via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
Oregon Tech 93, Multnomah 88
Oregon Tech made 10-straight free throws inside the final 43-seconds of play, as the Lady Owls outlasted a short-handed Multnomah Campus of Jessup University squad, 93-88 at Danny Miles Court, to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Cascade Conference Championships.
OIT (21-6, 17-4 CCC) had four players in double-figures and built a 23-point third quarter lead, but the upstart Lions – playing their second-to-last game in program history – used a furious rally to take a fourth quarter lead, but could not complete an upset win.
For the first two and a half quarters – it was all Lady Owls. Jozie Ramos scored a pair of baskets in a 12-2 first quarter run to give Tech a 16-5 lead six minutes into the game. OIT closed the first half with a flurry, getting two Alexis Elquist jumpers and a buzzer-beating triple from Tatum Schmerbach, extending the Owls lead to 55-34 at the half.
Schmerbach gave OIT their largest lead with an inside basket at 68-45 with four minutes left in the third quarter – but eight turnovers over the next 12 minutes fueled a Lions (7-20, 5-16) run. Makayla Torkornoo hit three 3-pointers, Gracie Browning added another and a 3-point play, with Jersey Huerta scoring 10 points, including a go-ahead runner – capping the 34-9 run – giving MCJU a 79-77 lead with 3:27 to play.
OIT regained the lead on a 3-point play from Ramos and following 4-straight defensive stops – closed the game from the foul line. The Lions, playing with just seven players – had three players disqualified on fouls – ending the game with three players on the floor. It didn’t stop Huerta, who converted consecutive 3’s and Torkornoo added a third to get the club within 91-88. Elquist sealed the win with two free throws with two seconds left.
Schmerbach had 21 points to lead the Lady Owls, with Ramos scoring 18. Anderson scored 14 and Elquist recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds – as Tech made 51% of their field goals and had a 47-28 edge on the glass. The win was the 600th in OIT program history.
Huerta led all scorers with 29 points, Torkornoo had 19 and Browning scored 18 in the loss.
Oregon Tech 80, Warner Pacific 60
Celebrating Senior Day at Danny Miles Court, it was the Oregon Tech sophomores who stole the show, as Jozie Ramos and Tatum Schmerbach combined for 45 points in the Lady Owls 80-60 victory over Warner Pacific.
OIT (22-6, 18-4 CCC) rallied from a slow start, making 67% of their second half field goals to outlast the Knights.
The No. 22-ranked Lady Owls will host Corban in the first-round of the Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
WPU (7-21, 4-18) grabbed the momentum early, as Emily Fortin knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in a 10-0 run to stake the visitors to a 18-8 first quarter edge. The margin grew to 29-17 on an Alexa Mee lay-up – but Ramos scored six-straight points late in the second quarter, followed by a Kennedy Tull 3-ball – pulling Tech with 33-30 at the break.
The Owls surged ahead early in the third quarter, as Maddyson Tull converted twice on the block, Tatum Schmerbach scored off the bounce, and Kennedy Tull capped the 9-0 run with a triple, giving the hosts a 44-37 lead.
Ramos and Schmerbach took over from there – as Ramos scored 13 of the Owls final 15 points in the third quarter to give Tech a 61-52 lead, while Schmerbach scored eight points in a 13-0 fourth quarter run that put the game away.
Ramos scored a career-high 25 points with eight rebounds and Schmerbach had 20 points and seven assists in the victory. The three OIT seniors had quality nights – Maddyson Tull and Kennedy Tull each scored 10 points, with Alexis Elquist scoring six points with eight rebounds – as the Owls outscored WPU 50-27 in the second half.
Fortin led the Knights with 20 points.
