LA GRANDE, Ore. – The 19th-ranked EOU women’s hoops team used runs of 14-0 and 17-4 to remain perfect in league play and cruise past Northwest Christian, 68-41, on Saturday night at Quinn Coliseum.
The Blue and Gold (10-2, 4-0 CCC) was dominant on the glass (43-30) and shot 52 percent (13-for-25) in the third and fourth quarters en route to notching its best start since the 2012-13 campaign.
Junior guard Payton Parrish boasted team-high honors with 17 points, nailing five three’s for the second consecutive affair. Junior forward Stormee Van Belle went 5-for-8 for 15 points and six boards, while junior guard Reece Bauer added 14 points and eight rebounds. Running the show for most of the evening, junior guard Maya Ah You (Dias) tallied six points and a career-best eight assists.
Trailing by one (9-8) in the opening quarter, EOU mustered 14 unanswered points and held Northwest Christian (5-6, 2-3 CCC) without a point for over 10 minutes. Parrish knocked down a triple, and then senior forward Ashley Knight scored on a post up to extend the lead to double digits (20-9) with 8:16 left in the second quarter. The Beacons pulled to within five (25-20), but Bauer responded with a trey on the left wing, and then Knight scored another bucket in the paint to push the margin back to 10.
EOU took a 33-22 advantage into halftime. The Mountaineers owned a 23-14 mark in rebounds and tallied 11 assists on 13 made baskets in the opening 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, the Mountaineers jumped out of the gates with a 14-4 burst, forcing four turnovers and holding the Beacons to 2-for-9 shooting in that stretch.
Back-to-back triples and then another jumper by Parrish extended the gap to 28 (61-33) at the 6:55 mark of the fourth frame, and EOU went on to sail to its fifth straight triumph.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Consecutive wins for EOU.
14-0 – Run used by the Mountaineers between the first and second quarters to build a double-digit lead.
13 – The Blue and Gold’s margin on the glass.
UP NEXT
EOU heads to Portland, Ore., tomorrow to face Lewis & Clark College at 1 p.m.