#11 Pioneers End Season for #25 Lady Owls
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SIOUX CITY, Iowa. – Senior Nohea Waiwaiole broke Oregon Tech's all-time school assist record on Friday morning in the Tyson Events Center, but that and her game high score of 25 points were not enough to take the Lady Owls (24-10) to victory over #11 Antelope Valley (26-5), as they fell 81-69 in the Round of 16.
The victory is cause for celebration for UAV, who advanced past the first round for the first time in school history after taking down Morningside University 100-93 on Wednesday. However, for OIT, the loss ends their season and chance at taking the Championship.
The game started favorably for the Owls, as they opened 6-2 to take an early advantage. Though they lost it soon after, the game stayed close with six ties in the first stanza culminating in a 18-18 tie to end the quarter.
The second nearly ended the same, though a last second shot from the Pioneers gave them a 34-32 edge. Antelope Valley entered the third with a 12-2 run as Tylen Price and LaChae McColor each landed two three-pointers.
Tech pushed back in the fourth, dropping UAV's advantage from 12 to just 5 points with an 8-1 run near the end of the stanza, but that was the closest they came as Antelope went 8-for-2 to end the game.
Waiwaiole led OIT in every category, grabbing six rebounds as well as five assists to become the all-time school assisting champion with 411 total assists, beating the previous record of 409.
Sophomore Abby Kreiser followed with 19 points and five rebounds before fouling out, and sophomore Amanda Constantand freshman Courtney Clemmer added six points each.
Samantha Earl and Daizah Pines led the Pioneers with 18 points and six rebounds each, with Earl also notching six assists to lead UAV to a 10-7 assisting edge. Alexia Budd tallied another 14 points for the team.
A lot of action happened at the charity stripe, as each team tallied over 20 fouls over the course of the game, though Antelope Valley took a 30-21 advantage from the free throw line.
Tech forced 19 turnovers while only committing 14 of their own and held a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers.
The Pioneers led in rebounding 42-28.
The Lady Owl's season ends 24-10.
