Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Jordan Buscarini, KOAL Drive Time Sports
Alexandra Olson’s game-high 25 points was enough to lift the USU Eastern Lady Eagles past the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes, 67-61, on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Scenic West Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Lady Eagles held a comfortable lead the majority of the game as they led for all but two minutes. Despite the dominance from USU Eastern, the Coyotes erased a 16-point second half deficit to get within three points with 41 seconds remaining in the game. Timely free throws from Olson along with solid defense helped secure the win.
“They are very talented and tonight was a game of runs,” said head coach Chelsey Warburton. “We struggled a little bit to hit shots late and they managed to capitalize. We did enough to hold on and in the end get the win.”
Facing the Scenic West Athletic Conference player of the year in Destiny Brown, the Lady Eagles used all nine of their available players in a balanced effort. Olson proved to be the difference maker offensively as she connected on 9-13 attempts, including 5-7 from deep to reach 25 points.
“Alex is a shooter and all year I’ve told her that if someone goes under the screens or hands are down to shoot the ball,” said Warburton. “She’s been great all year, but I couldn’t be more happy for her and what she just did for our team.”
Kinlee Toomer again stuffed the stat sheet as she scored 15 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Brooklyn Palmer finished with nine points and 11 boards. Both Maclani Michael and Paulisa Barbosa scored five points off the bench.
As a team, the Lady Eagles shot 38 percent from the field, but 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. USU Eastern also controlled the glass as they out-rebounded Southern Nevada 49-34 overall and 18-10 on offensive boards.
Wednesday’s win propels the Lady Eagles to the conference semifinals against the No. 1 seed College of Southern Idaho Gold Eagles on Friday. Ending SWAC play with just one league loss, which came at the hands of USU Eastern, CSI is currently ranked No. 9 in the country.
“They have great players all around in all spots and their depth is a big deal,” Warburton said when asked about CSI. “I think we match up well with them. I’m excited to play them and the girls are excited as well. We have enough familiarity with them and we are ready to go.”
Friday’s contest is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. Live coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM and at castlecountryradio.com. The live video feed will be available on the Scenic West Athletic Conference Digital Network.