HAYWARD, Calif. – Western Oregon women's basketball came up short in a 59-50 loss against California State Monterey Bay on Saturday, the second day of the Cal State East Bay Conference Challenge.
 
CSUMB (1-1) settled in the frontrunner position in points for the entire game besides the first few minutes of the first quarter. As the Otters extended their lead in the second and third quarters, leading by 10 points at times, the Wolves (0-2) slowly began to close the gap near the end of the third and early in the fourth. However, Monterey Bay continued to pull away for the nine-point advantage.
 
"We played a much better second half but expended a lot of energy closing the gap and just couldn't finish," head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said.
 
Western Oregon had a shooting percentage of 31.5 for the night, while the Otters shot 40.7 percent. The Wolves made 17 of 54 field goal attempts, finishing three of 16 shots at three-point range and 13 of 24 free throw attempts.
 
 "We had much balanced scoring tonight but still had droughts in the second and fourth quarters," Howard-Carpenter said, comparing the game to the previous night's loss against Cal State East Bay.
 
Sydney Azorr led the Wolves in points with 10 as she made four field goals and two three-point shots. Additionally, Jordan Mottershaw and Emily Howey each had nine points, while Jasmine Miller added eight points.
 
The Wolves were fairly even with the Otters in rebounds as Western Oregon tallied 38 compared to Monterey Bay's 39. Ali Nelke totaled 13 rebounds for the night, and Howey contributed with seven.
 
"Ali and Emily were beasts on the boards tonight, and that really helped with second opportunities," Howard-Carpenter said.
 
Western Oregon ultimately had 11 second point chances with the help of the rebounds.
 
"We're getting to the line, which was one of our goals," Howard-Carpenter said. "We just have to be mentally tough and knock them down."
 
The Wolves will host the WOU/Hampton Inn D2 Shootout tournament in Monmouth next week. They will face Chico State on Saturday, November 21, and Evergreen State on Sunday, November 22.