Eastern Win and Henderson Breaks 1,000 Points

CALDWELL, Idaho- The Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team rallied late in the game to defeat rival, The College of Idaho (16-10, 13-6 CCC), 82-73.

The number 23 ranked EOU Mountaineers (23-4, 16-3 CCC) were powered by Sheena Henderson's season high 31 points and nine rebounds. The senior shot 12 for 15 from the floor and 7 for 7 from the free throw line. Tiffanie Ulmer finished with 23 points for Eastern. "Sheena and Tiffanie were amazing tonight, they truly powerd our offense," said EOU head coach Anji Weissenfluh after the game.

Weissenfluh continued, "This was a very stressful, back-and-forth game. We could not get the lead until the second half, and then it was still back-and-forth. This was a great win for us, but both teams fought very hard tonight."

After a see-saw first 30 minutes, EOU grabbed a 62-54 lead with 9:32 left on a Breana Olson jump shot. The 'Yotes fought back, cutting the margin to 62-61 on a Whitney Clark three with 7:29 on the clock. EOU would then hold the Yotes without a field goal for a four minute stretch, using three Henderson buckets to build the margin to 72-62 and cruised to the win.

Eastern has not been a phenomenal free throw shooting team all season, only shooting 68 percent coming into the game, but shot 37 for 41 against the 'Yotes. "Looking at the stats, one of the biggest keys to the victory was at the free throw line, we shot great from there tonight," said Weissenfluh. Another key stat was rebounding, where Eastern held a decisive 50-26 edge over their rivals.

Clark led the 'Yotes scoring with 21 points, while ShaNae Horner added 17 points from the bench for The College of Idaho.

Olson and Jenny Fiso rounded out the Eastern double-digit scoring, with 11 and ten points respectively. "Bre Olsen played great defensively for us, but on both sides of the ball she had a very solid night," said Weissenfluh of Olsen's night.

The Mountaineers will return home and finish their regular season Saturday night in La Grande against conference newcomer, Northwest Christian (14-14, 8-10 CCC). On Jan. 4, Eastern cruised to a 76-45 rout in Eugene over the Beacons.