MONMOUTH, Ore. — Finishing with three players in double figures, the Western Oregon women's basketball team opened up the GNAC season with a 66-56 win at Saint Martin's on Thursday night.

Western Oregon (2-3, 1-0 GNAC) jumped out to a 12-2 lead on the back of six early points from Keyonna Jones. The 10-point buffer helped fend off a late 6-0 push in the first quarter by Saint Martin's (1-5, 0-1 GNAC).  

"We were locked in from the tip and played a solid 1st half," said Western Oregon head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "Our guards did a great job finding our posts inside and they finished and got to the line. Although we didn't have an answer for Baugh we threw four different people at Schultz and together they got it done."

Just as they did to close the first quarter, SMU posted another six-point run to close the half and damage a large WOU lead. Taking a 29-25 lead into the locker room, the Wolves would never trail again in the game.

Natalie DeLonge paced the Western Oregon offense with a career-high 17 points. Her former high was a 15-point performance last season against MSU Billings. The junior post finished 5-for-9 from the field and 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Western Oregon was 20-of-24 at the line as a team.

"Natalie was a presence inside and played with grit," added Howard-Carpenter. "We need that from her every night." 

The Wolves out-rebounded the Saints 36-28 with the guard duo of Tresai McCarver and Jones each registering seven boards to share the team lead. Despite just taking three shots from the floor, McCarver posted 10 points while Jones finished with 15.

The Wolves are now 4-1 over their last five matchups with the Saints and improve to 4-15 all-time at Marcus Pavilion.

WOU finishes their six-game road trip with a trip to Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Tipoff Dec. 1 is set for 5:15 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.