LA GRANDE, Ore. – Wins in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) certainly don’t come easy, but the Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball squad prevailed thanks to a critical 17-2 run in the fourth quarter to take down Evergreen, 70-55, on New Year’s Eve.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Senior guard Maloree Moss tallied a team-high 14 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Two other players tallied double figures for EOU, as senior forward Madeline Laan and sophomore guard Payton Parrish recorded 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Gabi Fenumiai led Evergreen with 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
THE STORYLINE
The Mountaineers’ first four buckets were all assisted, as Laan’s layup gave EOU an early 9-2 lead just over two minutes into the opening quarter. The Geoducks responded with a 20-8 run to snag an 22-17 advantage after a bucket by Uriah Thomas, but then senior guard Jordan Klebaum and Parrish drilled back-to-back three’s to put the Navy and Gold back on top.
With the affair knotted at 25 apiece, junior forward Ashley Knight netted four points amidst a 10-3 run to end the half.
Both teams shot 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but the Mountaineers were able to hit five three’s in the stanza to build a 35-28 advantage.
Laan muscled in a layup to extend EOU’s lead to 11 (39-28) with 8:51 left in the third, but Evergreen forced six Mountie turnovers and closed the quarter with an 18-5 run to snatch a two-point (46-44) advantage.
With the game tied at 51 early in the fourth quarter, EOU exploded for a 17-2 run in a span of seven minutes, as the Mountaineers’ defense held the Geoducks without a field goal in that stretch.
With the win, EOU improved to 9-6 on the year and 5-1 in CCC play, while Evergreen dropped to 1-11 and 1-6 in league action.
STAT OF THE GAME
13 – EOU scored 13 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to pull away.
UP NEXT
The Mountaineers return to action on Jan. 8 against Warner Pacific College. Tipoff in Portland, Ore., is set for 5:30 p.m.