EUGENE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University answered a double-digit deficit by using a 17-2 run through the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter to earn a 65-58 win over host Bushnell University in Saturday's Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball game.
 
The Beacons (10-6, 7-4 CCC) grabbed their largest lead of the afternoon, 44-34, with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter before the No. 16 Mountaineers (15-2, 10-1) used a 10-2 run to bring their deficit to just two points, 46-44, at the end of the period. The period finished with a Halle Wright three at the buzzer. The Mounties extended their run to 17-2 to go up 51-46 with 6:51 to go in the contest and carried the lead the rest of the way.
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "We played so hard and executed everything we wanted to for about 33 minutes tonight. In the last two minutes of the third quarter and first two minutes of the fourth quarter, we gave up all our good fortune. All the shots we were making in the third, we stopped making in the fourth then we stopped getting good shots. You can't do that against a team as good as Eastern Oregon. You have to finish them, keep that ball moving and make them work and we didn't quite finish it tonight."
 
"It wasn't from a lack of effort or lack of fight," Meadors added. "We did a great job of not turning the ball over, but we just got to figure out how to not have that four-minute lapse. We have to keep going and figure out how to put some wins together."
 
Bushnell, who committed just 13 turnovers, turned 25 Mountaineer turnovers into 24 points. As a team, the Beacons shot 33.3% from the floor, making 2-of-17 from beyond the arc and shot 10-for-13 at the free throw line.
 
Haley Hanson posted a career-high 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Bella Pedrojetti finished with 13 points, while Aspen Slifka added nine points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four steals.  
 
The Mountaineers were led by Sailor Liefke's 18 points, and Beverly Slater's 11 points and 22 rebounds. Slater helped the Mounties outrebound the Beacons, 55-34, and finish with a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points. As a team, EOU shot 34.4% from the field, including 5-for-25 from three, and made 18-of-22 free throws.
 
Up next, Bushnell travels to Portland to take on Warner Pacific University (Jan. 20) and Multnomah University (Jan. 21) to open up the second half of conference play.