Whitney Owen scores 15 in Lady Yote win
CALDWELL, Idaho - Whitney Owen led a balanced College of Idaho scoring attack with 15 points, as the Lady Yotes never trailed in a 65-57 victory over Warner Pacific, tonight in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the Lady Yotes (15-5, 11-2 CCC) clinched an automatic berth to the Cascade Conference Tournament – the 14th time in 15 seasons that the squad will play a postseason game. The C of I also opened a game-and-a-half lead over Northwest University and a two-game lead over both Eastern Oregon and WP in the CCC standings with three weekends remaining in the league season.
The Knights (13-8, 8-4), who saw a six-game win streak snapped, converted just two field goals over the first eleven minutes of the game, as the hosts opened the contest on a 20-7 run – forcing nine of WP’s 29 turnovers during the spurt. A Cameryn Calhoun lay-up got the Portland school within 23-17, but the Coyotes struck late in the period, with a Nicole Gall jumper and a steal and basket from Katelin Shannon giving the Coyotes a 33-20 lead at the break.
The second half was all C of I, as the Lady Yotes methodically inched the lead past 20 points, taking their biggest lead of the night at 62-41 with less than three minutes left. WP made it respectable against the Coyote reserves, as Kristina Schumacher hit scored 11 of her game-high 18 points – including three straight three-pointers, in a 16-3 run to end the game.
Seven different Lady Yotes scored six or more points, with Marquina Gilliam-Hicks scoring nine, Shannon scoring eight points with three steals, Gall adding eight points and nine rebounds, Brette Rubie and Nicole Bruce each scoring seven, and Strunk chipping in six. The Lady Yotes had a 43-32 rebound edge, included 16 offensive boards.
Kelsey Mattsen had 13 points in the loss for WP.
The Lady Yotes return to action on Friday, closing out their three-game homestand with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against rival Eastern Oregon.