(Lewiston, ID) – A sharp-shooting Eastern Oregon team snapped No. 13 LC State’s winning streak at 10 games with an 81-71 victory over the Warriors. The Mountaineers shot over 50% from the field and drained 11 3-pointers in the first half.
The loss has the LC State record at 10-1 overall and 4-1 in Cascade Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
EOU could not miss with 10-of-12 made baskets in the first quarter. The Mounties jumped out to a 6-0 lead before a foul shot by Darian Herring put the Warriors on the board. Another triple by EOU grew the margin to 9-1 ahead of back-to-back baskets by Mataya Green. A layup by Herring made it 12-7 in favor of EOU at 5:30.
A basket by Herring, 3-pointer by Payton Hymas and layup by Lindsey Wilson tied things up 17-17 at 3:07 as the teams traded baskets. An EOU run had the Mountaineers up 26-21 through 10 minutes.
The Mounties continued to shoot the lights out in the second frame. Wilson opened the quarter with a basket, but a pair of triples had the EOU lead at 32-23 by 7:51. Free throws and a layup cut the difference to 34-27 with 6:50 to play, but Eastern Oregon held the momentum and led 50-35 at the break.
Eastern Oregon continued to control the contest in the second half. Warrior baskets matched EOU through the first four minutes before a 3-pointer by Sitara Byrd started a short LC State run. Wilson added a layup and Grace Beardin netted a free throw to send the contest into the final quarter with the Mountaineers leading 62-51.
Ellie Sander started the scoring in the fourth quarter, but six straight points by EOU grew the deficit to 68-53 at 8:28. Tatum Brager and Sander drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the difference to single digits, but EOU maintained its control until the buzzer.
STAT RECAP
Brager led LC State with 13 points on three 3-pointers. Sander added 12 points with two blocks. Wilson scored 11 points, Herring tallied 10 and both grabbed six rebounds.
The Warriors shot 44.8% from the floor with 14 assists on 26 made baskets.
EOU’s Maggie Smith led all scorers with 18 points on a 5-for-5 shooting night from 3-point range. Brie Holecek scored 14 points and Kelsie Siegner had 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
UP NEXT
The Warriors close out 2024 on Saturday against College of Idaho. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. in the P1FCU Activity Center.