La Grande, Ore. – (Release from Eastern Oregon University Athletics) Eastern Oregon was back in action Saturday as they took on the Hustlin’ Owls of the Oregon Institute of Technical in the semifinals of the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament. The Mounties rolled to the championship, after an 83-68 win, propelled by a 24-17 third quarter.
The first half of tonight’s game was a back and forth affair with neither team giving an inch. It was close for much of the first quarter but the Mounties were able to take a slight lead after a pair of threes, back to back, to finish out the quarter on a 6-0 run. After one quarter of play Eastern led, 20-14
It was a similar story in the second half as both teams fought hard with Tuesday night’s Championship in mind. The Mounties were led in the first half by a pair of double digit scorers. Both Beverly Slater and Brie Holecek added 10 first half points. OIT stayed strong, led by nine first half points from Maddyson Tull. At the half, EOU held an eight point lead, 40-32.
As the second half started Eastern looked to take over and that is exactly what they did. Sparked by 10 Beverly Slater points in the third quarter, the Mounties extended their eight point halftime lead to 16. After three quarters of play, EOU led OIT, 64-49
Eastern took their hot third quarter hand into the final period as they came out on fire going on a 9-0 run to start the quarter. The Mounties extended their lead as high as 24 in the quarter on route to an 83-68 victory over the Hustlin Owls.
In the fourth quarter of tonight’s game, one of the Mounties etched their name in the EOU record book. After her fourth blocked shot of the night, Shaelie Burgess set the EOU record for blocked shots in a single season which has been held for 40 years. The junior from Honolulu, Hawaii has racked up 68 total blocks on the year.
Eastern will be back in action Tuesday, Feb. 28, playing for a Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship at home in Quinn Coliseum. The Mounties will host the Warriors of Lewis-Clark State in the third matchup of the year between the regular season co-champions. In two games this season, each side has picked up a win. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
