[Box score]

LACEY, Wash. - Jamey Gelhar made a layup with two seconds remaining to give Saint Martin's an 80-78 victory over Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest, Thursday, Feb. 5.

 

The win moved Saint Martin's to 5-3 in the GNAC and to 14-6 overall. With the loss, Western Oregon fell to 3-5 in conference and to 8-11 on the season.

 

Shayla Corder led five Western Oregon starters in double-figures with 20 points. She was seven of 12 from the floor and five of six from the free throw line. Sara Zahler went four of five from beyond the arc en route to scoring 16 points. Whitney Chase went seven of eight at the free throw line and four of five from the field as she put up 15 points. Katie Torland had a game-high nine rebounds in addition to her 13 points. Erika Wilson, starting at point guard for the injured Danielle Albus, notched a career-high 10 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

 

This game was a tale of two halves. After the first, Western Oregon found itself down 45-31 going into the locker room as Saint Martin's shot .704 percent (19-27) from the field compared a .423 clip (11-26) for the Wolves.

 

In the second half, the Wolves scored the first five points out of the break and would eventually put on a 20-8 run to take a one point lead on a Corder jumper at 64-63 with 8:33 remaining. The game would continue to go back and forth. Torland then hit a layup with 1:47 remaining to knot the game at 78 all. After Roni Jo Mielke turnover, the Wolves came down with a chance to take the lead but Torland's three-pointer fell off the rim and Gelhar sprinted up the floor and made the scoop-shot layup with two seconds remaining.

 

"This was a heartbreaking game for us because we gave it such a good effort," said head coach Greg Bruce. "We had a really good effort in the second half. We competed on every possession, pounded the boards and got the stops we needed to get back in the game."

 

In the second half, Western Oregon made 16 of its 29 shots (.552 percent) while holding Saint Martin's to a .440 field goal percentage (11-25).

 

"We just have to continue to keep working hard, learning from our experiences and growing as a team," said Bruce.

 

The Western Oregon women's basketball team will now return home to take on Central Washington, Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2:00 p.m.