EUGENE, Ore. – Another incredibly strong effort by the Bushnell women's basketball team didn't translate to the win column on Friday night, as the Beacons fell to No. 14 Eastern Oregon University, 64-54.
 
Offense was at a premium in the ball game, especially early as the teams battled to a combined 21% shooting performance in the first quarter, which the Beacons led, 11-10.
 
Trailing 30-26 at the intermission, Bushnell continued to apply pressure in the second half, winning the third quarter to trail just 41-39 heading into the final ten minutes. The Mounties took over in the fourth, finding their offensive rhythm with 53% shooting to pull away and keep their share of the CCC lead with three games remaining.  
 
"We had a winning effort tonight," said Head Coach Chad Meadors, "but obviously we need to score more than 54 points. We had so many positives tonight; ten more points in the paint, beat them on the boards, only turned the ball over 13 times and I thought we were really tough in the post after the first four or five minutes, really adjusting to the physicality. We got the shots that we needed, but just didn't quite hit enough of them when you are playing the team that's in first place in conference."
 
The Beacons (6-19, 4-13) finished the game shooting 38% from the field while earning a 41-39 advantage in rebounds. The Beacons held a 36-26 advantage in the paint. Leading the way for Bushnell was Kenzie Pedersen, scoring a team-high ten points. Ayden Krupke added nine with Maddie Gerhart and Ellis Mastel each scoring eight. Gerhard added a team-high seven rebounds while Mastel led the team with three assists.
 
Eastern Oregon (22-3, 14-3) had three players in double figures, led by 15 points from Kali Kast. Haylee Johnson came of the bench to score 13 points and eight boards while Kelsie Siegner finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and ten rebounds.
 
UP NEXT: The Beacons play their final home game of the season on Saturday, taking on The College of Idaho (18-7, 12-5) at 3:00 pm.