EUGENE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Women's Basketball dropped a pair of conference road games this weekend as the Mountaineers fell in a doubleheader tilt to the Bushnell University Beacons. The Beacons won by final scores of 76-72 and 81-67 to secure the Cascade Collegiate Conference spring season title.
 
Game 1 – Bushnell 76, Eastern Oregon 72
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers (12-4, 6-2 CCC) managed to outshoot the Beacons (11-2, 9-1 CCC) 45.6%-41.7%, but 18 EOU turnovers led to 24 points by Bushnell to secure the game one win. Also helping the Beacons secure the win was a 15-8 edge in bench points.
• The opening quarter was a closing battle and a high scoring one as the Mountaineers held a 21-20 lead going into the second. Bushnell raced out to a 6-0 lead before an 8-0 run by EOU put them ahead by two. The Mountaineers managed to lead by as much as seven in the quarter before a late surge by Bushnell made it a one-point affair.
• The Beacons managed to tie the game at 24-all with 6:04 to play in the quarter. They then went ahead on a jumper following an EOU turnover and never relinquished the lead the rest of the quarter. Bushnell managed to stretch its lead to as much as 11 in the final six minutes of play before taking a 40-31 lead into halftime.
• The 10 points that EOU managed in the second quarter was the difference maker as it was the lowest output of any quarter for the Mountaineers. EOU managed to outscore Bushnell 41-36 in the second half but never tied the game up after getting behind in the second quarter.
• The closest the Mountaineers got in the third quarter was in the early going as they managed to cut the Beacons lead to four at 42-38. The Beacons responded though and managed to get ahead by 10, 52-42, at the midway point of the quarter. They led by as much as 12 before going into the fourth quarter leading by a score of 58-52.
• Eastern battled in the second quarter and managed to get within 1-3 points multiple times but the Beacons had an answer each time to stay in front and secure the win. The Mountaineers made it a 62-61 game with 3:42 to play in the fourth before succumbing to the four-point defeat.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Four players scored in double figures led by Beverly Slater with 20. She had a double-double as she also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the loss.
• Sailor Liefke scored 19 on 6-11 shooting and was 4-5 from three-point range.
• Taylor Stricklin added 14 points and grabbed seven boards.
• Jillian Albright chipped in 10 points and had a game-high seven assists.
 
Game 2 – Bushnell 81, Eastern Oregon 67
How it Happened
• The second matchup between the two teams saw the Beacons shoot 47.1% overall and 59.1% from deep, while EOU shot 40.7% from the floor and was 44.4% from beyond the arc. The Beacons once again had help as they forced 22 Mountaineer turnovers that led to 27 points.
• The first quarter was not as high scoring as day one as the Beacons held a 14-13 lead after the first 10 minutes of action. Despite the low scoring affair, the Beacons were able to find a rhythm in the second quarter as they scored 34 points and limited the Mountaineers to just 11.
• EOU managed to tie the game at 16-all in the early half of the second quarter before Bushnell went on a scoring run to open the lead. The Mountaineers were down just one, 20-19, with 8:39 to play before a 17-0 run by the Beacons that lasted just over four minutes put them ahead 37-19.
• The Mountaineers had no answer against the surge and for the Beacons they managed to get ahead by 20-plus late in the second quarter. The run was key as Bushnell took a 24-point lead into halftime at 48-24.
• Like they did on day one, the Mountaineers managed to outscore the Beacons in the second half, this time at 43-36, but the second quarter once again came back to haunt them. The closest Eastern got in the third quarter was a 16-point deficit at 53-37 with just over 6:30 to play in the frame.
• The fourth quarter saw the Mountaineers cut the Beacons lead to 13 a handful of times but it was not enough as they ultimately fell by 14 points. A pair of free throws late in the game made it a 12-point contest, but a shot by Bushnell with 27 seconds left on the clock brought the game score to its final of 81-67.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Beverly Slater once again had another double-double game as she scored 20 points and grabbed 11 boards in the loss.
• Jillian Albright also posted a double-double with 12 points scored and 11 rebounds.
• Sailor Liefke scored 16 points in the loss on 5-11 shooting and was once again 4-5 from deep.
 
By the Numbers
9 – Beverly Slater has now posted nine double-doubles this season.
8 – Sailor Liefke was 4-5 from three-point in both games this weekend and finished with eight triples.
1 – This is the first time this season EOU has dropped back-to-back games.
13 – The Mountaineers have now grabbed 40-plus rebounds in 13 games this season with 45 pulled down in game two.
11 – Beverly Slater grabbed 11 rebounds in both double-double performances.
 
Up Next
• The Mountaineers return home this weekend as they will play host to the Corban University Warriors on April 23 and 24. Tip-off times are set for 4 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

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