EL CAJON, Calif. – The No. 23 Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season at San Diego Christian College Friday, 75-66.
The Lady Hawks (4-1) came out strong in the first half, jumping out 7-0 to start the game. The Mountaineers responded with an 11-4 run to knot the game at 11-11. EOU would move ahead at the 9:03 mark, and build their lead to 24-17 with just over 8:00 before half.
EOU would hold the lead until the final shot of the first half. With time running out, Hannah Miller grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and hit Brittany Robinson with a long pass. Robinson missed a three pointer, but Thomas was hustling and put the ball back up and in as time expired.
SDCC fell behind quickly in the second half, but captured the lead on a Jermani Stewart layup at the 17:41 mark and would not relinquish the lead. The Hawks would go on a 21-7 run over the next 7:00 to build the lead up to 12 at 50-38. The margin would remain similar for the remainder of the game, with EOU never getting closer than eight in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Hawks were led by a Brittany Daniel with 23 points. Thomas added 18 points and Robinson scored 14. Stewart led SDCC with seven rebounds, while Daniel added five assists and four blocks.
San Diego Christian shot 71 percent from the field in the second half, after shooting 37 percent in the first half. The Hawks were 52 percent from the field in the game. EOU held SDCC to 2 of 15 from three-point range. The Hawks were 21 for 28 from the free-throw line.
Eastern Oregon (3-1) shot 37 percent from the field in the game, 6 of 18 from behind the perimeter, and 18 for 22 from the free-throw line. Dominique Johnson led the Mountaineers with a season-high 21 points. Brooke Randall added 16 points and four assists, while Korrie Bourn had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Eastern travels to Riverside, Calif., for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff against La Sierra University Saturday. Live video and stats will be available on EOUSports.com.