LACEY, Wash. – Despite an 12-0 run over a five-minute span late in the second half, Western Oregon University's women's basketball team could not pull away from Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Saint Martin's University in a 48-47 loss inside Marcus Pavilion Saturday.

"We got on the glass, gave ourselves second opportunities, and put ourselves in position to win but made some costly mistakes down the stretch," said Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "Defensively, we did a great job getting the ball back for the last possession but we never should have been in that situation. We played hesitant and not sure of ourselves and that really showed in the turnovers; 12 in the second half alone."

Senior Dana Goularte was the only one of two players in the game to score in double figures leading Western Oregon with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, seven steals, and two assists. Freshman Sami Osborne and sophomore Jordan Mottershaw chipped in with nine and seven points, respectively, while junior Elise Miller led the Woilves with eight rebounds and a game-high five assists. Junior Shyla Akins would provide a spark off the Wolves' bench, as she scored five points to go along with two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes of action.

"Shyla and Michelle (Bromagem) gave us great energy off the bench," added Howard-Carpenter. "They defended and took care of the ball. We've come up empty the past two games, but we have to learn from these losses. We have to play more composed, execute and just flat out play tough to the end."

For Saint Martin's, Krista Stabler led all players with 11 points, while Jordyn Richardson and Elin Johansson added nine and eight points, respectively. Liz Mills grabbed a game-high tying eight rebounds for SMU, while Stabler and Brooke Paulson handed out a team-best three assists each for Saint Martin's.

A back-and-forth game over the opening five minutes would result in a 10-7 lead for Western Oregon after a lay-in by Osborne with 15:33 on the clock. A 6-0 run over a span of three minutes would hand Saint Martin's a 13-10 lead before the Wolves scored five unanswered points over a two-minute stretch to pull ahead by two points (15-13) on back-to-back free throws by Mottershaw with 10:39 left in the first half. Neither team would hold more than a two-point lead for the remainder of the first half, as Western Oregon went into the locker room with a 22-21 lead at halftime after freshman Sydney Azorr hit a lay-in for the final points of the first half.

The second half would begin with both teams trading leads, as Saint Martin's broke a 26-26 tie with an 8-0 run over a span of five minutes to pull ahead 34-26 on a lay-in by Angela Gelhar with 11:34 on the clock. Over the next five-plus minutes, Western Oregon would use the aforementioned 12-0 run to pull ahead by four points (38-34) on a three-pointer by Osborne with just over six minutes left in the game. Saint Martin's would fight back to tie the game at 38-all before Western Oregon used a 6-2 run over a 76-second stretch to pull ahead 44-40 on a Mottershaw lay-in with just under four minutes remaining. Unfortunately over the next three minutes and fifty seconds, Saint Martin's scored eight unanswered points to pull ahead 48-44 after a pair of free throws by Stabler with six seconds left. Western Oregon would get the final points of the game via a three-pointer by Miller, but that would be as close as the Wolves got falling by the final margin of a single point (48-47).

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 18-for-58 (31.0%) from the field that included 4-of-16 (25.0%) from beyond the three-point line and 7-of-10 (70.0%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Saint Martin's was a combined 19-for-48 (39.6%) from the field, 3-of-15 (20.0%) from long distance, and 7-of-9 (77.8%) at the charity stripe.

Western Oregon returns to action on Thursday, February 5, when the Wolves travel north to take on the University of Alaska beginning at 7 p.m. Alaska Time in Fairbanks, Alaska.