PORTLAND, Ore. – Kaylie Boschma hit a 3-point bank shot with 39 seconds left in regulation to send Friday's exhibition game at Portland State to overtime. Despite a game-high 33 points from Shelby Snook and a 17-point, nine rebound performance from Boschma, the Western Oregon women's basketball team fell 100-96 to the Vikings at the Stott Center.
 
The host Vikings led by as much as 19 points early in the third quarter before the Wolves (1-1 exhibition) went on a 26-7 run over 5:52 to tie the game, 61-61, on a Jasmine Miller layup. Ali Nelke hit a jumper with 1:33 on the clock in the fourth to put WOU up 81-80, but PSU scored four straight before Boschma's triple extended play. Snook was a huge offensive spark in the quarter tallying 18 of her night's total.
 
"Number one goal was to get better and we absolutely did that," WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "The fact that everyone stepped up at different times, we had four players in double figures and were within three rebounds of a team with multiple 6-footers, shows our heart.
 
In overtime, WOU scored first on a jumper from Launia Davis. Portland State responded with a 7-0 run in a 90-second spurt to seize momentum. The Wolves got within two points on a 3-ball from Boschma, but free throws down the stretch iced the game for the Vikings.
 
Snook finished the game hitting 13 of 20 shots, including a 5 of 9 clip from behind the arc. She added four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 39 minutes on the floor.
 
Boschma's big night for the Wolves came in 30 minutes on the floor. Falling a rebound shy of a double-double, she was 6 of 14 from the floor with three steals and two assists.
 
Davis was the hot hand from the field in the first half with 10 points. She finished with 17 points, including going a perfect 4-4 from the foul line. Kennedy Corrigan added 10 points to be the fourth Wolves player in double figures making four of five shots from the field. Miller tallied nine points and seven boards while Natalie DeLonge had a solid night off the bench with seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Portland State jumped out to a 19-9 lead late in the first quarter as the Wolves had issues guarding the bigger players out on the perimeter. The Vikings extended the lead to 47-34 at the half.
 
After a slow start, Western Oregon shot 39.4 percent from the field hitting 13 of 33, including just 2 of 11 from behind the arc. Davis led the Wolves in the first half with Snook and Corrigan each following with eight points.
 
PSU would build their biggest lead at 54-35 on a 3-pointer from Ashley Bolston.
 
That is when WOU made their big adjustments.
 
"They are a completely different team from last year with all their transfers and kids who sat out," Howard-Carpenter said. "We changed up the way we dealt with screens, which seemed to help."
 
The defensive modifications held Portland State to 7 of 18 shooting in the third quarter compared to 64.7 percent in the first half.
 
"We played much better team defense which got our offense going," Howard-Carpenter added.
 
WOU's noteworthy run began with Snook and Boschma knocking home deep 3-pointers. After Snook completed an old-fashioned effort for three points, DeLonge hit a jumper to cut the Viking lead to 13. Snook scored eight of the next 10 points, including two triples, while Corrigan's driving layup cut the lead to one. The teams traded buckets until Miller's equalizer at the 1:35 mark of the third.
 
"I think they are trusting each other," they head coach said. "They had each other's backs tonight."
 
Portland State was led by Sidney Reilly with 25 points, followed by Bolston with 24.
 
Western Oregon will open the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 12 taking on San Francisco State on day one of the WOU/Hampton Inn D2 Shootout inside the New P.E. Building. Tipoff with the Gators is at 4:00 p.m.
 
"I'm most excited about the progress we have already made and we still have another week before we play Division II opponents," Howard-Carpenter said. "I told the team to stay hungry because there is a lot we can accomplish this year."