KLAMATH FALLS, OR. — The Oregon Tech Lady Owls (12-4, 5-4) cruised to their 7th straight victory (not including COVID-19 forfeitures) in an 81-46 victory over Walla Walla (1-15, 0-9). After earning a forfeit victory over Lewis-Clark State last night, Tech moves a game over .500 in CCC play for the first time this season.

Following the victory, HC Scott Meredith said: "It was a great team effort tonight and without Abby, Kristin & Courtney, we showed what kind of depth we have. It was a solid defensive effort, we shot the ball well from the perimeter and limited our turnovers to 12. Our bench really stepped up and we are looking forward to playing again."

Oregon Tech 81 Walla Walla University 48

Looking to remain perfect in 2022, Tech stormed out to an early lead and never looked back.

In the opening period, the Lady Owls soared past Walla Walla, outscoring the Lady Wolves 24-12.

The hot start for OIT was credited to lights out shooting as Tech shot 64.3% from the floor, including 100% from behind the arc.

Tech would extend their lead in the second quarter by holding Walla Walla to just 20% shooting in the period. 

After outscoring the Wolves 22-7 in the second, the Lady Owls found themselves with a 46-19 lead at the break.

OIT went on to outscore the Wolves 20-19 in third and 15-10 in the fourth en route to the 33-point victory. 

Tech saw some big minutes off the bench from Kayley Elliott and Jenna Wallace that were essential to their performance.

Tech finished with three players in double figures, highlighted by a big game from Melissa Lee:

Melissa Lee: 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds

Shelby Blodgett: 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four rebounds

Olivia Sprague: 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting with four rebounds

Walla Walla was led by Carolina Montes, who scored 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Tech will return to action next week when they travel to Portland to face Multnomah (3-13, 3-6) on Saturday at 3pm. The Lady Owls were also slated to face Warner-Pacific, but the Knights forfeited due to a 14-day COVID pause.