BILLINGS, Mont. – Western Oregon University's women's basketball team avenged an earlier heart-breaking loss against Montana State University Billings behind a combined 47 points by senior Dana Goularte and sophomore Jordan Mottershaw, as the Wolves earned a hard-fought 71-69 victory over the Yellowjackets in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Thursday inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.

"We battled every minute for that win," said Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "Dana was unstoppable and Jordan was on a mission. We had a solid first half, but had some defensive breakdowns that led to three balls for them in the second half. Foul trouble hurt us a bit midway through, but we were able to execute offensively to hit some key baskets. Michelle (Bromagem) and Sydney (Azorr) were a big part of that."

Western Oregon (7-16, 4-11 GNAC) was led offensively by Goularte with a game-high 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field, while Mottershaw added a career-high 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Freshman Sami Osborne and junior Michelle Bromagem added eight and six points, respectively, while Goularte led the Wolves with seven rebounds to go along with a game-high six assists by junior Elise Miller.

Montana State Billings (13-12, 5-10 GNAC) had three players score in double figures led by Quinn Peoples and Kayleen Goggins with 23 points each, while Alisha Breen added 12 points for the Yellowjackets. Annie DePuydt and Rylee Kane rounded out MSUB's scorer with seven and four points, respectively, while Peoples grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with three assists by four different Yellowjacket players.

"Billings fought just as hard as we did," added Howard-Carpenter. "Peoples made us a pay every time we lost her in the zone and Goggins worked relentlessly in the paint."

Over the opening two minutes, MSUB built a quick 5-0 lead before Western Oregon fought back with a 6-0 run over a span of three minutes to pull ahead by a single point (6-5) on jumper by Mottershaw with 15:15 left on the first half clock. Following a 17-16 lead by Montana State Billings with just under eight minutes left, Western Oregon used an 18-8 run to close out the first half en route to the Wolves taking a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half would begin with Western Oregon using an 11-8 run over the opening five minutes, as the Wolves pulled ahead by a game-high 12 points (45-33) on a lay-in by Goularte with 15:38 left. Over the next three minutes, MSUB used a 12-0 run to tie the game at 45-45 after back-to-back free throws by Breen with 12:26 on the clock. Neither team would secure more than a four-point loead over the final 12 minutes, as there were eight lead changes and five ties with Western Oregon grabbing the lead for good on a running jumper by Mottershaw with 12 seconds left. Montana State Billings would have one last chance to either take the lead or tie the game, but the Wolves' defense did not allow MSUB to hit a field goal as Western Oregon secured its seventh win of the season with a 71-69 victory.

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 29-for-54 (53.7%) from the field that included a 6-of-13 (46.2%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 7-of-12 (58.3%) performance at the free throw line. Montana State Billings, on the other hand, was a combined 23-for-54 (42.6%) from the field, 8-of-24 (33.3%) from long distance, and 15-of-21 (71.4%) at the charity stripe.

Western Oregon returns to action in its final road game of the season on Saturday, February 21, against No. 15-ranked Seattle Pacific University beginning at 5:15 p.m. inside Brougham Pavilion in the Emerald City.