LACEY, Wash. – The game was shaping up just like the last meeting that took place in Lacey this season. The Western Oregon University women's basketball team had pulled back to within a point down the stretch before Saint Martin's held on for the 71-62 win in the first round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Wednesday. WOU was the higher seed and the designated home team in the game, although the teams played on the Saints' home floor.
Trailing by 11 early in the fourth quarter, WOU (9-17) worked their way back into the game. Madisyn Clark and Cali McClave hit back-to-back three-pointers, with Cali turning her three into a four-point-play as she converted the foul shot to trim the deficit to six.
A layup by Ana McClave and jumper by Clark had the deficit down to three near the midway point of the fourth. Clark hit another triple to answer the three by Rian Clear on the next trips down the floor for both teams to keep it a three-point spread.
The lead was down to one with 3:52 to play on a layup by Kaelin Williams-Kennedy. The teams then traded free throws with Tresai McCarver hitting two for the Wolves to keep the Saints ahead by just one at 59-58 with 2:26 to play.
WOU had a chance to go in front as a steal by Ana McClave turned to a three-point attempt for McCarver that just missed. The Saints (13-13) then hit two from the line to push the lead out to three. A turnover by the Wolves led to more free throws for Saint Martin's as they pushed the lead out to five with 1:22 to play.
After another foul shot for the Saints moved the lead to six, WOU cut the lead in half when Ana McClave sunk a three from the corner with 55 seconds to play. Following two more free throws for the Saints, WOU tried to trim the deficit down to two, but a missed three was later rebounded and McCarver was fouled. She would split the free throws leave Saint Martin's with the 66-62 lead. The Saints continued to hit foul shots, moving the lead back to six and after WOU had a few chances on the other end but weren't able to convert, Saint Martin's would add a few more free throws to claim the win.
It was hard for either team to pull away early on with WOU putting together a 4-0 run over the final 2:22 of the first quarter to take a 12-8 lead, the largest for either team through the first 10 minutes. During the run to close the quarter, Alexis Wright took over hitting a pair of layups.
After Wright continued her scoring run with a layup 13 seconds into the second quarter, Saint Martin's went on 15-2 run to take a 23-16 lead. WOU pushed back to pull to within two on a three-pointer by Cali McClave before the Saints converted foul shots the rest of the half to hold a 30-24 halftime lead.
Trailing by nine early in the third quarter, the Wolves went on a 6-0 run with Princy Paaluhi-Caulk hitting a layup and then a jumper before Amber Winkler closed the run with two from the line. After the Saints answered, WOU got back to within one at 35-34 when McCarver drilled a three-pointer off of an offensive rebound with 4:44 to go in the third. The Saints closed the third on a 14-5 run to take a 49-39 lead into the final quarter.
Cali McClave led the Wolves with 15 points, along with three rebounds, three steals and two assists. She went 5-10 from the field and 4-7 from three. McCarver tallied 10 points and was approaching triple-double numbers once again with eight rebounds and six assists. Clark tallied nine points, three rebounds and three assists. Wright went for eight points and four rebounds, while Williams-Kennedy collected six points and five rebounds. WOU went 21-65 (32.3) from the field, 8-31 (25.8) from three and 12-17 (70.6) at the foul line. The Wolves held advantages in points off turnovers (18-11), bench points (19-5) and second chance points (11-10).
Claire Dingus paced the Saints with 23 points and made it a double-double with 13 rebounds. Tierney DeDonatis added 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Josie Matz gave Saint Martin's three in double-figures with 13 points. SMU went 21-55 (38.2) from the field, 4-10 (40) from three and 25-29 (86.2) at the foul line. Saint Martin's held the edge in points in the paint (28-22) and fastbreak points (14-5).
