CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team was named the Under Armour Team of the Week for Jan. 23-29, the Cascade Collegiate Conference announced Sunday.
This week Eastern Oregon secured the No. 16 spot for the second consecutive time in the NAIA women’s basketball rankings. The team came out dominant to prove their status in two huge comeback home-court wins.
On Friday, Eastern Oregon University hosted Walla Walla University. The Mountaineers trailed with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter before outscoring the Wolves 5-2 over the last couple of minutes to retake the lead. EOU relied on their depth to carry them to victory as they had 15 players register minutes with eight of them scoring in the second half. The Mounties cruised to a 79-62 win, being led by Shaelie Burgess and Bayley Brennan who put up 15 points each.
The next day, Eastern Oregon University faced a tougher challenge with No. 9 Lewis-Clark State College, who was on a 19-game win streak. The first quarter did not appear promising as LC State went 11-21 from the field while EOU fell to a 15-point deficit. However, the Mountaineers were not ready to give up. Eastern outscored Lewis-Clark 19-13 in the second quarter then 17-15 in the third. The fourth quarter came and went in a similar back-and-forth fight which led to overtime play. In extended time, the Mountaineers were led by Beverly Slater who scored eight of their 15 overtime points and went a perfect 6-6 from the line. Slater and Halle Wright had an impressive night, dropping 19 points each to lead Eastern Oregon to an 85-79 overtime victory, snapping Lewis-Clark’s long winning run.
This weekend brought the Mounties’ overall record to 19-2, and 14-1 in the Cascade Conference. These results are identical to the Warriors meaning the teams are now sharing a top spot in the conference rankings. Next weekend, the Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team will head to Portland to face Multnomah and Warner Pacific in more conference play.