EUGENE, Ore. – Behind a career-high 22 points from Aleah Lowber and a defense that forced 23 turnovers, the College of Idaho picked up a wire-to-wire 65-57 road victory at Northwest Christian, inside the Morse Events Center.
Lowber connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers on the night, including a triple in a 10-2 run to start the game, and adding five-straight points late in the period to give the Lady Yotes (6-12, 5-4 CCC) a 31-22 lead at the break.
Brittany Wirth and Lowber combined to score the first 18 points of the second half, helping C of I build a 21-point lead. Lowber drained two 3's, sandwiched around a pair of Wirth lay-ups to push the lead to 41-28. Both players added a triple and a free throw, with the margin extending to 49-28 with 13:17 left.
The Beacons (7-10, 3-6) would not fold, holding the Yotes without a made field goal over the final five minutes of the contest. Hannah Frederick scored seven of her team-high 12 points in the late run, cutting the gap to 63-53 with just over two minutes remaining – but the NCU comeback ran out of time.
Elisha Hensey had 19 points, seven rebounds, and five steals in the victory, with Wirth scoring 12 points with eight rebounds. C of I had a 37-36 edge in rebounds, including 19 offensive boards.
Breanna Schmidt had 12 points for the Beacons in the home loss, with Chandler Gabrio scoring seven points and adding six rebounds. NCU was outscored 14-5 at the foul line on the night.
C of I returns home next Friday, hosting league-leading Southern Oregon at 5:30 p.m. as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Weekend.
