LA GRANDE, Ore. – After falling behind early, the Mountaineers clawed their way back into the game to send it to overtime and eventually take the win. Eastern overcame a 15-point deficit after the first quarter to upset the No. 9 ranked Lewis-Clark State College Warriors 85-79 and earn a spot along with the Warriors at the top of the CCC standings. The Win puts Eastern at 19-2 overall and 14-1 in CCC play. With the loss LC State now shares an identical record to the Mounties.
Those watching the first quarter likely thought it was heading for a blowout as the Warriors offense was firing on all cylinders while their defense kept the Mounties in check. LC State knocked down good looks going 11-21 from the field while holding EOU to 4-19 shooting on the other end. On top of that the Warriors zone defense wreaked havoc as they forced six Mountie turnovers in the first quarter and racked up five steals. When the dust settled LCSC led 27-12.
Eastern clawed their way back into it over the second and third quarters. Outscoring the Warriors 19-13 in the second, Eastern slowly started gaining steam. Their shooting percentage rose from 21% in the first quarter to 40% in the second. In the third quarter Eastern once again outscored the Lewis-Clark State 17-15.
Trailing 55-48 after three, it all came down to the fourth quarter and the Mounties responded led by
Halle Wright who put up 10 points down the stretch willing the Mounties to overtime. Wright was perfect from the line in the fourth quarter and knocked down the game tying jumper in the paint with a minute and 10 seconds to go. As time ticked down the Mounties played their cards right getting the last shot and
Halle Wright found
Beverly Slater under the basket for what was nearly the game winner that just rolled off the rim. After regulation the two teams were knotted up at 70.
With the game on the line Slater took over after regulation scoring eight of the Mounties 15 overtime points going a perfect 6-6 from the line. She knocked down a couple of free throws to open followed by a
Sailor Liefke three to jump up five. Slater then came down and put two more on the board to go up seven. The junior made several key stops and picked up four rebounds in overtime all while doing it cleanly playing with four fouls. Eastern finished out overtime taking the 85-79 victory.
Eastern hits the road next weekend taking on Multnomah on Friday and Warner Pacific on Saturday. Tipoff against Multnomah is set for 5:30 p.m. in Portland.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Eastern trailed the over the entirety of regulation play only tying it with 1:10 to go
- After trailing by 15 in the first quarter, Eastern won every period the rest of the way
- The Mounties didn't miss a free throw in the fourth quarter or overtime going 13-13 down the stretch to secure the win
- Rebounding played a huge part in the win as the Mounties outrebounded the Warriors 55-36 and had an impressive 24 offensive rebounds resulting in 29 second chance points
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
- EOU
- Beverly Slater: 19 PTS, 5-9 FG, 9-9 FT, 14 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK
- Halle Wright: 19 PTS, 5-15 FG, 9-12 FT, 14 REB, 1 STL
- Sailor Liefke: 16 PTS, 6-15 FG, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
- LCSC
- Hannah Broyles: 24 PTS, 8-17 FG, 3-8 3PT, 2 AST, 3 STL
- Callie Stevens: 14 PTS, 4-15 FG, 3-10 3PT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 1 STL
- Ellie Sander: 12 PTS, 3-8 FG, 2-4 3PT, 8 REB, 2 STL,1 AST
