LA GRANDE, Ore. – The (RV) Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team shot just 29 percent percent en route to suffering a 63-54 setback at the hands of Northwest Christian (NCU) on Friday night at Quinn Coliseum.
NCU took down EOU for a second time this season, and the Beacons improved to 13-6 and 9-2 on the year. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers dropped to 13-8 overall and 9-3 in CCC play.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Both senior forward Madeline Laan and sophomore guard Payton Parrish netted 14 points apiece to pace EOU, while Chander Gabrio and Monique Thompson tallied 18 points each for NCU.
THE STORYLINE
After a pair of free throws by senior guard Jordan Klebaum gave EOU an early 10-7 lead, NCU mustered a 10-3 run capped by a three-pointer from Gabrio. The Navy and Gold trailed by as many as six (23-17) in the second quarter before using a 7-1 burst to tie the contest, as Parrish drilled a three with 1:34 remaining in the stanza.
Despite shooting only 27.6 percent (8-for-30) in the opening half, the Mountaineers forced eight turnovers and trailed by only two, 27-25.
After Klebaum’s layup returned EOU to its halftime deficit (33-31) with 7:20 left in the third, the Mountaineers missed three-straight shots and coughed up eight turnovers in the next six minutes to fall behind by 14 (45-31).
Parrish and junior guard Doniesha Webber put in buckets to cut the deficit to nine (45-36), but NCU stretched its lead back to 15 (57-42) with 3:42 left in the CCC affair to pull away.
STAT OF THE GAME
37 – EOU fell to 1-7 on the season when shooting below 37 percent in the game.
UP NEXT
EOU will conclude its five-game home stand tomorrow against Corban. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.