MONMOUTH, Ore.—Overcoming a slow start where the team missed its first nine shots, Western Oregon University stormed back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Saint Martin's 72-66 in GNAC women's basketball action on Thursday night.

Taking advantage of the cold shooting by the home team, Saint Martin's (4-4, 0-1 GNAC) opened up an 11-0 lead midway through the first.

Western Oregon (5-0, 1-0 GNAC) finally scored at the 3:32 mark on a Taisha Thomas jumper as part of a 10-0 run to pull within a point shortly before the first break.

Elin Johansson free throws midway through the second gave SMU a 20-14 lead before the WOU defense ratcheted up the pressure to generate another extended run, this time a 13-4 spree to capture its first lead.

"Saint Martin's came out ready to go and they outplayed us in all areas of the game. Although we didn't get off to the start we wanted, I'm really proud of how we fought back to get the lead going into the half," WOU head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said.

The Saints tied the game with the opening basket out of the half, but 3-point shots from Sydney Azorr and Shelby Snook helped the Wolves pull away for a double-digit lead of their own (44-33). The Saints chipped away at the deficit in the fourth quarter to eventually knot the game at 60-60 with 3:51 to play. Grabbing a pair of rebounds and converting back-to-back jumpers, Natalie DeLonge came up with multiple big plays in the final minutes for WOU. The Wolves sealed the win at the free throw line, making 7-of-8 in the final 20 seconds.

"I thought we played with a lot of poise in the fourth quarter and took care of the ball much better," Howard-Carpenter said. "Despite our bigs being in foul trouble, we found a way to get it done." 
One game away from tying the school record for most wins to start a season, the Wolves will host Seattle Pacific on Saturday with an opening tip set for 2 p.m. inside the NPE Gymnasium.
Snook led WOU with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting while freshman guard Keyonna Jones registered 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.

"Keyonna was a game-changer for us. She's playing with a ton of confidence and doing all the things we've asked her to do, she makes everyone around her better," Howard-Carpenter said.

Johansson, the GNAC leader at 19 points per game, finished with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Teammate Makenna Schultz finished with a game high 20 points.

"Jasmine (Miller) stepped up on both ends of the floor tonight and we really needed that," Howard-Carpenter said. "Tai (Thomas) did her part, knocking down shots and grabbing boards. Shelby and Natalie gave us quality minutes especially late in the game to answer each time St. Martin's tried to make their run. It was a group effort and that's how we need to play to win games."