MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon bounced back from a pair of road losses last weekend to win a non-conference matchup against Oregon Tech, 59-50, on Saturday afternoon at the New P.E. Building.
 
Junior forward Jasmine Miller led the Wolves (3-2) with 10 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Kaylie Boschma had 10 points and two blocks despite battling early foul trouble. Junior guard Azorr made her season debut finishing with nine points and six rebounds in 19 quality minutes. Juniors Savannah Heugly and Kennedy Corrigan each had eight points off the bench, with Heugly matching Miller with eight rebounds.
 
"Savannah and Kennedy played a big part in spurring our run in the third quarter and gave us great energy off the bench," WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "It was great to have Syd back in the rotation as well.  Overall, it was a balanced scoring attack and we will need that going into GNAC play next week."
 
The Wolves led by as many as five points early and had a 15-11 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. The advantage would balloon to double digits (22-12) on a pair of Boschma free throws at the 6:12 mark of the second quarter. But Oregon Tech (5-3) would outscore WOU 15-4 over the remainder of the period taking a 27-26 lead into the break.
 
"OIT is a great team and had a few more of their shots fell, it could have been a different game," Howard-Carpenter added. "We completely lost our focus in the final three minutes and gave them the momentum going in at the half."
 
The Lady Owls used an 11-2 run over the opening four minutes of the third quarter to grab their biggest lead at 38-28. Western Oregon chipped away to pull within one (38-37) with 2:20 left in the period. Miller was the run's catalyst with a layup while Heugly scored the next four points. Korrigan ended a 9-0 rally with a make from 3-ball land. Oregon Tech replied with a triple and free throws makes to end the third up 43-39.
 
Western Oregon seized the momentum of the game with a 16-2 run over five minutes to open the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Shelby Snook and Azorr pushed the Wolves in front. Boschma made two free throws after taking a hard foul while Azorr capped the furious run with a left-handed layin.
 
"In the second half, we executed our defensive game plan much better and we played much more settled on offense," Howard-Carpenter said. "Good things happen when we trust each other and share the ball.  We need to continue to grow as a team and make improvements each day."
 
The final quarter remained with the Wolves hovering around a double-digit lead despite having the last field goal coming on Miller's jumper at the 3:54 mark. Tight defense held the Lady Owls without a make from the field for nearly five minutes at the end.
 
For the game, Western Oregon shot 44.7 percent (21 of 47) and held OIT to 26.4 percent (14 of 53). The Wolves won the glass battle, using a 37-34 advantage, including nine offensive rebounds.
 
Ashleigh Vandenbrink led Oregon Tech with 15 points and four rebounds. Bailey Nelson added 10 points for the Lady Owls.
 
The Wolves return to action on Thursday, Dec. 1 when they host Seattle Pacific (5-0) in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams at 7 p.m. inside the New P.E. Building.