MORAGA, Calif. – Western Michigan women's basketball picked up a big overtime win late Saturday night in UCU Pavilion, outlasting the Saint Mary's Gaels by a final score of 76-67.

The Broncos (2-2) were fueled by a big performance from redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Williams, who finished with 22 points on 8-17 from the field (47.1 percent), as well as 14 rebounds, and a trio of steals. Williams also finished with a game-high +/- rating of 12.

Redshirt senior forward Reilly Jacobson added 22 points of her own on 9-17 shooting (52.9 percent), coupled with five boards for her team. Sophomore guard Lauren Ross posted an additional 16 points on 6-15 shooting (40 percent) to go along with five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

Western Michigan started very strong for the second consecutive game, holding an early 13-9 lead at the first media timeout with 3:44 remaining in the opening quarter. Jacobson gave WMU a boost with 11 points and three rebounds in the first. Ross added eight points as well, and the Broncos held a 22-12 advantage at the end of one.

The second quarter belonged to Saint Mary's (2-2) as the Gaels outscored Western Michigan 24-14 to tie up the score heading into halftime. Ross led the Broncos in scoring for the first half with 13 points, two boards, and a pair of steals. Jacobson added 12 points and three boards, while Williams tallied eight points, four rebounds, and three steals for WMU.

Coming out of the locker room, Western Michigan took a slight edge, winning the third quarter 14-11 and taking a 50-47 lead with just 10 minutes remaining in the ballgame. Williams gave the Broncos a big third quarter, putting up nine points and grabbing three Gael misses.

The fourth quarter was close for the entire 10 minutes, with two ties and one lead change. The Broncos and Gaels traded possessions in the final few minutes, but neither team could take much of an advantage in regulation and the two teams battled down the stretch. WMU's night came down to one chance at evening the score after a huge steal by Lauren Ross with 40 seconds remaining in regulation.

On the following offensive possession, Ross found Jacobson down low for a deuce to tie the game at 58. The Gaels had one final opportunity of their own, but could not capitalize and were thwarted by a very important defensive stop courtesy of Western Michigan.

Overtime belonged to the Broncos, who outscored Saint Mary's 18-9 in the final five minutes of the contest. Sophomore guard Megan Wagner knocked down seven charity stripe opportunities in the extra period on Saturday night, keeping her team in the lead for the entirety of overtime. Wagner finished with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Sophomore guard Hannah Spitzley added two timely free throws with 28 seconds left, and fellow sophomore guard Gabi Saxman came up with a massive takeaway on the following possession. After drawing a foul, Saxman knocked down both of her free throw attempts to give the Broncos an eight-point cushion before Williams and Wagner iced the game with three more points from the foul line.

WMU held the Gaels to just one made field goal in overtime, while going 3-5 from the floor themselves. The Broncos also made a whopping 12 free throws as a team in the final period of play to seal the road victory.

The win came without junior guard Sydney Shafer, who sustained an elbow injury during Thursday's game at USC. Shafer, a normal starter for WMU, does not have a timetable on her return to play as of yet.

For the game, Western Michigan scored 42 of their 76 points from the painted area, dominating down low and leading the Gaels in paint scoring by 20 points. The Broncos also took a slight advantage on the glass, snatching down 44 rebounds to Saint Mary's 40 team boards. Additionally, WMU held an edge in points off of turnovers and scored 15 from Gael miscues, while swiping the ball from their opponent eight times.

Next, the Broncos return to Kalamazoo for a home matchup with Olivet College on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Tip-off against the Comets is scheduled for 7 p.m. For ticket information, please visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.

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