2/14/26
Saint Martin’s Saints 60, Western Oregon Wolves 51
(Lacey, WA) The Saint Martin’s Saints Women’s Basketball team came into Saturday’s contest riding a four-game winning streak. Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s played once in Monmouth, Oregon, and the Saints came away with a 49-39 win. Saint Martin’s is just one game back of first place and has a legitimate chance at winning either a share or the outright GNAC Regular Season Title. Both would be a first in the program’s history. Western Oregon is in a fight for the fifth or sixth seed at the GNAC Championships, and the Wolves came into the game tied for fifth in the conference. It was an important game at Marcus Pavilion, as the teams celebrated Play4Kay Day, in honor of the legendary coach and Hall of Famer Kay Yow.
The first quarter was a near carbon copy of the first time the two teams played each other. This time, Western Oregon was in front with a slim 10-8 lead. Saint Martin’s picked up the offense in the second quarter, outscoring the Wolves 15-9, and the Saints led 23-19 at the halftime break. Western Oregon retaliated with a 16-point third quarter and took a 35-34 lead going into the fourth quarter. Saint Martin’s saved their best for last, pouring in 26 points in the final stanza and hitting 10-12 free throws in the quarter to get their eighth home win in a row with a 60-51 victory.
Saint Martin’s was led by Avery Oaster, who had 14 points and tied a season-high with 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. Oaster also had three steals, three blocks, and two assists. Karyss Lacanlale came off the bench to score 13 points while adding three assists and two rebounds. Auburn’s Madelyn Brown had a career-high 12 points, with two three-pointers, three steals, two boards, and an assist. Brown set a season-high nine points last Saturday at Seattle Pacific, and coming into the game had only made one three-pointer on the season.
The Saints free throw shooting was outstanding once again, going 17-19 as a team. Saint Martin’s outrebounded Western Oregon, 33-24. Despite 19 Saints turnovers, Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s were even on points off turnovers. The Saints impressively committed just eight fouls all game, which ties their season low, which occurred last week at Montana State Billings.
With the win, the Saints are 15-8 overall and 11-3 in the GNAC. The Saints clinched a spot in the GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships, held next month at Western Washington. Saint Martin’s hosts Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, who are currently fourth in the conference and also clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships with a win today. On Saturday, #15 Central Washington comes to town for homecoming and senior day. Central Washington is currently first in the GNAC at 13-2, but if Saint Martin’s wins out, they will guarantee at least a share of the regular season title. The top four teams in the GNAC are all riding multi-game win streaks, and all are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
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