PORTLAND, Ore. –
Kaylee Krusemark scored a career-high 23 points, including eight points in a game-changing third quarter run, leading the College of Idaho to a key 73-69 road win at Multnomah University inside Jim Skagen Court.
The Yotes (9-8, 7-4 CCC) forced a season-high 33 turnovers in the victory, improving to 7-0 all-time against the Lions.
MU (9-10, 5-6) led 41-36 early in the third quarter, but Krusemark took over in a five-minute stretch, as C of I used the 18-2 run to take control of the contest.
Mackenzie Royce converted a lay-up and
Alyssa Case scored on a free throw and 3-pointer to give C of I the lead. Four
Jocelyn Cook-Cox free throws were bookended by Krusemark 3's, with Krusemark capping the run with an 18-foot jumper to give the visitors a 54-43 lead.
The Lions battled within 71-69 inside the final 30 seconds, but quality free throw shooting by C of I – making 7-of-8 from the stripe in the final period – sealed the victory.
Krusemark made four 3-pointers on the night and finished 5-of-6 from the foul line. Case had 16 points and six rebounds and Cook-Cox scored 10 with a team-best nine rebounds. All 10 players that saw action in the game scored for the Yotes, with the team holding a 45-41 rebound margin.
The first half featured a series of runs – as the Coyotes scored the first six points of the night, before 3's from Bethany George and Sequoia Wheeler keyed an 8-point run by the Lions. Case drained a triple in an 8-1 run to build C of I a 14-9 lead, only to watch Wheeler connect on three-straight 3's in a 17-4 run, giving the hosts a 26-18 lead – with MU holding a 36-34 halftime edge.
Wheeler led all players with 29 points and Paris Sanders had 12 points and 10 rebounds for MU in the loss. The Lions made five of their first six 3-pointers, but converted just 3-of-13 the rest of the evening.
C of I returns to the court on Friday, hosting Northwest Christian at 5:30 p.m.
