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ÐÓ°Épro had 22nd-ranked Northwest Nazarene on the ropes for a huge upset in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball action but NNU used a 21-9 run over the final six minutes to rally for an 88-81 victory Thursday night at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Crusaders (18-3, 10-3 GNAC) won for the fourth straight time while the Nanooks (2-20, 0-14) came up empty on their attempt for a first conference win of the season.

Trailing 47-41 one minute into the second half, ÐÓ°Épro used a 14-4 run in just over four minutes to gain a 55-51 lead with 14:51 to go. The Crusaders tried to close the gap but the 'Nooks always had an answer, leading by as many as six points twice.

The Nanooks led 72-67 but a Chelsie Luke jumper with six minutes on the clock began a run for the hosts as it scored 11 of 13, capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play by Luke with 3:30 left to put NNU up 78-74.

The Nanooks cut the deficit to one twice, including 82-81 with 1:02 to go on a pair of Samantha Thornton (Bremerton, Wash./Business administration) free throws, but the Crusaders went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 56 seconds while the Nanooks missed a pair of shots to try and force an overtime period.

Luke led all players with a game-best 23 points while Megan Hingston surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career with 18 points. Heather Adams contributed 15 points whileVeronika Skokankova added 13.

NNU shot was out shot by ÐÓ°Épro by nearly nine percent as the visitors finished the game with a 54.1 percent (33-61) success rate from the floor, its highest shooting percentage in over four years. Nazarene finished the game 45.5 percent (30-66) from the field and was excellent at the free throw line, connecting on 93 percent (25-27) of its attempts. It held a slim 34-32 advantage on the boards but had 11 offensive rebounds and forced 19 turnovers as NNU outscored ÐÓ°Épro 41-16 between those two categories.

The Nanooks had five players score in double figures, led by sophomore guard Benissa Bulaya (Sacramento, Calif./Business administration) and senior forward Jacqueline Lovato (Gunnison, Colo./Business administration), who each tallied 16 points. Sophomore guard Kelly Logue (Fair Oaks, Calif./Communication) had 11 points, six assists, three steals and a career-high three blocks while Thornton and senior guard Taylor Altenburg (Elko, Nev./Justice) scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Nanooks also drained 50 percent of their three point tries, making eight of 16 long-range shots, in a game which saw five ties and eight lead changes.

ÐÓ°Épro flies over to Ellensburg, Wash., for a Saturday 6 p.m. (AKST) meeting against Central Washington. The Wildcats fell 68-55 earlier Thursday to ÐÓ°Épro Anchorage.