PORTLAND, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University No. 15 Women's Basketball put together a dominant second-half performance Thursday night, pulling away from Warner Pacific University for a convincing 78–62 midweek road victory.
The opening quarter started slow, with nearly two minutes passing before Warner Pacific struck first with a three-pointer and a quick two-point basket.
Avery Peterson answered for EOU with a layup to get the Mountaineers on the board. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter, as Johnson tied the game at 9–9 before WPU briefly regained the lead. A late six-point run by the Knights gave Warner Pacific momentum, but
Kali Kast halted it with a timely three-pointer, knocking down another triple in the final seconds to trim the deficit to just one point at the end of the first.
Kast opened up the second quarter with confidence, giving the Mountaineers their first lead of the game at 18-17. Warner Pacific quickly responded to jump ahead by four. Staying composed, the Mounties utilized free throws to tie the game at 22-22. The Knights briefly took the lead once more, but baskets from
Brinley Hagemeier and
Kelsie Siegner kept the Mountaineers within striking distance. After three minutes of no scoring on both ends,
Haylee Johnson and Siegner combined to tie the game, and with just 41 seconds left in the half, Johnson attacked the inside to give Eastern a 31-29 lead heading into the break.
The game shifted dramatically in the third quarter. EOU struck first with back-to-back layups from
Kali Kast and
Raquel Fehringer, which quickly ignited a 14-0 run fueled by strong defense, quick steals, and second chance opportunities off offensive rebounding to expand the Mounties lead to 49-30. Even after the Knights timeout in an attempt to change the pace, EOU stayed aggressive. Siegner immediately picked off a pass, leading to a Hagemeier three-pointer. Once WPU finally answered with a deep basket of their own, Kast immediately responded from deep, foreshadowing the final quarter. Trips to the free throw line extended the lead to close out a dominant quarter at 57-33.
Warner Pacific opened the final quarter with a steal and a layup before adding points from the line, but Eastern Oregon wasn't phased. The teams traded baskets nearly every possession, with what seemed to be a three-point shootout, ended by a missed three that Kast quickly put back after an offensive rebound. Two late shots from deep kept the Mounties in control, closing out the 78-62 victory over the Knights.
Kali Kast led Eastern Oregon with a standout performance, posting new single-game highs of 21 points and nine field goals while shooting 56.3%, including three shots from deep. Siegner followed with 16 points on an efficient 66.7% shooting, adding six defensive rebounds, three steals, and a block.
Warner Pacific was led by Kylar Groesbeck, who finished with 14 points, two assists, and three steals.
As a team, Eastern delivered one of its most efficient outings since the last time they faced Warner Pacific, shooting 50.8%, connecting on 11 three-pointers and going 5-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Eastern Oregon will return home to host Evergreen on February 6th in Quinn Coliseum at 5:30 PM.
