EUGENE – A last second layup by Darian Mitchell pushed the Umpqua Community College women’s basketball team ahead of top-ranked Lane Community College in a battle for first place in the NWAC South Region Monday night.
The No. 4 ranked UCC women trailed the Titans 78-66 with 5:22 left to play. The RiverHawks finished the game with 13 unanswered points to storm back for a 79-78 victory.
Down by 1. 7 seconds on the clock. On the road playing their conference rival. Winner is crowned league champions … and Umpqua runs “The Crash”. My Lanta!!! @SportsCenter @uccriverhawks #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/P32uIMfVTf
— Brad Stricklin (@_BradStricklin) March 5, 2019
Mitchell received an inbound pass under the RiverHawks’ basket with :08 remaining. She got a clean look and banked in the go ahead basket, giving Umpqua its first lead since the RiverHawks held a 46-45 advantage with 1:11 to play in the first half. Lane got a look at a game-winning shot before the buzzer, but Kylie Guelsdorf missed the layin.
The win gives Umpqua the top-seed from the South Region for the upcoming NWAC tournament. The RiverHawks will square off with North Idaho, the 4-seed from the East Region, in the first round of the tournament on Saturday.
The NWAC championship tournament takes place at the Walt Price Student Fitness Center on the campus of Everett Community College.
Mitchell finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds. Taylor Stricklin added four 3-pointers and 20 points for UCC and Cielo Gonzalez came off the bench to chip in 18 points.
This is the third straight season that coach Dave Stricklin and the UCC women have taken the top spot in the South Region.
