 19,
Western Oregon 16. A-385
Great Northwest Athletic Conference game