No. 17 Mountaineers Hold Off No. 14 Raiders to Open CCC Play 11/30/2018 11:49:02 PM LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 17 Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team got its Cascade Collegiate Conference season off to a great start, defeating No. 14 Southern Oregon 66-63 on Friday night at Quinn Coliseum. The victory extended the Mountaineers’ (5-2, 1-0 CCC) home winning streak to 32 games, dating back to Jan. 22, 2016. EOU also extended its win streak over Southern Oregon (4-3, 0-1 CCC) to six-straight games. The Blue and Gold used a big fourth quarter to overcome the Raiders, outscoring SOU 19-12 in the final 10 minutes after trailing 51-45. Junior Jane Nelson had an incredible quarter, scoring 12 of her 20 points to lead the Mounties to the win. Nelson had 17-second half points and shot 6-for-7 from the field including 3-for-3 behind the arc down the stretch. Senior Maren Herrud had a clutch game as well for the Mounties. With 2:23 to play and trailing 60-59, Herrud knocked down a pair of free-throws to put EOU ahead by one. Then with 1:37 to go, Herrud drained a three-pointer, giving the Mounties a 64-60 advantage. The senior posted 16 points with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Freshman Beverly Slater made good of her two points on the night, converting a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left, extending EOU’s lead to 66-61. Southern cut its deficit to three points with a made field goal with 41 seconds. After making a defensive stop, the Raiders missed a potential game-tying three pointer with four seconds to play. Junior Kylie Smith finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks while shooting 5-for-5 from the field. Senior Khadija Neumeyer led all players with 11 rebounds, adding three blocks and assists in another gritty performance for the reigning CCC Player of the Week. Junior Madison Crews had a team-high seven assists. EOU got off to a great start in the first quarter, leading 18-7 with just 2:58 to play. However, the Raiders shot lights out for the final three minutes of the quarter to claim a 21-20 lead at the break. The second and third quarter were more back-and-forth as the game featured nine lead changes. Southern Oregon was led by a trio of players in double-digit scoring. Daranda Hinkey had 16 points, followed by Ariel Augstine and Destinee Jones with 11 points apiece. Syd Fryer had a team-best nine rebounds. The Mountaineers remain at home on Saturday, hosting Oregon Tech at 5:30 p.m. at 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