No. 8 Mountaineers Hand No. 23 Beacons First Loss 12/16/2017 1:31:42 AM LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 8 Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team continued to roll on Friday night, defeating No. 23 Northwest Christian 86-74 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action in Quinn Coliseum. In the top-25 battle, the Mountaineers (10-2, 3-0 CCC) were triumphant behind another impressive performance by junior guard Maya Ah You Dias. The All-American had 26 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals while shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. Many of Ah You Dias’ free throws came down the stretch as the Beacons (8-1, 1-1 CCC) continued to put her at the line. The junior simply made it look easy. Senior guard Payton Parrish had her best performance of the season, finishing with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. The point total was a season high for Parrish as she went 7 for-15 from the field. The Beacons outshot EOU with a 43.5 field goal shooting percentage while the Mounties finished at 40. 8 percent, but 17 turnovers cost Northwest Christian. EOU scored 20 points off of Beacon turnovers and had their own lowest turnover output of the season with just eight. The Blue and Gold led from start to finish after a three-pointer made by senior forward Stormee Van Belle just less than a minute into the game. The Mounties opened the game on a 19-5 run and led by as many as 24 in the third quarter. Northwest Christian battled back in the fourth quarter after starting the final 10 minutes down 70-50. The Beacons cut the deficit down to seven points with 4:49 to play, but would get no closer as the Mounties were able to close out the victory. For the Beacons, Morgan McKinney led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds. Anamaria Virjoghe had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Katerina Brejchova posted 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds. The loss was the first of the season for Northwest Christian. Despite playing just 21 minutes, Van Belle had another strong performance with 13 points and six boards. Senior Reece Bauer also reached double-digits with 11 points, adding five rebounds and five assists. Senior Mariah Swanson added nine points and six rebounds. The Mountaineers take their four-game winning streak and 3-0-conference record against Corban on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Quinn Coliseum For more information on Eastern Oregon women’s basketball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com. FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu