LA GRANDE, Ore. – A quick start by Eastern Oregon was the difference in tonight's I-84 rivalry women's basketball match-up with College of Idaho, as the Mountaineers earned a 62-47 win at Quinn Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (15-7, 12-2) won their seventh-straight game, despite a big night from C of I's Sienna RIggle.
EOU jumped to a 12-2 lead just six minutes into the contest and pushed the margin to 25-8 at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter on a Sailor Liefke jumper. The Coyotes (13-9, 7-7) pulled within 27-15 following a
Lexi Mitchell triple and a
Taryn Riley jumper, but the hosts extended the margin to 33-19 at the half.
The Mounties continued the attack, growing the lead to 54-35 early in the fourth quarter, before Riggle scored five points and Riley added a pair of buckets in a 12-2 run, cutting the gap to single digits. However, EOU converted 6-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to close out the win.
Riggle led the Coyotes with 18 points, adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Riley scored 10 with three assists and Mitchell posted seven points and seven rebounds.
Liefke scored a game-high 19 points for the Mounties, who had a 41-30 rebound edge and won despite making a mere 3-of-13 shots from 3-point range.
C of I returns to action this weekend for home dates against Corban and Bushnell.
