MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Led by a season-high 31 points from Shelby Snook and the first career double-double from Jasmine Miller, Western Oregon used a big run in the second quarter to hold off visiting Saint Martin's 70-56 on Saturday night.
 
"We worked really hard for this win all week and I'm so happy for these kids to be rewarded, they deserved it," WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. "Despite our loss on Thursday, we learned from it and came to practice on Friday with one thing on our mind and that was getting this win tonight.  We are doing more of the little things day in and day out and that's the key to our improvements."
 
Snook's performance included a 10 of 17 shooting night, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc and 6 of 9 from the foul line. She was the first Western Oregon (4-3, 1-1 GNAC) player to eclipse the 30-point mark since Rylee Peterson posted 32 against Seattle Pacific on Jan. 28, 2012. Miller had 12 points (4-12 FG) and a career-best 11 rebounds.
 
"Shelby was dialed in tonight," Howard-Carpenter added. "Obviously I'm happy with her offensive performance but she stepped up for us in other ways for us that I have been asking of her.  She committed to fixing her help defensive and she took charge and settled us when we needed it."
 
The Wolves held off a late Saint Martin's (4-4, 0-2 GNAC) rally getting a boost from defense and transition offense.
 
Leading 61-53 with 2:36 left in the game, the Wolves contested two SMU jump shots, pulled down the rebounds and threw outlet passes past the midcourt stripe for consecutive layup from Kaylie Boschma and Sydney Azorr to push the lead back to 12. A set of free throws from Snook, Azorr and Boschma in the final minute ensured the win by double figures.
 
Hannah Reynolds had 12 points and 10 each from Mercedes Victor and Sami Jo Robinson for Saint Martin's, which has lost two straight to open league play.
 
The Saints struggled to find the mark from the perimeter. Saint Martin's went 1 of 15 on 3-point attempts, missing their last 14 tries after the first-quarter make from Baylee Olsen.
 
The win was the fourth of the year for the Wolves, all at home, and matched the win total posted in the 2015-16 season (4-21).
 
Saint Martin's jumped out to an early lead, but Western Oregon responded late in the period for a 19-17 lead. The Saints tied the game at 19-19 with free throws with 8:41 in the second quarter and did not score again until the final minute.
 
Western Oregon went on a game-changing 17-0 run beginning with a Miller layup. Ali Nelke added a free throw before Snook reeled off eight straight points. Savannah Heugly closed the run with a short make off the glass to build a 36-19 lead before SMU's late bucket made the lead 36-21 at the break.
 
"Ali had an amazing defensive game tonight," Howard-Carpenter said. "She is one of the best post defenders in the conference and she does so many things for us that don't show up on the stat sheet.  Jasmine Miller had a great bounce back game tonight, she grabbed boards and had some aggressive put backs.  We need to have that from her every night."
 
Saint Martin's, coming off a loss at Concordia on Thursday, shot just 27.1 percent for the game. Elin Johansson, the Saint's leading scorer heading into Saturday, finished with seven points after spending most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble.
 
Western Oregon ended the game at 35.5 percent from the field after posting 44.1 percent in the first half. Additionally, the Wolves were 21 of 27 from the stripe.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Martin's: Returns to action with two non-league games at Cal State San Marcos (Dec. 18) and California Baptist (Dec. 19).
Western Oregon: The Wolves will prepare for finals this week and return to the court on Monday, Dec. 12 for a non-conference matchup against Southern Oregon with a 6 p.m. tip.