Box Score EUGENE, Ore. – A stellar defensive effort in the second quarter had Multnomah University within one point of 16
th-ranked Northwest Christian University at the half, but the upset-minded Lions saw their shooting touch vanish in the second half as the host Beacons escaped with a 71-50 Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball win Saturday evening here at the Morse Event Center.
Both teams were on target in the first quarter as the Beacons shot .529 (9-17) from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, and scored 29 points, but the Lions kept themselves in the game by hitting .462 (6-13) with a trio of threes while scoring 18 points. Niki Duncan had almost half of NCU's first-period markers, sinking four threes on the way to 14 points, as the Beacons built a 15-point lead of 25-10, but
Faith Kraatz poured in nine straight points off the bench for the Lions to give the visitors a chance.
The Beacons were up 36-23 after a jumper by Morgan McKinney midway through the second period, but the Lions battened down the hatches and held NCU scoreless the rest of the way. NCU missed its last nine shots of the period and finished with a .167 percentage (3-18). Meanwhile, the Lions reeled off 12 unanswered points of their own, capped by three-pointers from
Bethany George and
Tiara Chinn, that cut the score to 36-35 at the break.
Multnomah went cold to start the third quarter, however, while Northwest Christian rediscovered its accuracy. The Lions missed their first seven shots while the Beacons went on a 12-1 run, sparked by four straight baskets from defending CCC Player of the Week Anamaria Virjoghe, to go up 48-36 with 3:13 to go in the quarter. NCU led 58-42 entering the fourth quarter and stretched its lead to as many as 23 in the final period as the Lions could muster only 15 points total in the second half.
--- By the Numbers: Kraatz led all scorers with 19 points for the Lions and also picked up four steals. George just missed double digits with nine points as the Lions wound up shooting .364 (20-55) from the field.
Paris Sanders collared six rebounds, and
Valerie Wakefield contributed four assists.
Virjoghe had 18 points, Duncan 15, and McKinney 10 for the Beacons, who shot .403 (25-62). McKinney's seven rebounds helped NCU to a big 50-28 advantage on the boards. Katerina Brejchova had four assists and four steals, while Virjoghe posted three blocks.
Multnomah is now 1-25 overall and 1-15 in the conference, while Northwest Christian is 19-3, equaling its school record for wins in a season, and 12-3 in the league.
--- Next: Multnomah returns home to host the College of Idaho Friday at 5:30 p.m. … Northwest Christian goes to the Oregon Institute of Technology Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. CCC game … Each will be followed by CCC men's games, Multnomah and C of I at 7:30 p.m. and NCU-OIT at 6:00 p.m.
