PORTLAND, Ore. – Tatum Schmerbach posted career-highs with 27 points and 15 rebounds, as Oregon Tech rode a 60-point second half to a 93-86 victory over Multnomah University at Jim Skagen Court.
The Lady Owls (18-2, 12-2 CCC) completed the season sweep of the Lions – with Tech moving one win, or a Northwest loss away from clinching a postseason berth.
The win wasn’t easy – as the Lions (5-16, 2-13) used a 15-4 run – aided by a long 3-pointer from Savannah Huerta and a 3-point play from Kaela Stonebarger – taking a 30-21 second quarter lead.
The visitors responded in a big way – spanning the two quarters with a 26-4 run to take control of the game. Olivia Sprague gave Tech a 33-32 lead at the break with a buzzer-beating 25-footer, adding a trio of triples in the third quarter, along with three Alexis Elquist buckets, to give Tech a 47-34 lead.
Schmerbach, who had 15 first half points, gave OIT their largest lead of the night with a fourth quarter put-back bucket at 74-53 – with the Lady Owls withstanding seven fourth quarter 3-pointers from MU to earn the road win.
OIT finished the night 53-percent from the field and had a commanding 52-27 edge on the glass. Schmerbach was 11-of-18 from the floor, adding two assists and a steal. Sprague also logged a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Kennedy Tull scored 15 and Elquist posted 14 points and seven boards.
Huerta led all scorers with 24 points, with Marin Abe scoring a season-high 19 points off the bench.
Tech closes out a 4-game road trip tomorrow afternoon with a 3 p.m. match-up at Warner Pacific.
