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Northwest Nazarene University Athletics

18th-ranked Crusaders erase 17-point deficit, top Wolves to stay perfect

| By: Mike Stetson, Sports Information Director
Box Score

MONMOUTH, Ore. – A huge hole didn't worry the Crusaders one bit Thursday night.

Trailing by 17 points in the first half, the 18th-ranked Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team shut out host Western Oregon over the final 5 minutes, 11 seconds of the first half, turning around the game's momentum en route to an 86-69 win in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

With the score tied 18-18, the upset-minded Wolves took control with a 19-2 run capped by a Dana Goularte bucket with 5:11 left until halftime that put NNU in a 37-20 hole.

"They were hitting shots and we weren't," NNU coach Ryan Bragdon said, "it's pretty much that simple. We were getting good looks and didn't hit and they were moving the ball well and got some open looks and they were hitting."

But over the final five minutes of the half, Bragdon adds that his team clamped down on defense, contested shots and hit the boards hard to prevent second-chance points.

That sparked an 18-0 finishing flourish by the Crusaders, who took a 38-37 lead on a Megan Hingston bucket with 33 seconds left until halftime.

A Goularte 3-point play early in the second half briefly game Western Oregon hope, and a 42-40 lead, before six straight points by Hingston put NNU (7-0 overall, 1-0 GNAC) in front for good.

A Veronika Skokankova bucket stretched the NNU edge to 54-45 with 13:01 left, and the Crusaders pushed the lead to 64-48 on a Chelsie Luke hoop with 9:46 to play, and weren't threatened again.

Hingston finished with 22 points for the Crusaders, who also got 16 points from Luke, 13 from Skokankova, and 10 points and 13 rebounds from Kylee Schierman in the GNAC-opening win.

"It's very nice, especially on the road," Bragdon said. "The conference is as advertised, top to bottom, every night's going to be a dogfight, especially on the road."

NNU, which played its first six games at home, continues its current road trip with another GNAC game Saturday night at St. Martin's.

Goularte led the Wolves (2-4, 0-1) with a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
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