EUGENE – The streak has come to an end for the No. 1 ranked Umpqua women. The Lady RiverHawks suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday, snapping a 27-game winning streak. The No. 3 ranked Lane Titans got some revenge for an earlier overtime loss to UCC by defeating Umpqua 86-79 in Eugene.
The RiverHawks dominated many facets of the game, such as shooting perentage, rebounding, points in the paint, and second chance points, but UCC committed 32 turnovers, which led to 36 points for the Titans.
A 9-2 run to start the second quarter put Lane in front for good. Umpqua managed to rally from a 14-point deficit midway through the third quarter to get back to within two points with less than five minutes to play, but the RiverHawks just couldn’t make the shot to go back in front.
Lane had given Umpqua a number of issues the first time the two teams met on Jan. 31. Umpqua trailed much of the game at home, but rallied to tie the contest at the end of regulation. In overtime, the RiverHawks pulled ahead for a 78-73 victory. This time around, Lane didn’t let up against UCC.
Sarah Hall scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures for the Titans. Sierra Carrier added 17 points off the bench.
Umpqua was led by Bria Thames with 21. She added a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. UCC’s bigs, Jordan Stotler and Dajanay Powell, combined to score 33 points, but they both fouled out.
The UCC women can still win the South Region title and claim the region’s top seed for the playoffs with a win in the regular season finale against last place Clark on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.