PORLTLAND, Ore. – After opening Cascade Collegiate Conference play with three home games, the Multnomah University women's basketball team is still searching for their first ever conference win after falling to Northwest University 75-59 to close out the weekend on Saturday on Jim Skagen Court.
 
With the loss, the Lions drop to 2-8, 0-3 CCC, on the year while the Eagles improve to 5-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
 
How it Happened: After hitting 13 three-pointers last night, the Lions struggled from deep hitting only 3-of-21 against Northwest. The Eagles scored the first five points of the night before an 8-0 run gave the Lions a quick lead.
 
Neither team gained an advantage in the opening quarter as MU's Valerie Wakefield hit a layup in the final minute to lead 14-11 heading into the second quarter.
 
Northwest took their first big lead in the second quarter, going up by 10 points after scoring eight straight points to make it 40-30 with just under a minute to play in the first half.
 
The Eagles dominated the boards, finishing the night with a 50-39 rebounding advantage while committing 15 turnovers compared to MU's 20.
 
The Lions began to close the gap in the third quarter, making in a two-point game, 44-42, with 4:01 left on the clock. After that, the rest of the game went for the Eagles as they built a 13-point lead halfway through the final quarter, before ending with the largest lead of the night, 75-59.
 
Key Performers: Senior guard Lexie Govert returned to her spot as the top scorer, tallying 18 points while shooting 60 percent from the field. Following her was Miranda Schmillen with 12 points while Lacie Kamper totaled 13 rebounds on the night.
 
For the Eagles, Brianna Fiso and Charmaine Bradford led the way with 15 and 10 points respectively while Jordan Asher and Kristen Frey tallied seven rebounds apiece.
 
From the Coach: "The thing I love about our team is that we have different people step up every night," said head coach Tim Bieri. "This was a great week for us even though the record doesn't show all of the progress that we've made. Their press gave us a lot of trouble and we struggled from the perimeter tonight but I'm looking forward to having the girls get some rest and come ready to get back at things next week."
 
Coming up Next: The Lions will take a break from conference play next week as they host NCAA Division III Linfield College on Saturday on Jim Skagen Court.