HELENA, Mont. – Olivia Sprague scored 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half, as Oregon Tech advanced to the second-round of the NAIA National Tournament for the third time in program history, as the Lady Owls outlasted Jessup University, 79-72, inside the Carroll P.E. Center.
OIT (27-4) will meet No. 2-seed and host Carroll College tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. – with a trip to the tournament final site in Sioux City, Iowa, on the line. The game will be carried live in the Klamath Basin on 104.3 & 960 Sports, beginning at 6 p.m.
It marked the first national tournament appearance and win for Tech since 2019 and avenged a tough 66-62 loss to the Warriors (22-8) a season ago.
The Lady Owls never trailed in the game – as Gabbie Gascon hit a trio of 3-pointers in an opening 15-4 run – with a Kendall Fealey lay-up giving the No. 7-seeded squad their largest lead of the night at 27-15.
JU – playing their final game as a member of the NAIA – scored 9-straight points, including back-to-back Kayla Vieira jumpers, to cut the margin to 33-32 late in the second quarter.
The future NCAA Division II squad cut the deficit to one on a pair of occasions in the third quarter – but Tech had an answer for each rally. Tatum Schmerbach converted on the block and Sprague drained a 3-pointer to extend the Lady Owls lead in the fourth quarter to 60-53, with a Sprague runner pushing the lead to 64-56.
Andrea Jovicevic pulled the Warriors within 64-62 with a jumper with four minutes to play – but Sprague countered with her fourth 3-pointer of the half. OIT made 9-of-10 free throws inside the final three minutes, with Kennedy Tull putting the game out of reach with a long 3-pointer inside the final minute.
Sprague equaled a season-high with her 28-point effort – her 11th game with 20-or-more points – adding five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gascon scored 21 points, including 10-of-12 shooting from the line, with Jozie Ramos adding 10 points and Schmerbach tallying nine.
The Warriors outrebounded OIT, 36-29, but committed 19 turnovers, with the Owls turning the miscues into 28 points. Vieira led JU with 15 points and eight rebounds, with Jovicevic scoring 12.
The 2024 OIT team joins the 2016 and 2019 as teams to win their first NAIA Tournament game. The 27 wins on the season for the Lady Owls is one win away from the school record of 28, established in 2014.
Tech was one of three Cascade Conference teams to win a first-round game, as Lewis-Clark State topped Brewton-Parker, 85-56; Southern Oregon defeated Antelope Valley, 56-49.