CALDWELL, Idaho - Felicity Jones 10-foot jumper with 27 seconds left gave the Lady Yotes the lead for good, as The College of Idaho earned a key 44-40 victory over No. 15 ranked Eastern Oregon, inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The win for the Lady Yotes (17-8, 12-4 CCC) was their seventh in a row at home and extended a win streak to 34 games when holding an opponent below 50 points.
The Mountaineers (19-7, 11-5) took a 40-38 lead with 3:18 remaining on a Vintea Georges lay-up, but after a pair of defensive stops, the Lady Yotes began the winning push. Isolating Jones at the top of the key, the junior penetrated the lane, finding Laura Geis for a baseline jumper to tie the score with 1:16 to play. EOU's Kyle Miller missed a go-ahead trey on the ensuing possession, with the Yotes putting the ball again in Jones' hands. The guard whittled the shot clock down, driving just inside the foul line, splashing a step-back jumper for the 42-40 lead.
Eastern tried to respond, but a turnover with nine seconds left gave the ball back to the Yotes, with Katelin Shannon hitting two free throws with three seconds left to provide the winning margin.
The see-saw game had six ties and six lead changes, as the Yotes bolted out to an 8-2 lead on a Geis basket five minutes into the game. The Mounties answered with an 11-2 run, including a pair of Dominique Johnson lay-ups, to take their biggest lead of the night at 15-12. Leading 21-19 at the break, the Lady Yotes opened a 32-26 lead on a pair of Tina Fakahafua free throws with 11:26 to play, only to watch Eastern score the next six points - including two Georges' lay-ups, to even the score, setting up the wild finish.
Fakahafua led The C of I with 11 points, six rebounds, and five steals - as the Yotes won despite hitting just 32-percent of their field goal attempts. Jones and Geis each had eight points in the win.
Georges came off the bench to lead EOU with 14 points, with Miller and Kelsea Hurliman each scoring seven - as the Mountaineers were hampered by a season-high 27 turnovers.
The Lady Yotes close out the regular-season with home games next weekend vs. Concordia and Warner Pacific.