PHOENIX, Ariz. – The No. 14 Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team clung to a four-point advantage in the fourth quarter against Arizona Christian (ACU), but the Mountaineers were held to only two field goals in the final eight minutes en route to dropping a 75-68 decision to the Firestorm in the team's season opener.

EOU was held to a 14.8 percent (4-for-27) clip from beyond the arc, while ACU drilled 10 three-pointers on the evening.

Key Performances
Senior guard Jordan Klebaum and senior forward Nikki Osborne tallied 14 points apiece, while junior guard Darian Gasseling added 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting. Osborne also pulled down a team-high nine boards.

The Storyline
The Mountaineers (0-1) took an early 13-5 lead at the 2:49 mark of the first quarter after Klebaum found Gasseling for the close jumper. However, the Mountaineers fell cold while the Firestorm found their stride and closed the stanza on a 12-2 run.

The game of runs continued into the second quarter, as Osborne mustered four points amidst a 10-0 burst to hand the Navy and Gold a 25-17 lead with 7:46 left in the opening half. A layup by junior guard Ashley Knight granted EOU its largest lead (29-20) of the game at the 6:22 mark, but ACU drilled five of its last 10 shots of the frame to take a 37-34 lead into the locker room.

The Firestorm commanded an eight-point (45-37) lead in the third quarter until the Mountaineers battled back to cut ACU's advantage to one (48-47) after an and-one by Gasseling.

A tip-in by Osborne and another old-fashioned three-point play by Gasseling put EOU on top, 54-50, early in the final stanza, but ACU forced four turnovers and held the Mountaineers to two field goals for the remainder of the contest to steal the victory.

Stat of the Game
1 – Three-pointer by EOU in the second half.

Up Next
EOU returns to action tomorrow to complete its two-game swing against ACU in Phoenix at 4 p.m. MT.