EOU Women's Basketball Sweeps Hustlin' Owls in CCC Home Opening Weekend
EOU Sports Information
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Women's Basketball hosted back-to-back mid-morning conference games in Quinn Coliseum this weekend. The Mounties won both battles against the Oregon Teach Owls to improve to 12-2 overall and 6-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference Play. The final scores in each game were 80-66 for game one, and 97-67 for game two.
Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 80, Oregon Tech 66
How it Happened
• EOU's 14-point win over OIT was a close game throughout, the Mounties won each quarter by only 5 points or less. Small forward Jillian Albright, who only totaled five points on the day, did everything else right in the first quarter to help get the Mountaineers in the swing of things. A couple of back-to-back three-pointers to end the first 10 minutes of play by Taylor Stricklin gave EOU the momentum heading into the second quarter.
• Sailor Liefke led the Mounties before the break, scoring 12 of her game-high 25 points in the second quarter. For the Owls, Melissa Lee and Maddyson Tull helped keep the game close with their defensive and rebounding efforts. Lee posted a double-double for the day with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Tull added 16 points and five rebounds. Although EOU only shot 35% in the first half to OIT's 41%, the Mounties still led by five going into halftime.
•Beverly Slater came out aggressively to start the second half scoring 13 of EOU's 20 points in the third quarter. Slater would finish the game with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
•The biggest lead for the Mountaineers came in the fourth quarter. A few three-point baskets from Liefke and Taylor Stricklin pushed the lead out to 20 before EOU called in the reserves. Although the Owls outrebounded the Mounties by 12, they only shot 11-29 in the second half, giving EOU the 14 point advantage to finish the game.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
•Liefke, Slater, and Stricklin led EOU with a combined total of 59 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals. The trio also chipped in 10 three-pointers in the group effort.
•Adyson Harris and Macie Elliott put together solid minutes off the bench. Harris had a stat line of eight points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Elliott chipped in five points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Game 2 – Eastern Oregon 97, Oregon Tech 67
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers played all around team ball from start to finish with five players scoring in double figures. Beverly Slater got off to a hot start, scoring 10 of her 12 points in the first quarter while grabbing six rebounds. From the tip, the defensive pressure from the Mounties was too much for the Owls to handle. OIT, a team that normally averages 19 points in the first quarter, were held to just eight points in the first 10 minutes of play and shot 34.8% for the game.
• The second quarter was the Sailor Liefke show. Liefke shot lights out, hitting four three-pointers within 3.5 minutes of play. OIT still had trouble heating up, only scoring 12 points in the second quarter. The score at half was 51-20 in favor of the Mounties, a lead EOU would keep the rest of the game.
• Coming out of the break the Mounties stretched their lead to 34, but the Owls finally found their mojo to make it a back-and-forth game for a matter of minutes. Around the five minute mark, Liefke would make her fifth and final three-pointer of the game, and pass the torch over to her teammates. EOU made five three-pointers in the third quarter, with contributions from three different players. The Mounties shot 41.4% from beyond the arc for the game.
• EOU's bench outscored OIT's 41-14 and was led by freshman Adyson Harris. Harris finished with 15 points, on a 6-8 shooting night in just 14 minutes of play. Macie Elliott and Leilani Padilla chipped in a combined 15 bench points in the win against the Owls.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Five Mountaineer players scored in double figures, Sailor Liefke and Adyson Harris had 15 points each, followed by 14 from Beverly Slater, 13 from Taylor Stricklin, and 12 points from Jillian Albright.
• Hailey Robinet, Maddy Juul, and Beverly Slater all grabbed six rebounds a piece.
• EOU and OIT both put up 69 shots on the day. EOU shot 53.6% as a team, making 37-69 to OIT's 34.8%, shooting 24-69.
Up Next
• Eastern Oregon will play on the road next weekend at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. The Mounties split the non-conference series with them earlier this season. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. both days against the Beacons.