MONMOUTH, Ore. – Despite a 20-point, nine-rebound performance by senior Dana Goularte, Western Oregon University's women's basketball team dropped a heart breaker to the visiting Wildcats of Central Washington University, 54-52, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Thursday inside the New PE Building.

"We had an opportunity to win, but we had a few defensive breakdowns and they made plays," said Head Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. "They wanted it and just took it. It comes down to toughness and just flat out believing you can grind it out."

Besides Goularte's team-high in points and rebounds for Western Oregon (7-18, 4-13 GNAC), freshman Sami Osborne added 10 points and four rebounds to go along with a six-point effort from junior Emily Howey. Juniors Elise Miller and Katie Goddard aided on the boards with four rebounds each, while Miller handed out a game-high five assists for the Wolves.

Central Washington (12-13, 7-10 GNAC) was led offensively by Courtney Johnson with a game-high tying 20 points, while Jasmine Parker was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 12 points. On the boards, Erica Locker pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to go along with four-assist nights by Johnson and Locker.

Both teams began the game by battling back and forth over the opening five minutes, as Western Oregon broke a 6-6 tie with a 4-0 run over a span of 77 seconds with Goularte capping the run on a lay-in with 14:28 on the clock. That would be the largest lead that either team got until the Wolves earned a five-point cushion (25-20) on a lay-in by Osborne with just under two minutes left in the first half. Over the final two minutes, Central Washington used a 5-2 run to pull within 27-25 at halftime.

The second half would begin with Western Oregon pushing its lead to seven points (37-30) thanks to an opening 10-5 run over a span of four minutes that ended on a fast break jumper in the paint by Goularte with 15:41 remaining in the game. The Wolves would extend their lead to eight points three separate times with the final one coming with just under 10 minutes to play on a jumper in the paint by freshman Jasmine Miller that handed WOU a 44-36 lead. Over the next seven minutes, Central Washington uused a 12-2 run to pull ahead by two points (48-46) on a three-pointer by Johnson with just under three minutes left. Western Oregon would score five unanswered points over the next minute to pull ahead 51-48 on a jumper by sophomore Jordan Mottershaw with 1:52 on the clock. Another three-pointer by Johnson tie the game for the sixth and final time with 1:18 remaining before a jumper by Johnson 50 seconds later handed CWU a 53-51 lead with 28 seconds left. Goularte would draw a foul with 7.1 seconds left and hit one-of-two free throws to pull Western Oregon within a single point (53-52). After Central Washington's Melanie Valdez hit the first of two free throws, Goularte grabbed the rebound on the second missing free throw but Osborne's half-court shot was off the mark as the Wildcats walked away with the slim two-point win (54-52).

"We played great defense in the first half and worked well together," commented Howard-Carpenter. "Offensively, we took care of the ball, executed well and found the gaps in their zone. The second half we just went cold for a long stretch and gave them the momentum back. We need to improve from the three-point line to balance out our scoring."

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 20-for-50 (40.0%) from the field that included a 3-for-18 (16.7%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 9-for-12 (75.0%) performance at the free throw line. On the other hand, Central Washington was a combined 20-for-45 (44.4%) from the field, 5-of-14 (35.7%) from long distance, and 9-of-13 (69.2%) at the charity stripe.

Western Oregon will close out the regular season on Saturday, February 28, when the Wolves host Northwest Nazarene University beginning at 5:15 p.m. inside the New PE Building in Monmouth.

NOTE: In a pregame ceremony, the Wolves will honor three student-athletes that will be playing their final game in front of the home crowd.