EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University seniors were unable to put a cap on their final regular season with a victory on Saturday night, falling to Oregon Tech, 62-43. Luckily for the Beacons they will have one more game at home as they will host a quarterfinal game in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament on Tuesday.
 
The Owls played starter-heavy in fighting for the key conference win as all five starters averaged 32 minutes of playing time and accounted for all but six of their points. Leading the way was Megan Whetstone with 22 points, adding a pair of blocks. Ashleigh Vandenbrink hit four crucial second-half three-pointers as the Owls began to pull away and finished with 12 points. Karly Leveque scored ten points and had seven assists while Carly McIsaac led the way with a game-high seven rebounds. OIT shot 39.7% from the field and out-rebounded the Beacons 44-36.
 
NCU's reserves outscored the OIT bench 25-6, led by a team-high 12 points from Hanna Mack. Senior night didn't come with any standout performances from the veterans, but Chandler Gabrio did find the bottom of the net for a three-pointer and scored seven points.
 
Head Coach Heath Alexander said, "We didn't have our best effort of the season tonight, but I'm glad that our seniors will still have one more chance to play before their home fans and put this one behind them."
 
The Beacons finish the regular season at 18-11, equaling the most wins in school history. Their school-record 13 conference wins were good enough to end the year alone in fourth place, and they will host fifth-place Corban University in the CCC tourney opener on Tuesday.
 
Oregon Tech had all the cards fall in the right places on Saturday to move up to the No. 2 seed. At 23-7, 16-4 in conference, the Owls ended up tied with Eastern Oregon for second place, but claimed the tiebreaker for the better seed. OIT plays host to Warner Pacific on Tuesday.