Claire Pallansch

June 19, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Injury-plagued would not begin to describe the 2007-08 season for the Western Washington University women's basketball team.

The Vikings had a 9-21 record and placed seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 8-10 mark. Not the sort of mark you expect from a program that had reached the national tournament every year since joining NCAA Division II, but no one could have expected the nightmare the Vikings had to go through.

Even before school started in September, Western had lost two players, as senior guard Elyse Hartman (Eagle River, AK/Chugiak) hadn't fully recovered from a knee injury that ended her 2006-07 season, and junior forward Willow Cabe (Elma) chose not to return to school. Both were possible starters.

It was merely the start, as the team's top two returning scorers were both lost by mid-November. Senior forward Liz McCarrell (Ferndale), a second-team all-GNAC pick the previous season, was lost to a foot injury in pre-season practice, and senior center Krystal Robinson (Kent/Kentridge) suffered a knee injury three games into the season. Both had averaged 10.9 points in 2005-06, and Robinson had led the GNAC in blocked shots.

Losing four key players for the year was tough enough, but the injuries kept coming. Six players combined to miss 51 more games, leaving a lineup that changed almost as frequently as the price signs in front of a gas station (17).

Despite all of that, coach Carmen Dolfo (17 years, 356-143) had her team in nearly every contest. Fatigue and inexperience often proved difficult barriers late in games, but Western played its best basketball at the end of the season, going 5-5 over the last 10 games.

Leading the way for the Vikings were junior forward Claire Pallansch (Redmond) and redshirt freshman guard Amanda Dunbar (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck). Pallansch, a second-team all-GNAC pick, averaged 12.7 points a game and led Western in both rebounds (7.4) and blocked shots (1.4). The only Viking to start all 30 games, she was fourth in the conference in rebounding, fifth in blocks and sixth in scoring. She had a career-high 28 points in a victory over Alaska Fairbanks.

Dunbar, the GNAC Freshman of the Year, led Western in scoring at 14.1 points a game, which ranked fourth in the conference, and averaged 19.3 points over the final six contests. She also led the team in free throw percentage (80.3 percent, 110-of-137).

Junior guard India Soo (Kamuela, HI/Kamehameha) missed eight games with injury, but still made 18 starts. She averaged 6.4 points and ranked sixth in the GNAC in assists at 3.1 a game.

The only other player to start at least half the games was sophomore forward Gabby Wade (Lacey/River Ridge), who played in all 30 games, making 20 starts, including 18 of the last 19 contests. Wade averaged 4.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. Her 85 offensive rebounds were the third-most in the GNAC.

Four true freshmen saw extensive action. Guard Marelle Moehrle (Lynnwood/Meadowdale) was the leading scorer of the quartet, averaging 6.8 points and shooting 37.3 percent (43-of-119) on 3-pointers. Guard Kristin Schramm (Chelan) averaged 4.2 points.

Guard Kaitlin McBride (Bothell) and center Lauren Hefflin (Ridgefield) had both been slated to redshirt, but were pressed into regular duty when the slew of injuries struck. McBride, who made 11 starts, averaged 2.7 points and 1.2 assists. Hefflin, who started nine games, averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds. Both played big roles in a 76-72 victory at Western Oregon that snapped an eight-game losing streak, the longest in school history. Hefflin had 12 points and nine rebounds, McBride had nine points, five rebounds and four assists, with all five marks being season-highs.

Junior forward Sarah Schramm (Chelan) and sophomore center Tara Holgate (Everett/Snohomish County Christian) both missed large segments of time with injuries.

Holgate, a transfer from Eastern Washington, missed 10 games with a broken thumb, and played a number of contests with it heavily wrapped, but still contributed 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds on 52.4 percent field goal shooting (44-of-84), and was third in the GNAC in blocks at 1.5 a game.

Sarah Schramm missed 10 games with wrist, rib and shoulder injuries. She averaged 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Sophomore center Krista Lersch (Redmond) also missed time with injuries. She averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 24 games.

Despite having days where practice might have been better held in the doctor's office than in the gym, the Vikings did have some highlights along the way. Dolfo picked up the 350th victory of her coaching career on Dec. 18 with a victory over Cal State Monterey Bay in Las Vegas, the Western closed the season with a 77-67 triumph at arch-rival Central Washington, ending a season with a victory for the first time since 1981.