MONMOUTH, Ore. – After leading for a great majority of the game, the Western Oregon women's basketball team was dealt a tough 63-53 loss by the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Thursday at NPE Gym.

Western Oregon (5-11, 2-7 GNAC) looked to be on track for the upset victory, out-scoring Northwest Nazarene (12-5, 7-2 GNAC) 33-24 in the first half and in three of the four quarters. After scoring just 15 in the first half last Saturday, the Wolves delivered 19 points in the first quarter alone to jump start their week.

The Wolves shot 40.6 percent from the field in the first half, led by the seven points each of Keyonna Jones and Shariah Green before the break. NNU struggled to get their shooting going, hitting just 27 percent of shots in the first half and going without a 3-pointer.

Northwest Nazarene missed their first 18 3-pointers of the night, not getting their first down until 25 minutes into the contest. They finished 3-for-26 from deep for 11.5 percent.

Leading for the entirety of the first three quarters, Western Oregon took a 10-point lead at 50-40 into the fourth. The offensive wheels fell off for WOU in the final period of play, however, scoring just three points in the fourth, getting out-scored 23-3 by NNU.

"We played great basketball for three quarters," said Western Oregon head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "We handled their press, shared the ball and made the right reads to get great shots. Our defense was solid and we bounced back on the boards as well."

Erin Jenkins led all scorers with a career-high 29 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes of work. She would make all three of NNU's 3-pointers in the game.

The Wolves were led by the 14 points of freshman Cali McClave. She added on two rebounds in the start. Shariah Green contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, falling just short of the double-double.

After not having a turnover through the first six minutes of play, WOU finished with 21 total turnovers. Conversely, NNU turned it over four times in the early minutes, but committed only seven total turnovers for the game.

Keyonna Jones had a well-rounded game, scoring seven points while pulling in five rebounds, five assists and a steal.

"It's extremely frustrating to lead and win all three quarters and then just disappear in the fourth," added Howard-Carpenter. "We played tight and stopped moving the ball and doing the things that got us there. Good teams will find ways to go on runs and great players will make great plays. We need to be able to answer when they do. Staying the course and playing with confidence when we have a lead is something we have to get a handle on."

Next up, Western Oregon will host Central Washington on Saturday, Jan. 25. It will be the first game of a doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m. PST at NPE Gym, and will be immediately followed by the Western Oregon men's basketball team also taking on CWU.