Box Score
EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University women's basketball team upset No. 8 Eastern Oregon University in overtime Saturday, 74-64.
The Beacons (10-16, 2-12 Cascade Collegiate Conference) were powered by Lindsey Shearer's late-game heroics. The junior had nine points through the first 39 minutes of the game, but finished with a game-high 22 points. She hit a three-pointer as time expired at the end of regulation and made every field goal for NCU in the extra period.
Shearer was 8-of-14 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Four other Beacons finished in double-figures. Martha Taylor had 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Aly Bruns and Katie Collins each scored 12 points. Jess Anderson added 11 points.
Northwest Christian finished 38 percent from the field after making 21 percent of its shots in the first half. The Beacons were 1-of-6 from behind the arc in the first half, but 7-for 12 in the second half. NCU made 24 of its 33 free-throw attempts.
Eastern Oregon shot out to the early lead as they went ahead 15-3, holding the Beacons to just one field goal over the first ten minutes of the game. The Beacons got as close as eight, but EOU took a 29-17 lead into the second half. Collins led all scorers with seven first-half points.
After a layup and free-throw by
Korrie Bourn gave the Mountaineers a 15-point lead to start the second half, the Beacons began to slowly chip away. EOU was leading 36-21 when NCU mounted a12-2 run, climbing to within five points on a three-pointer by Bruns with 13:51 to play.
Back-to-back buckets for the Mountaineers gave them third final double-digit lead at 43-33 with 12:59 to go. NCU then used an 18-4 run as they battled back to tie the game at 47-47 with 6:31 to play and then take a 51-47 lead.
Eastern fought back once again and took back the lead at 59-58 with 1:23 to play as
Nicole Redd posted a trey. After a handful of unyielding possessions for both teams NCU was forced to foul and with ten seconds remaining,
Brooke Randall hit a pair of free throws to give EOU the 61-58 lead.
But the Beacons were not to be denied as Shearer hit a fade away three-pointer as time expired to force overtime. NCU went on to outscore the Mountaineers 13-3 in the extra period to claim their biggest win of the season.
Northwest Christian had a 42-31 rebound advantage over Eastern. The Beacons committed 21 turnovers to the Mountaineers' 20. NCU had a 23-10 second-chance point advantage.
Eastern Oregon was led by Bourn's 15 points. The junior was 6-of-9 from the field. She also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Chayla Jones had 14 points,
Kelsea Hurliman added 12, and Randall scored 11 points and threw a game-high seven assists.
The Mountaineers (19-6, 11-4) were 52 percent from the field in the first half, 34 percent in the second, and just 1-of-4 in overtime. EOU was 5-of-24 from three-point range. Eastern made 13 of its 17 attempts from the free-throw line. The Mountaineers had a 30-18 points in the paint advantage, 29-15 points off of turnovers advantage, and 17-1 bench points advantage.
The Beacons defeated Eastern for only the second time all-time. The last loss to Northwest Christian came last season in Eugene. It was the first victory for NCU in women's basketball over a top-10 nationally-ranked opponent.
The Mountaineers remain one-win shy of their eighth 20-win season in the past 11 years. Eastern travels to The College of Idaho Friday for its next game. The Yotes (16-8, 11-4) fell at No. 13 Corban Saturday. EOU beat C of I earlier this season in La Grande. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time. Live video and stats will be on EOUSports.com, with live radio on KUBQ 98.7 FM.
