CALDWELL, Idaho - Eastern Oregon University Women's Basketball saw its two-game win streak snapped on Saturday afternoon as the team fell in a close fought game against Rocky Mountain College, 53-49. With the loss, the Mountaineers' record falls to 4-5 on the season.
How it Happened
• In a rematch between the two squads from earlier this month, this time around it was more of a defensive battle. Eastern held Rocky (5-1) to a 40.4 shooting percentage but managed to shoot just 38.3% from the field.
• Helping the Battlin' Bears hold off the Mountaineers for a second straight time was points in the paint and points off turnovers. They had the edge in the post 36-22 and forced 25 turnovers that led to 20 points.
• The first quarter was a close battle with it being a 12-11 game after 10 minutes of play. The Battlin' Bears led 12-7 midway through the quarter before a 4-0 surge by EOU made it a one-point game.
• The Mountaineers 4-0 run at the end of the first quarter grew to 11-0 to start the second. The run gave EOU an 18-12 lead with 6:46 to play in the half.
• The extended run by Eastern made the difference going into the halftime break. They led by as much as nine a pair of times and ultimately went into the break leading 26-17. In the second quarter, EOU ultimately outscored Rocky 15-5 to own a nine-point lead.
• In the second half, it was the Battlin' Bears offense that allowed them to just get by the Mountaineers as they outscored the Mountaineers 36-23.
• In the third quarter, Rocky put up 20 points and held EOU to 10 to own a slim one-point lead going into the fourth, 37-36.
• The Mountaineers answered in the first half of the fourth quarter outscoring Rocky 10-4 to grab a 46-41 lead midway through the quarter.
• Despite the surge by EOU, the Battlin' Bears responded and held the Mountaineers to just three more points in the final five minutes of play.
• Rocky ultimately outscored Eastern 12-3 in the final five minutes and held on for the four-point win thanks to late free throws and key stops on defense.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
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Taylor Stricklin paced the offense with 15 points on 5-13 shooting and tied the team-high in rebounds with eight.
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Sailor Liefke added 11 points on a 4-7 shooting performance.
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Haley Robinett tied the team-high in rebounds with eight and chipped in six points.
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Maddy Juul and
Adyson Harris each had seven points in the loss.
For the Battlin' Bears
• N'Dea Flye had a double-double with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Kloie Thatcher added 16 points and dished out a game best four assists.
• Mackenzie Dethman rounded out the double figure scoring with 14 points and had four boards.
By the Numbers
6 - EOU had grabbed 40-plus rebounds in six straight games prior to Saturday.
5 - The Mountaineers have been held to just five made three pointers in each of the last two games.
2 - EOU had now dropped its last two contests against Rocky Mountain College.
3 - Eastern has shot over 80% at three free throw line in the last three games after going 8-10 (80%) in Saturday's game.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will get right back into CCC play the following weekend with a pair of road contests at Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech.
• Eastern will take on Southern on Friday, Dec. 3 with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The following day, Dec. 4, EOU and OIT will square off at 3 p.m.
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