CALDWELL, Idaho. – The Mountaineers kicked off NAIA competition with a dominant win over the Montana Tech Orediggers Friday afternoon at the Les Schwab Invitational hosted by College of Idaho. Although Montana Tech got out to an early lead, Eastern pulled away in the second quarter and steadily increased their lead on their way to a 76-55 victory.
Tech jumped out to a 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to some strong play from Ally Cleverly inside as she racked up seven points and three boards to start the game. During that quarter the Orediggers lead by as much as 11, but the lead didn't last long. EOU responded with a big run in the second quarter outscoring Tech 25-11 on hot shooting going 11-19 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc while holding the Orediggers to just 33.3 percent shooting.
Eastern's hot shooting continued through the second half and their defense continued to choke the Oredigger attack. The Mounties poured on another 39 points in the second half while holding Montana Tech to just 25 points on 7-32 shooting.
The win moves Eastern to 1-0 on the year as their first official contest while Montana Tech drops to 2-2. EOU's next game will be tomorrow afternoon when they take on UC Merced in their final game of the Les Schwab Invitational.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
