LA GRANDE, Ore. – It’s official – there are no more unbeaten teams in NAIA Division II women’s basketball.
Sophomore guard Payton Parrish and senior forward Nikki Osborne posted 22 and 20 points, respectively, and the Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team stormed past No. 8 Southern Oregon, 75-69, on Saturday night at Quinn Coliseum.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Parrish drilled six three’s for EOU, while Osborne shot 10-for-11 from the charity stripe and pulled down eight rebounds. In addition, junior guard Darian Gasseling recorded 11 points and a trio of three’s.
Ashley Claussen was all over the place for SOU, as she tossed in a game-high 25 points and nailed five three’s. Carly Meister registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
THE STORYLINE
EOU got off to a hot start after senior guard Jordan Klebaum nailed a three on the Mountaineers’ first possession, and then Osborne muscled her way inside for a layup.
Gasseling drilled a three to put EOU on top, 15-14, with 3:31 left, but Claussen tallied six points amidst a 10-2 SOU run to conclude the first stanza.
Back-to-back three’s by Gasseling and Parrish started EOU on the right foot in the second quarter, and then Osborne sank two free throws to give the Mountaineers a 25-24 lead with 5:52 left on the clock.
After EOU (12-7, 8-2 CCC) built a four-point (35-31) lead, SOU drilled a three-pointer, and then Claussen stepped in the passing lane and took it down the court for a last-second layup to give the Raiders a 36-35 halftime lead.
Despite shooting just 37.5 percent (9-for-24) in the opening 20 minutes, EOU knocked down 11 free throws and held SOU without an attempt in the first half.
SOU (16-1, 9-1 CCC) extended its advantage to five (40-35) early in the third frame, but that’s when EOU began to blister the nets, as the Mountaineers hit 10 of their next 11 shots to break away. With the affair knotted at 45 apiece, Klebaum swooshed a three, and then Osborne converted a three-point play to extend EOU’s lead to six (51-45) with 4:37 left in the third quarter.
Moments later, Parrish knocked down a trio of three’s in a two-minute span, and a step-back three-pointer by Moss put EOU up by 13 (64-51) with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.
SOU threatened to rally in the fourth, as the Raiders opened the quarter with an 11-3 run to make it a three-point (67-64) game after back-to-back buckets by Claussen. Parrish responded with a critical three-pointer to extend EOU’s lead to six (70-64) with 2:10 left, and the Mountaineers hung on for the upset victory.
STATS OF THE GAME
20 – Osborne tossed in a career-high 20 points for EOU to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
30 – EOU tallied 30 points off 22 SOU turnovers.
0 – Free throws allowed by the Mountaineers in the first half.
UP NEXT
EOU will be back in action on Tuesday against College of Idaho in La Grande at 5:30 p.m.