KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A big fourth quarter sent Oregon Tech (17-11, 11-7 CCC) from a five-point deficit to a 14-point advantage on Saturday night at Danny Miles Court, scoring the Owls another Cascade Conference victory against Walla Walla University (3-24, 1-17 CCC).
 
"That was the toughest of games tonight," commented Head Coach Scott Meredith. "Coach Starkebaum has done a tremendous job with his team. We struggled throughout the first half to get anything going offensively and found ourselves down at the break. We took better care of the ball in the second half and found the right combination that got us going. Our team showed a lot of composure throughout and I'm very proud of their effort."
 
Strong defense and poor shooting kept first quarter scoring low. The Wolves shot 1-of-16 at 6.3% while the Owls held only a slight advantage 2-of-13 at 15.4%, when the buzzer rang ending the frame Tech held only a 6-4 advantage.  
 
Things improved in the second as the Lady Owls kicked things off with a 9-2 run to take a sizeable lead. The Wolves struck back with a 10-2 run to cut the advantage to a single point and followed that with an 11-2 run in the final three minutes as Carolina Montes blasted out three long-range baskets, including a buzzer-beater that put Walla Walla ahead 27-25 at the half.
 
The Wolves – invigorated by their successful second – started off the third on a 7-0 run to cement their lead and held the advantage through the stanza. But Oregon Tech was far from done, holding Walla Walla to only five points through the fourth as they scored 24 to win the game.
 
Junior Abby Kreiser led the Owls with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Freshman Makaila Napoleon followed up with 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, and fellow freshman Maddyson Tull tallied another eight points.
 
Montes and Jacqueline Saucedo led the Wolves with 16 points and eight rebounds each. Saucedo also scored the team's only two blocks. Jaliyah Casem added another 10 points to the effort.
 
Tech held a 44-32 rebounding advantage and a 12-8 assisting advantage on the night.
 
The Owls also led 28-18 in the paint and 21-0 from the bench.
 
The Lady Owls are currently tied with Corban University for fourth place in normal-season Cascade Conference play. They will play their final two regular season games next weekend, taking on Warner Pacific University on Friday night during the Black Out for Hunger and Multnomah University Saturday, with both games taking place at 5:30 pm at Danny Miles Court.
 
FOLLOW OREGON TECH ATHLETICS
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube