BOX SCORE
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 24 Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team upset third-seeded Ave Maria (Fla.), 66-58, in the first round of the NAIA Div. 2 National Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Mountaineers (24-8) won for only the second time in school history at the national tournament. Kyle Miller led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 6-of-13 from the field, including 3-for-7 from behind the arc. Korrie Bourn added 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Vintea Georges had 11 points. Jorie Freeman finished with 13 rebounds.
Eleventh-ranked Ave Maria fell short in its aim to capture a victory in its first-ever appearance at the State Farm-NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship on Thursday. No. 24 Eastern Oregon, powered by the work of Freeman and Bourn on the boards, came away with a 66-58 win at the Tyson Events Center.
The Mountaineers won for the first time at the national tournament since a 52-49 triumph over Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in the first round of the 2008 tournament.
The game featured five ties and five lead changes. Eastern jumped out to an early 15-8 lead, but the Gyrenes responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead with 8:44 remaining in regulation. AMU continued its momentum, leading 30-25 at halftime, and taking its largest lead of the game, 35-25, two minutes into the second half.
Eastern slowly cut into the lead and took a 52-48 advantage after a Georges shot with 9:18 left in the game. A three-pointer with 6:56 left in the game would give Ave Maria its final lead, 53-52. EOU closed the game on a 14-5 run.
Ave Maria had four players in double-figures in scoring, led by Emily Huber's 12 points. Erika Derks (11), Tamica Mora (11) and Amy Myler (10) followed closely behind Hubert for the Lady Gyrenes, who shot only 31.8 percent as a team.
Eastern Oregon moves on to the second round and will be pitted against second-seeded Concordia (Mich.). No. 6 Concordia defeated Huntington (Ind.) 69-60 in Thursday's first game.