by KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Eagle women gave No. 24 Oregon all they could handle for three quarters tonight, but a cold fourth quarter and foul trouble led to a 67-57 defeat to the Owls in the 2016-17 Women’s Basketball Championship presented by U.S. Bank. OIT outscored the lady Eagles 22-11 in the final period to move on to the semifinals and will face Eastern Oregon.
The Eagles came ready to play and led 7-2 four minutes into the game after a Hannah Carlson jumper. But, the Owls would heat up and tie the game at 8-8 and then go on to lead 15-13 at the end of the quarter. Two straight baskets by Miranda Langenhorst would tie the game twice at 17 and 19 at 5:58 in the second period and a 3-pointer by Mariah Stacona (Warm Springs Tribe) and a single Langenhorst free throw would give NU a 23-19 lead with 4:10 on the clock. OIT would come back to tie the game at 24-all and a 6-1 run at the end of the period would give them a 30-25 lead at the break.
The third quarter would be a good one for the Eagles as they would come back to tie the game for the 8th time with Mariah Stacona‘s trey at the 4:32 mark. Another 3-pointer by Stacona would give the Eagles a 42-40 lead with 3:06 on the clock. A 5—0 run by the Owls would put them ahead 45-42, but two straight jumpers by Charmaine Bradford would give NU a 46-45 lead going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter would prove to be the downfall for the Eagles as OIT would score the first 14 points of the period holding NU scoreless for nearly five minutes. A basket by Langenhorst would finally get the Eagles on the scoreboard and make it a 59-48 game. Three OIT free throws would give them their largest lead of the game, 62-48, with 4:06 to go in the game, but NU would not quit and baskets by Stacona and Emily Henderson would cut the Owl’s lead to 10, 64-54, with 1:56 left. Katie Rozumny would hit a 3-pointer to make it a 65-57 game with 57 seconds to go, as OIT would make 2 of 4 free throws down the stretch to hold off the Eagles.
Miranda Langenhorst finished the night for Northwest U (15-16) with 16 points and 10 rebounds, her third consecutive double-double and 11th of the season, but foul trouble held her out a good part of the third quarter. Mariah Stacona scored 13 points while Hannah Carlson scored 11 points before fouling out of the game. NU was 5 of 11 from the free throw line (45 per cent).
Morgan Roberts-Ili and Nohea Waiwaiole led Oregon Tech (24-7) with 16 points each while senior Carly McIsaac scored 13 points. Bailey Nelson pulled down 10 rebounds for the Owls who had a 50-30 rebounding advantage. Tech shot 39 per cent and hit 22 of 32 free throws for 69 per cent.
Commented NU coach Ken Crawford following the game, “It was a tough loss for the lady Eagles tonight to end our season. We worked hard, but they had a great crowd and they really got into it in the fourth quarter. We got a little bit tired and put them at the free throw line too many times. You can’t do that and win too many ball games. I want to make special mention of our seniors Paige Burson and Vikki Makin–they have been a joy to coach and will be an important part of our Legacy as we move forward.”
