NAMPA, Idaho – A pair of free throws by sophomore Jordan Mottershaw with less than four seconds left and a tough defense on the game's final possession helped Western Oregon University's women's basketball team earn its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory of the season with a 70-68 win over Northwest Nazarene University Thursday inside Johnson Sports Center.

"We had a focus about us this morning in shoot-around and it carried over to the game," said Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "We talked about playing team defense and if we could hold them to 68 points, we would give ourselves an opportunity to win. We did a great job executing our game plan and it paid off. I'm so proud of their effort and their ability to play through adversity when the game was tight."

Western Oregon (2-5, 1-0 GNAC) was led by Mottershaw with a game-high 16 points that included 10 points over the game's opening 20 minutes, while senior Dana Goularte registered her fourth straight double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with a 13-point night by freshman Sydney Azorr. Junior Katie Goddard provided seven points off the Wolves' bench wirh freshman Sami Osborne chipping in with six points and four rebounds. Along with Goularte's performance on the glass, junior Angie Titus grabbed eight rebounds with three Wolves – Mottershaw, Azorr, and junior Elise Miller – handing out a team-high three assists each.

"Jordan and Sydney had a great first half and Katie was a spark off the bench," commented Howard-Carpenter. "Angie was great for us defensively and gave us much-needed help on the boards. When Elise went out with foul trouble Michelle (Bromagem) stepped right in and took care of business."

For Northwest Nazarene (2-4, 0-1 GNAC), Kate Cryderman and Taylor Simmons were the only Crusaders to score in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively, as Cryderman came off NNU's bench to provide her team-high scoring output. On the boards, Katie Swanson grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds with Simmons handing out a game-high five assists.

Over the opening three minutes, Western Oregon scored nine of the game's first 11 points en route to earning a 9-2 lead on a jumper in the paint by Azorr with just over 17 minutes on the clock. The Wolves would continue to hold the lead until Northwest Nazarene used a 15-5 run over a span of four minutes resulting in a 17-16 lead for the Crusader with 13:22 left. Over the next three minutes, Western Oregon put together a 10-3 run to pull ahead by seven points (26-19) on a pair of free throws by Mottershaw with 10:24 remaining. WOU would hold the lead throughout the remainder of the first half, as Western Oregon pushed its advantage to as much as nine points (40-31) on a jumper in the paint by Osborne with 52 seconds left. Western Oregon settled for a 40-34 lead at halftime.

The second half began with Western Oregon pushing its lead to 11 points (47-36) on an old-fashion three-point play by Goularte with 17:49 left. Over the next five-plus minutes, Northwest Nazarene used a 12-0 run to pull ahead 48-47 on a fastbreak lay-in by Simmons with 12:13 on the clock. The two teams would battle back-and-forth over the next eight minutes with neither team earning more than a three-point lead. Western Oregon would pull ahead by four points (61-57) with just under four minutes left, as junior Michelle Bromagem connected on a three-pointer. Following two free throws by Osborne with 2:44 left, Northwest Nazarene scored four straight points in a one-minute span to pull ahead 64-63 with 1:49 remaining. Five points by Goularte over the next 78 seconds would give WOU a 68-66 lead before NNU got a lay-in by Simmons with 23 seconds left to tie the game for the sixth and final time at 68-all. Following NNU's 11th foul of the second half, Mottershaw knocked down her 15th and 16th points of the night before Western Oregon's defense held the Crusaders scoreless en route to earning the Wolves' second straight victory.

"For the first time we shot over 40% from the field and we were able to back up our scoring on the defensive end," said Howard-Carpenter. "Jordan's performance in the first half, as well as our clutch free throw shooting on the night was key to our victory. We also did a great job of keeping their runs to a minimum before we answered back."

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 25-for-61 (41.0%) from the field that included a 6-for-20 (30.0%) from beyond the three-point line to go along with a 14-for-18 (77.8%) showing at the free throw line. On other other hand, Northwest Nazarene was a combined 24-for-57 (42.1%) from the field, 5-of-16 (31.3%) from long distance, and 15-of-21 (71.4%) at the charity stripe.

Western Oregon will return to action on Saturday, December 6, when the Wolves continue their six-game road trip against GNAC member Central Washington beginning at 5:15 p.m. in Ellensburg, Washington.