WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team went from a fifth-place preseason conference ranking to a finish in the National Tournament.
The Mountaineers won 20 games for the seventh time in the past nine seasons. EOU was four points shy of its seventh Cascade Collegiate Conference title in the past 10 years.
Anji Weissenfluh has been at the helm as head coach all 10 of those years. She recorded her 200th victory this season.
Eastern entered conference play with a 5-3 record with a pair of wins in Southern California and two wins over NCAA Div. 3 opponents. After knocking off Evergreen State in Washington to open league play, EOU fell in double overtime to Northwest University despite a double-double effort from
Ashlee Michelson.
The Mountaineers then went on a four-game tear with wins over ninth-ranked Southern Oregon, 24th-ranked Concordia, and a buzzer beating win at Warner Pacific on New Year's Eve.
Kyle Miller put back an EOU miss as time expired to beat the Lady Knights in Portland, 54-52.
The four straight wins set up a clash with rival, The College of Idaho, for sole ownership of the conference lead. In a defensive battle with the lead never larger than six points, EOU fell 47-43, despite leading at halftime, 23-20.
Eastern Oregon rebounded to win its next three games and stay near the top of the conference standings. The Mountaineers dominated Northwest Christian in La Grande on 70's night in Quinn Coliseum. EOU hit a new school record, 15 three-pointers, on the Beacons. Eastern finished 56 percent from the field and 57 percent from behind the perimeter.
EOU made things interested trading wins and losses in its next six games. The Mountaineers closed
the regular season winning six of their final 10 games, and slid from second in the CCC to fourth. A victory over Evergreen State on Senior Night and Pinkzone Weekend to end the regular season schedule secured a home postseason game for the seventh consecutive season.
On a wild night in the conference, Eastern went from the fourth-highest seed in the conference playoffs to the second-highest courtesy of a couple upsets. The Mountaineers defeated Oregon Tech in the quarterfinals and found out they would host a semifinal game after the two and three seeds each were upset at home.
In a game with national implications, Eastern Oregon defeated Corban College in a winner goes to the national tournament game. After College of Idaho locked up its bid to the national tournament with a berth in the conference championships, the winner of the second league semifinal claimed the conference's other automatic bid.
Kyle Miller led four Mountaineer double-digit scorers with 18 points. Both teams got off to a slow start, Corban shot 30 percent in the first half and Eastern shot 28 percent. But, the semifinalists got things going in the second half. The Warriors finished shooting 43 percent, while EOU was 40 percent from the field in the game.
The Warriors had their last lead with 6:21 remaining in the first half, 17-16. The Mountaineers closed the half on a 12-4 run and led at halftime, 28-21. A 15-6 run to open the second half gave EOU a commanding 43-27 lead with 15:46 remaining in regulation. Corban came within eight points of Eastern with 6:46 left in the game, 53-45, but would come no closer.
The 2010 Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament Championship game lived up to its billing as top-seeded College of Idaho held off fourth-seeded Eastern Oregon, 70-67. In a game that featured seven lead changes, four ties, and the lead never larger than single digits, the 20th ranked Lady Yotes captured the CCC tournament title for the first time in Regan Rossi's nine-year helm as head coach.
The Mountaineers drew the nation's fifth-ranked team, Black Hills State University, in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half leading by as many as 18 points and 20 points just into the second half. Eastern then rallied closing the margin to four points with an
Alyssa Garro three-pointer with six minutes remaining.
EOU would come no closer however. BHSU spread the lead with a 9-2 run and ended up winning, 67-58.
Tana Stickney was the lone Mountaineer to score in double figures with 10 points. The senior also lead Eastern with eight rebounds.
Ashlee Michelson concluded her EOU career with a team-high four assists.
Stickney would be named to the All-Conference team, and
Kathleen Luce was named an Academic All-American. Miller and Michelson were each All-Conference honorable mention. Eastern finished 8-0 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field this season. 12 different players were scoring leaders in a game this season. EOU is 53-15 over the past five seasons in Quinn Coliseum.
Salena Leavitt scored in double figures 32 times during her career at Eastern.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Like the women's team, the Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team ...
The rest of the men's basketball recap will be released Wednesday.
