Lady Owls Fly in Fourth Quarter, Advance to CCC Semifinals
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.- The Oregon Tech Lady Owls ended Northwest University’s season in the Quarter Final of the 2016-2017 Cascade Collegiate Conference Basketball Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank. The closely contested game brought eleven lead changes and saw the game tied eight times before the Owls pulled away in the fourth quarter to win by a score of 67-57.
The contest opened up with NU pulling away with an early lead of 2-7, as Tech struggled to find an offensive rhythm. 5:00 minutes into the first quarter, the Lady Owls were able to establish themselves on the floor, going on an 8-3 run, as the score leveled at 10-10. The Owls and the Eagles battled through a series of turnovers and made buckets, as the quarter closed 15-13 in favor of the home team.
The half continued in a dead heat, seeing the score tied four times with five lead changes. NU guard, Charmaine Bradford, found teammate Mariah Stacona open on the three-point line, as Stacona dropped the three, to take the lead at 19-22 before the Owls called a timeout. Off the timeout, neither team could find any separation until the final minute. Tech closed out the half on a 6-1 run, bringing the score to 30-25 in favor of the Lady Owls.
Coming out of the break, the game picked up right where it was left off, with little to separate the two sides. Over the next 10:00 minutes of play, the game saw five more lead changes and two tied scores. In the last minute of the quarter, NU’s Bradford hit two jump shots to send the Eagles up by one point; the score at 45-46.
The final quarter of play brought out a different looking Lady Owls. Buckling down on defense and minimizing quality looks at the hoop, Tech went on a 19-4 run. The Eagles continued to fight to narrow the point differential, but with just 3:00 minutes remaining in the game there was not enough time to get back on top. The buzzer sounded with the score at 67-57 and a victory for the Lady Owls.
On the night, the NU Eagles were led by sophomore Miranda Langenhorst who had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mariah Stacona had 13 points and 5 steals, while Hannah Carlson followed added 11 points of her own.
The Lady Owls were led on the evening by Morgan Robert-Ili and Nohea Waiwaiole with 16 points each. Roberts-Ili also pulled down 8 rebounds. Senior, Carly McIsaac found herself in double-digits with 13 points, while sophomore, Bailey Nelson grabbed 10 rebounds.
The loss for the Eagles ends their season with an overall record of 15-16 and 10-11 in CCC play. The win for the Lady Owls moves them to a record of 24-7 overall, while they advance to the Semi-Final round of the CCC tournament. Tech will be hitting the road as they take on the CCC number two seed Eastern Oregon University, Friday, February 24, at 7:00pm in La Grande, Ore.