MONMOUTH, Ore. – In its first game of the New Year, Western Oregon University's women's basketball team could not overcome a 9-3 run over the final three minutes of the game en route to suffering a 69-58 loss at the hands of Saint Martin's University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Saturday inside the New PE Building.
"This is a very disappointing loss for us," said head coach
Holli Howard-Carpenter. "We didn't do what we needed to throughout the week and it really showed tonight. Our defense was very inconsistent and we went cold in the second half on the offense end."
Senior
Dana Goularte led Western Oregon (4-7, 1-2 GNAC) and all players with 19 points, including 14 in the second half, to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Goularte, who recently became the newest member of WOU's 1,000-point club, made five field goals and connected on 8-of-9 free throws en route to pushing her career total to 1,034 points in 91 games. Along with Goularte, junior
Angie Titus added seven points and seven rebounds with junior
Shyla Akins providing seven points off the Wolves' bench. Sophomore
Jordan Mottershaw put together an all-around game with six points, seven rebounds, and a game-high six assists for the Wolves.
"As always, Dana had a solid stat line and we got solid minutes from Sydney (Azorr) and Shyla off the bench," added Howard-Carpenter. "Angie had a solid night with seven and seven. Although Jordan didn't hit her scoring average, she contributed on the boards and with assists."
For Saint Martin's (4-7, 1-2 GNAC), four players scored in double figures led by Krista Stabler with 18 points that included 11 in the second half. Brooke Paulson, Megan Wiedeman, and Angela Gehlar also scored in double figures with 15, 10, and 10 points, respectively, while Liz Mills led the Saints with eight rebounds to go along with three assists to tie Paulson for the team lead in that category.
Both teams would fight back-and-forth over the opening five minutes of the game, as Western Oregon held a two-point lead (9-7) on a three-pointer by freshman
Sami Osborne with 14:51 on the clock. Over the next two-plus minutes, Saint Martin's used a 7-0 run resulting in a 14-9 lead after a three-pointer by Jordyn Richardson with 12:24 left. Western Oregon would fight back over the next six minutes, as the Wolves used a 15-6 run to pull ahead by four points (24-20) on a lay-in by Mottershaw with 6:20 remaining in the first half. After Saint Martin's battled back to tie the game for the sixth time at 24-24, Western Oregon used a 10-2 run over a span of three-plus minutes to pull ahead 34-26 on a three-pointer by Akins with 99 seconds left in the first half. Over the final minute and a half, Saint Martin's scored seven unanswered points capped by a jumper by Stabler to pull within a single point (34-33) at halftime.
The second half would begin with Western Oregon scoring the first five points on a three-pointer by junior
Elise Miller and a jumper in the paint by Titus, as the Wolves went ahead by six points (39-33) within the opening two minutes. WOU would continue to hold the lead until Gelhar connected on her second three-pointer of the afternoon with just under 12 minutes left, as the Saints grabbed a slim 43-41 lead. Western Oregon would grab its final lead of the night five minutes later, as the Wolves took a 50-49 lead following a pair of free throws by Goularte with just over seven minutes on the clock. Despite tying the game for the 10th and final time on a free throw by Titus with 5:41 left, Western Oregon never retook the lead as Saint Martin's used an 8-2 run over a span of two minutes to pull ahead by six points (59-53) after an old-fashion three-point play by Wiedeman with 3:36 left. A three-pointer 13 seconds later by Goularte would bring Western Oregon within three points (59-56), but the visiting Saints would hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch en route to earning the 11-point victory (69-58).
As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 22-for-55 (40.0%) from the field that included a 14-for-27 (51.9%) performance in the first half. The Wolves were also a combined 5-of-19 (26.3%) from beyond the three-point line and 9-of-14 (64.3%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Saint Martin's was a combined 23-for-56 (41.1%) from the field, 8-of-21 (38.1%) from long distance, and 15-of-21 (71.4%) at the charity stripe.
Western Oregon returns to action on Thursday, January 8, when the Wolves host No. 3-ranked University of Alaska Anchorage beginning at 5:15 p.m. inside the New PE Building in Monmouth.
"We have to regroup and have a better week of practice," commented Howard-Carpenter. "The next two months are going to be a grind."
