CALDWELL, Idaho –Senior guard Jordan Klebaum notched her first-career double-double, and the No. 14 Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team used a stifling defensive effort to take down Montana Western, 68-50, on Saturday night in the team's final game at the Lady Yote Classic.
The Mountaineers (4-4) won their third-straight contest, while the Bulldogs (9-1) dropped their first game of the 2015-16 campaign.
Key Performances
Klebaum led the way for EOU with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. She was 5-for-12 from beyond the arc and only yielded one turnover in 33 minutes.
Senior guard Kelsey Hill recorded 15 points and four assists off the bench, while senior forward Nikki Osborne tallied 10 points and 10 boards for her second double-double of the season.
Aniese Palmore paced Montana Western with 16 points and four rebounds.
The Storyline
After the Bulldogs built an early 10-3 advantage in the opening quarter, Hill netted back-to-back three's, and Osborne scored two-straight layups to give the Mountaineers the lead for good.
Hill drilled yet another three-pointer, and then sophomore guard Payton Parrish swooshed one of her own to kickstart the second quarter for EOU.
Meanwhile, EOU's defense confined Montana Western to a 3-for-13 shooting effort in the second quarter, and with 1:10 left in the half, Klebaum drilled one of her five three's to put the Mountaineers on top, 32-20.
Although Montana Western got as close as eight (41-33) in the third quarter, a steady inside-outside diet of Osborne, Klebaum, and Hill kept EOU in front.
Klebaum scored the first eight points for EOU in the final quarter to extend the Navy and Gold's advantage to 17 (58-41) with 5:53 remaining.
Later in the stanza, Hill drilled a mid-range jumper, and then Parrish connected on a long ball to grant EOU its largest lead (66-43) of the contest with just under two minutes remaining.
The Mountaineers tossed in a 47.8 percent (11-for-23) clip in the second half while holding the Bulldogs to a dismal 30.9 percent (12-for-39) outing.
Stats of the Game
3 – The Mountaineers extended their winning streak to three games on Saturday night.
18 – Klebaum was red-hot for EOU in the victory, scoring 18 of her career-high 26 points in the second half.
24 – EOU got 24 points from its bench, 15 of which came from Hill.
Up Next
EOU will take on College of Idaho on Tuesday in the squad's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) opener. Tipoff in Caldwell is set for 5:30 p.m. MT.
