No. 25 EOU defeats CU for fifth straight win
PORTLAND, Ore. – Four Mountaineers scored in double figures as No. 25 Eastern Oregon University women defeated Concordia University, 73-54, Saturday night in Portland for their fifth straight win.
Eastern Oregon (19-5, 11-2 CCC) was led by Nikki Osborne, who had 18 points. Kassy Larson also added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the visitors mauled the Cavaliers on the boards, 44-23.
The game started evenly, with both teams finding open looks from inside and out. Concordia (11-10, 5-7 CCC) hit four 3-pointers in the first ten minutes as the Cavaliers went up 24-19. However, the hot shooting dissipated quickly.
Eastern Oregon went on a 14-0 run over the next six minutes, holding the Cavaliers scoreless and sharing the ball well to generate opportunities to create a 40-30 lead at the half.
The second period began much in the same fashion, with the Mountaineers methodically working the ball around to get quality looks and snagging offensive rebounds when they couldn't. Concordia continued to shoot poorly from the field and the lead remained in double digits most of the half.
The Cavs made a couple of charges late, but every time the hosts trimmed the lead, EOU responded. Concordia turned to fouling in an attempt to pressure the worst free-throw shooting team in the conference, but the Mountaineers calmly hit 15-of-17 shots from the charity stripe to pull away without issue.
Janae Klarich was the only Cavalier in double figures with 11 points. For the Mountaineers, Airashay Rogers (12) and Maya Ah You (10) joined Osborne and Larson in double digits in the scoring column.
Concordia next plays at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 at Corban in Salem while Eastern Oregon hosts College of Idaho the same day.