PORTLAND, Ore. - In Multnomah's penultimate home game of the season it was the Lions who came up short, struggling to get any sort of foothold in their 81-54 loss against the visiting Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers.

The visitors outscored the hosts 42-25 in the first half, jumping out to an eight point lead after a 6-0 run early in the first quarter. Despite the early deficit, the Lions were able to stay within five of the Mounties thanks to a layup from Jersey Huerta in the final seconds of the period. It was all EOU as the half continued, with the visitors extending their lead over Multnomah to 17 heading into the halftime interval thanks to a free throw from Brinley Hagemeier.

The Lions were unable to come within less than 11 of the visitors for the duration of the contest, with Eastern Oregon fully taking control of the contest out of the halftime break. A three-pointer from Morgan Watkins in the final minute gave the Mounties their biggest lead of the night, with a 32-point advantage over the Lions. The visitors completely out-shot the Lions from the field and from three-point range, while also narrowly controlling the boards tonight, pulling in 28 rebounds to Multnomah's 26. 

Despite the heavy loss, freshman guard Huerta recorded game-highs of 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals to remain the leading scorer in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Senior forward Gracie Browning matched Huerta in rebounds and steals while adding 14 points on the night, while fellow forward Leiah Naeata added 10 points and a team-high three assists.

The Lions will host their final home game in program history tomorrow afternoon, as they welcome the College of Idaho Yotes for a 3:00 pm tip-off at Jim Skagen Court.