LA GRANDE, Ore.  – After beginning the weekend just a half game out of fourth place, NCU finds themselves in seventh after an 81-50 loss to Eastern Oregon University. The Beacons did, however, qualify for the CCC playoffs on Saturday night.
 
The Mountaineers were led by a game-high 23 points by Maya Ah You. Ah You was 6-for-10 shooting the ball including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Kassy Larson followed with 19 points and she collected a game-high eight rebounds. Madeline Laan and Airashay Rogers followed with 15 points and 14 points, respectively.
 
Chandler Gabrio was the lone Beacon in double-figures on the night as she scored 14 points and six rebounds. Allie Kelsey (pictured) followed with nine points. NCU shot 35% in the contest and was victimized by 22 turnovers and a 42-30 rebounding discrepancy.
 
The Mountaineers' offense was off to a fast start against Northwest Christian as they scored the first six points of the game and were ahead 10-2 after four and a half minutes. The Beacons cut the deficit down to three, 12-9 after a Gabrio 3-pointer, but EOU took control again and gradually grew their advantage to 20 points. Eastern took a 42-22 lead into halftime.
 
The Mountaineers wasted no time extending their lead in the second half. Over the first three minutes of the half, EOU increased their lead to 26 points, 52-26, after a Rogers fast break layup. EOU led by as leads 20 points for the remainder of the contest and were ahead by as many as 34.
 
EOU shot 47% from the floor and were 14-for-16 at the free-throw line. Both teams shot 7-for-20 from three-point range as Kelsey led the Beacons with three triples.
 
The Beacons (11-14, 7-10 CCC) will close out the regular season next week with a single game, facing Corban University in Salem on Saturday night. The Beacons know they will be traveling in the first round of the playoffs but they will not know their destination until after the dust settles on Saturday night. The C of I and Oregon Tech are currently 7-9 in conference play while Concordia is just behind the Beacons at 6-10.