LEWISTON, ID – The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers continued their early season rhythm with a dominant 85-55 victory over Park University Gilbert in the opening neutral-site matchup of the LC State Tournament, hosted at the P1FCU Activity Center.
From the opening tip, the Mountaineers controlled the pace and never trailed. Despite a slow start to their shooting, EOU maintained the advantage in every quarter, taking a 36-21 lead into halftime. After shooting just 18% from beyond the arc in the first half, the Mountie offense came alive in the second, connecting on 54% of their three-point attempts and 58% overall from the field. The lead climbed to as many as 31 points with nearly two minutes left in the fourth quarter as the Mounties pulled further away, putting the Buccaneers out of reach.
Four players finished in double-digit figures, led by Kali Kast who posted a game-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shots from the field and 2-of-5 from the arc, while adding six rebounds. Haylee Johnson followed closely with 11 points, while Kaiea Waiwaiole and Kelsie Siegner contributed 10 points. Waiwaiole was efficient, going 5-for-7 from the field with five rebounds, while Siegner anchored with a game-high nine rebounds, coming just one shy of her third double-double.
EOU’s bench proved crucial, with the bench accounting for 55 of the team’s 85 points. The Mounties dominated inside the paint, outscoring Park-Gilbert 46-30, converting 17 Buccaneer turnovers into points, and adding 12 second-chance points.
With the win, Eastern improves to 3-0. The Mounties return to the court tomorrow for day 2 of the LC State Tournament, facing Montana Western at 2:00 PM, as they look to keep the momentum rolling.