Mountaineers
Dominate Owls 79-64 in semis, Advance to Conference finals
Eastern Oregon to face 3rd seed Warner Pacific for Conference title on
Monday
February 27, 2004
Box
Score
LA GRANDE, Ore. – They may not have
shot the ball well, they definitely did not shoot well from the free
throw line, but Eastern Oregon dominated the glass against the much
bigger Oregon Tech lineup in defeating the Owls, 79-64, to place them
in the Cascade Collegiate Conference title game for the first time
ever.
Eastern Oregon will face the No. 3
seed, Warner Pacific College on Monday for the Cascade Collegiate
Conference tournament title, as the Lady Knights defeated #2
Northwest, 84-71 tonight in Kirkland, Wash..
Benefiting from EOU's win over Oregon
Tech, Warner Pacific will receive the Conference's second automatic
berth to the NAIA National Tournament, March 10-16, in Sioux City,
Iowa.
Also with the win, the Mountaineers
turn around two consecutive years of losses in the Conference
semifinals. Last year it was
a loss to Southern Oregon in overtime and in 2001-02, EOU was drummed
out of Quinn Coliseum by Albertson.
Eastern Oregon has now won 18
consecutive games, adding to the on-going school record.
Eastern Oregon used tough rebounding
early and limited the number their turnovers they committed to a
minimal amount to sure up a second-half 36% shooting performance after
a torrid 61.5% first-half. Oregon Tech shot mirror halves of
13-for-28 (46.4%).
The two teams used the first quarter of
the game to feel each other out. EOU and OIT traded leads until
Eastern Oregon broke the fourth tie of the half on a driving lay-up by
Christy Smith with seven minutes gone to give the Mountaineer's what
would be the lead for good at 14-12.
Eastern Oregon would then push the
tempo for the rest of the half to increase their lead to 13 points at
43-30 at the half.
Oregon Tech then came out with a little
fire, outscoring EOU, 16-8 to begin the second-half, cutting the
Mountaineer lead to just five at 51-46 at the 12:38 mark.
The two teams would then bat around a
six-to-nine point Eastern advantage until the Mountaineer's Smith
canned two free throws to ignited a 8-2 run over a minute and a half
span that pushed the EOU advantage to 14 points and took the wind out
from underneath the Owls' wings for good.
Eastern Oregon held a 39-23 rebounding
advantage in the game, but most interesting fact was that the
Mountaineers held Oregon Tech to just one offensive board in the
game... yes, one! Oregon Tech
averages almost 13 offensive boards a game.
The tone of the game was by early by
senior forward Cory Nelson, who scored the Mountaineer's first
five points of the game. Nelson's night came
close to concluding with a double-double, but just missed by a bucket
with 8 points and 10 rebounds. She also had 2 assists and a
steal in 27 minutes on the floor. Her 10 boards led all players.
The EOU scoring parade was led by a
pair of game-high 18-point nights from Christy Smith and Candice
Davis. Smith hit on
5-of-7 shots from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free throw
line. She also had 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 32
minutes. Davis shot just 4-of-7 from the floor, but an
impressive 10-of-11 from the line. Candice chipped in with 4
rebounds and 2 steals.
Jamie Jo Cant and Christie
Weaver round out the Mountaineer quadruplets that scored in
double-figures. Cant finished with 13 points, while Weaver had
11 points, including 3 three-pointers.
Oregon Tech was led by Meggan Sager's
14 points with Nikki McElligott's 13 points, 9 rebounds and 7
assists. McElligott was the Cascade Conference's Player of the
Year, just edging out Eastern's Tricia Haddock.
Local La Grande High School product
Lindsey Carmichael, playing in front of family and friends for the
second time this season, was held scoreless on just one shot from the
field in 18 minutes of play. She also had an assist and a steal.
Samantha Gilbert and Pam Frei
ended their seasons with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Tickets for the Championship final,
will be held all day Monday at Quinn Coliseum's Athletic Office or
from 9 am to 4 pm at Inlow Hall's Student Accounts windows. After 4
pm, tickets can be purchased at the door.
If fans would like to order tickets
over the phone with a credit or debit card, they can call the EOU
Cashier's Office at 541-962-3590.
EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY 79, OREGON TECH 64
OREGON TECH (20-10, #4 seed)
Meggan Sager 5-9 1-2 14; Nikki McElligott 6-14 0-0 13; Samantha Gilbert 5-7
1-2 12; Pam Frei 5-6 0-0 10; Katya Spiecker 2-7 2-2 8; Jennie Kooch 2-7 0-0
4; Kyra Cleveland 1-1 0-0 3; Amanda Doherty 0-3 0-0 0; Lindsey Carmichael
0-1 0-0 0; Lois Shoemaker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 4-6 64.
EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY (25-2, #1 seed)
Candice Davis 4-7 10-11 18; Christy Smith 5-7 8-12 18; Jamie Jo Cant 4-11
5-6 13; Christie Weaver 4-5 0-0 11; Cory Nelson 3-7 0-0 8; Tricia Haddock
2-8 1-3 5; Michelle Kinley 2-4 0-4 4; Brye Quatre 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-51
24-36 79.
Oregon
Tech
30 34 - 64
Eastern Oregon University 43 36 - 79
3-point goals-Oregon Tech 8-23 (Meggan Sager 3-6; Katya Spiecker 2-7; Nikki
McElligott 1-3; Samantha Gilbert 1-3; Kyra Cleveland 1-1; Amanda Doherty
0-2; Jennie Kooch 0-1), Eastern Oregon University 5-16 (Christie Weaver 3-4;
Cory Nelson 2-4; Jamie Jo Cant 0-3; Tricia Haddock 0-5).
Fouled out--Oregon Tech-Pam Frei, Eastern Oregon University-None.
Rebounds-Oregon Tech 23 (Nikki McElligott 9), Eastern Oregon University 39 (Cory Nelson 10).
Assists-Oregon Tech 21 (Nikki McElligott 7), Eastern Oregon University 14
(Tricia Haddock 6)
Total fouls-Oregon Tech 26, Eastern Oregon University 12. A-967
Cascade Collegiate Conference Semifinal Game
EOU's first trip to the CCC Tournament Finals
EOU extends school record for consecutive wins to 18 games.
#3 Warner Pacific at #1 Eastern Oregon, 7 PM, Monday, March 1
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