EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell Beacons came searching for their first win in their four-game home stretch on Friday night. In their toughest matchup of the season, they fell short to 14th-ranked Eastern Oregon, losing their third straight home game, 64-54.
Despite the loss, the women fought hard from start to finish. They held Eastern Oregon to just 14 percent shooting from the field in the first quarter, including 10 percent from the three. Bushnell attacked the paint heavily in the first half, as it scored 18 out of its first 26 points in the paint.
It still wasn’t enough to stop Eastern Oregon. The Mountaineers held onto the 30-26 lead from the first half and never let go. They forced seven turnovers in the second half against the Beacons, made 11 trips to the line putting Bushnell in foul trouble, and improved their shooting from beyond the arc to 23 percent by the end of the game.
Kali Kast led in scoring for Eastern Oregon with 15 points. Her teammate, Haylee Johnson, helped with 13 points while Kelsie Siegner put up 11 points. The Mountaineers had three players who put up double-digit points.
As for Bushnell, Kenzie Pederson was its leading scorer with 10 points. She also shot an efficient 71 percent from the field, and was the only player to reach double-digits for the Beacons.
Both teams are entering the last three games of the season before the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament starts.
The Beacons will play one last home game on Saturday night as they’ll honor their seniors. Eastern Oregon will play its last road game of the season against Corban University on Saturday night before finishing its last two games of the regular season at home. Both teams are looking to close out the regular season strong, going into the tournament.