MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon women's basketball team made a late push on Saturday, but fell 62-59 to the Saint Martin's Saints at NPE Gym.
 
The first quarter was the lowest scoring period of the night for both sides, ending in an 11-11 tie. Saint Martin's (12-11, 7-9 GNAC) led 9-3 after six minutes of play, limiting the Wolves to just one field goal in that time. Western Oregon (5-18, 2-14 GNAC) finished the quarter on an 8-2 run to even things up after the first.
 
SMU was led by the 25 points of Bria Thames who recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds and two assists. It was her 12^th double-double of the season and her third-highest scoring effort of the year as well.
 
The Saints stretched out a seven-point lead going into the half with a 50 percent shooting second quarter. The Wolves warmed up offensively as well, hitting 45 percent of their field goals in the period, but committing 12 turnovers before the break. WOU shot 49 percent in total for the game, hitting 24 of 49 attempts.
 
Western faced their largest deficit of the night in the opening minutes of the third quarter, falling behind by 12, 36-24, at the 8:59 mark. WOU then began a battle back to get within five by the end of the third, never trailing by double figures again in the game.
 
Despite a push to get within one possession on multiple occasions, Western could never fully close the gap, trailing the entirety of the second half. The Wolves found themselves in a familiar spot, trailing by three with 10 seconds left to play in the game. Coming out of a timeout, a corner 3-point attempt fell just short as time expired, leaving the Wolves with their 10^th consecutive loss.
 
"Another game and again another battle," said Western Oregon head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "We fought hard and I thought we executed well late in the fourth quarter to give ourselves a chance. We shot the ball well, but just didn't get enough attempts. Saint Martin's capitalized on our turnovers and we just can't give them extra opportunities like that."
 
Rachel Rogers had a team-high 12 points for Western, adding on four rebounds and an assist in 34 minutes of work. She was 5-for-8 from the field. Tresai McCarver also finished in double figures, adding 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
"Despite the outcome, I feel like we showed a lot of heart and progress," added Howard-Carpenter. "Rachel and Meadow (Aragon) have played two solid, tough games in a row and we need them to be a consistent presence for us."
 
Next up, Western Oregon heads to Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene for their final road trip of the season. Their matchups Thursday, Feb. 20, against CWU and Saturday, Feb. 22, against NNU are both set for a 5:15 p.m. PST tipoff.