Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — Jordan Mottershaw's stumbling drive to the basket proved to be a frustrating end to a fantastic comeback for the Crusaders.

The Western Oregon guard was awarded a foul as she lost her balance driving to the basket with 4.4 seconds remaining, and promptly hit both free throws to provide the difference in the Wolves' 70-68 win over the host Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team at the Johnson Sports Center on Thursday night in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

"The part that was disappointing for us is I thought we made some strides defensively, but just didn't finish possessions," said NNU head women's basketball coach Ryan Bragdon.
 

Mottershaw's two freebies broke a tie that the Crusaders battled hard to force as NNU (2-4 overall, 0-1 GNAC) trailed 47-36 early in the second half before a Kelli Christenson 3-pointer sparked a 12-0 Crusader run.

CoCo Gall added a trio of points, Kate Cryderman scored a pair of points and Taylor Simmons capped the run with four points to put NNU on top, 48-47, with 12 minutes to play after a fastbreak layup.

From there it was a hip-and-tuck battle all the way to the finish, as two Simmons free throws put the Crusaders on top 64-63 with 2 minutes to play, and a Simmons layup eventually tied it, 68-68, with 23.4 seconds to go, setting up Mottershaw's decisive drive.

Simmons finished with 13 points, five assists and four steals for NNU, which also got 14 points from Crdyerman.

But the big difference proved to be on the boards where Western Oregon (2-4, 1-0) outrebounded the Crusaders, 46-30, and outscored NNU, 22-13, in second-chance points.

"Western Oregon did a great job of attacking the boards and hurting us with their second-chance points," Bragdon said.

"We'll continue to work through the ups and downs as we come together as a team," NNU's coach added, looking ahead to Saturday night when the Crusaders get a chance to bounce back as they host St. Martin's at 5:15 p.m.