ASHLAND, Ore. – The No. 16 ranked Mountaineers jumped ahead early in Friday night's matchup with the Raiders of Southern Oregon. Eastern went ahead big then coasted to a 71-56 victory to pick up their sixth-straight win. With the win the Mounties now sit at 16-2 on the season and 11-1 in CCC play.
The first quarter ended up being the difference maker in the game as EOU outscored the Raiders 23-7.
Beverly Slater made her presence known putting up seven points and eight rebounds and four assists in the first frame. While Slater spearheaded the Mountie offensive attack with good results, EOU shut down Southern on the other ended holding the Raiders to 3-15 shooting.
SOU came to life in the second quarter keeping the Mounties from expanding their lead too much. Southern knocked down three deep balls to and relied on back-to-back buckets from Emma Schmerback at the end of the half to try and stop the bleeding. Slater continued her hot start into the second quarter putting up seven more points to give her 14 at the half. Outscoring SOU 18-15 in the second quarter, Eastern held the 41-22 lead at the half.
With the game in control the Mounties coasted to the win in the second half.
Shaelie Burgess led the way for the Mounties posting eight points and three rebounds down the stretch. SOU won the fourth quarter as Kami Walk pitched in eight points for the Raiders who outscored the Mounties 19-13 in the final frame, but it was too little to late as EOU took the 71-56 victory.
Eastern will wrap up a two-week road stint tomorrow evening when they take on the Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Klamath Falls.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Slater led the Mountaineers in points (16), rebounds (13), and assists (6) on the evening while shooting the most free-throw attempts (9) by an EOU player in any game this season.
- Eastern crashed the offensive boards and it paid off as they scored 11 points on 13 offensive rebounds
- The Mounties held the advantage in transition outscoring the Raiders 13-4 in fast break situations
STANDOUT MOUNTAINEER PERFORMANCES
