MONMOUTH, Ore. – In its final game of the season, Western Oregon University's women's basketball team closed out the year on a high note with a 69-55 victory over Northwest Nazarene University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play inside the New PE Building on Senior Day.

"I am really proud of how we competed tonight to send the seniors out on a win is a great feeling," said Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "We did a great job on the glass at both ends of the floor and we shared the ball on offense. When we have four in double figures good things happen."

Western Oregon (8-18, 5-13 GNAC) was led offensively by sophomore Jordan Mottershaw with 20 points, including 16 in the first half, on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Along with Mottershaw, three other Wolves – senior Dana Goularte, freshman Sami Osborne, and junior Emily Howey – also scored in double figures with 18, 14, and 11 points, respectively, while Osborne registered a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. Goularte closed out her career with a game-high six assists, while Mottershaw and junior Elise Miller dished out four assists each to go along with a game-high tying three steals by Miller.

"Dana and Jordan paced us offensively and combined to shoot 80% from the 3-point line," added Howard-Carpenter. "Emily and Sami controlled the boards for us, while also scoring in double figures."

Northwest Nazarene (7-20, 5-13 GNAC) was led offensively by Kate Cryderman's 12 points off the Crusaders' bench, while Ellie Logan added 11 points that included 10 in the second half. Cierra White also added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Cryderman handed out a team-high five assists for NNU.

The game began with Western Oregon scoring the first eight points, as the Wolves built an 8-0 lead after the opening three-plus minutes. After jumping out to its early lead, Western Oregon watched as Northwest Nazarene used a 13-0 run over a span of four minutes to pull ahead by five points (13-8) on a three-pointer by White with 12:41 on the clock. The visiting Crusaders would claim another five-point lead (18-13) with just over nine minutes left in the first half before Western Oregon used a 20-3 run over a span of six minutes to go ahead by its largest lead of the opening half (33-21) on a jumper in the paint by Mottershaw with 3:28 remaining. The Wolves would settle for a 38-29 lead at halftime, as junior Angie Titus hit a jumper in the paint for the final points of the first half.

Western Oregon would begin the second half by increasing its lead to 10 points (50-40) on a jumper by Mottershaw with 14:43 left in the game, as Northwest Nazarene would get as close as four points (57-53) eight minutes later. Over a stretch of four-plus minutes, Western Oregon used a 10-2 run to push its lead back to double digits (67-55) on a lay-in by Osborne with just over two minutes left. A pair of free throws by freshman Sydney Azorr with 39 seconds left would increase the Wolves' lead to a game-high 14 points (69-55), as Western Oregon secured its third win in the final six games of the season to finish in ninth place in the GNAC final standings.

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 26-for-59 (44.1%) from the field that included a 6-for-13 (46.2%) performance from beyond the three-point line and an 11-for-16 (68.8%) showing at the free throw line. On the other hand, Northwest Nazarene was a combined 21-for-48 (43.8%) from the field, 5-for-10 (50.0%) from long distance, and 8-of-12 (66.7%) at the charity stripe.

"This season went by way to fast, but I'm proud of how we finished to go .500 in our last six games and be within five points in two others is a testament to our hard work and resiliency," commented Howard-Carpenter. "This is great momentum for us going into spring and I'm excited to get back to work with this team."

Western Oregon will now turn its attention to the 2015-16 season, as the Wolves return 10-of-13 players and add a quality recruiting class to next year.