LA GRANDE, Ore. – In a battle for first place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Maya Ah You came off the bench and scored 31 points for the Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team as the Mountaineers defeated No. 12 Southern Oregon, 77-65, in overtime on Saturday night at Quinn Coliseum.
 
Ah You's 31 points is a career-high, as she hit 5-of-8 from behind the arc and was a perfect 8-for-8, from the free throw line. Jordan Klebaum and Madeline Laan followed with 12 points, apiece, to round out the double-figure scorers for the Mountaineers (17-5, 9-2 CCC).
 
Ashley Claussen led the Raiders (17-3, 8-3 CCC) with 20 points, on 7-of-15 shooting. Alexi Smith added 13 points for Southern Oregon, while Carly Meister added 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers.
 
The Raiders jumped on the Mountaineers in the first five minutes of the game as Southern Oregon jumped out to a 10-4 lead over EOU. Eastern Oregon responded over the next three minutes of the game and went on a 10-2 run, taking a 14-12 lead after an Ah You 3-pointer.
 
The Mountaineers slowly continued to extend their lead over the Raiders and after four straight points by Ah You, the Mountaineers led by eight, 22-14, with 9:15 left in the half. Eastern Oregon held onto the eight point lead for a four minute span that saw both teams go cold.
 
EOU broke out of the cold spell to take a 13 point lead, 31-18, after a Kelsey Hill three pointer with 3:48 left in the half. The Raiders started to trim the Mountaineers' lead down, and after a jumper by Autumn Durand, EOU's lead was down to seven, 33-26, at halftime.
 
Eastern Oregon's lead continued to shrink as the Raiders opened up the second half by scoring five of the first seven points of the half. After Southern Oregon trimmed the lead down to four points, EOU responded and grew their lead back to 13, 51-38, after a Larissa Quintana jumper with 11:32 left in the game.
 
After falling behind by 13 points, the Raiders went on a 16-2 run over a five minute span to take a 54-53 lead over EOU. The game remained close and Ah You broke a 57-57 tie with a jumper, putting EOU ahead, 59-57, with 2:24 left. Twenty seconds later, Carly Meister answered back and tied the game at 59-59. Neither team could take advantage of the others cold shooting, and both teams went scoreless for the final two minutes of the second half. Southern Oregon had two chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but Bree Park missed two shots in the final six seconds and the game went into overtime tied at 59-59.
 
EOU took advantage in overtime, as they outscored Southern Oregon 18-6 in the extra time. EOU came out and scored nine of the first 11 points and the Raiders would get as close as three points, 68-65, but could not make up the difference. Eastern Oregon held the Raiders scoreless for the final 2:35 of overtime and increased their led to 12 points, 77-65, for the victory.
 
Eastern Oregon returns to action next Friday, Jan. 30 when they travel to Warner Pacific College to face the Knights at 5:30 p.m. PT. The Raiders host Corban on Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. PT.