Box Score




NAMPA, Idaho — With the swat of her hand, Crusader senior Taylor Simmons preserved a crucial win for her team.

Simmons' defensive stop in the final seconds helped Northwest Nazarene hang on to a 61-57 win over Western Oregon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball, a victory that inches the sixth-place Crusaders ever closer to the postseason.

"At this time of the year, anytime you get a win you're thankful for it," NNU interim head coach John Hartman said of a victory that keeps the Crusaders a comfortable game ahead of Seattle Pacific — which beat Alaska 57-49 on Thursday — in the race for the final GNAC playoff berth.

Simmons' stuff came at the perfect moment in a tense finish, as the Crusaders led 59-50 with 3 minutes left only to see the Wolves make a late charge, getting as close as 59-57 back with 40 seconds remaining.

On NNU's ensuing possession, Western Oregon's Emily Howey forced a jump ball with the arrow pointing in the Wolves favor, and with less than 20 seconds to go, the Crusaders suddenly needed a stop to preserve the win.

The Wolves ran the clock down, and with 3 seconds to go, Launia Davis found a crease in the defense and drove to the basket.
 

Simmons stepped in to guard her, reached in and stuffed the ball before Davis could put up a shot, earning a vital jump-ball that went NNU's way, and finished off the victory.

"It was really nice 'cause it could have gone either way with a foul, so that was one of those plays you were thankful that the ref called it in your favor," said Simmons, who finished with 14 points and five steals in the win.

Simmons stuff finished off a determined NNU effort, as the Crusaders (10-13 overall, 8-9 GNAC) erased a 19-14 deficit in the first quarter, and snapped a 33-33 tie early in the second half.

Ellie Logan tossed in two free throws, then buckets from Kate Cryderman and Lexi Tubbs stretched the NNU edge to 39-33.

Not overwhelming, but from there the host Crusaders never trailed, taking a 47-39 lead early in the fourth on a Tubbs bucket, and eventually a 59-50 lead on a Simmons basket.

Logan added 20 points in the victory for NNU, which hosts Concordia on Saturday at 7 p.m. in its annual breast cancer awareness game.

A big game for NNU, which with a win and an SPU loss to No. 1-ranked Alaska Anchorage, could wrap up its first GNAC tournament berth since 2013.

"We've got business to take care of to get there, but this has been the goal all along and we're in good position to make it happen right now," Simmons said.