>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

DOWN AND OUT: Sheena Henderson had 21 points Tuesday night for the No. 1-seeded Mounties, who will be idle until the March 12 NAIA Division II National Tournament opening round in Sioux City, Iowa. - The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER

“Are we here to win or to tie?”

 Simple, right?

That was answered 11 times by EOU at Quinn Coliseum this season. Thirteen more times on the road. Twenty four in total, leading to a conference championship.

Here to win?

Here to lose.

Cascade College answered coach Matt Murphy, stunning an all-white wearing EOU crowd, and its players, leaving with a 67-66 Cascade Conference Tournament opening upset.

So much for home-court advantage. So much for winning that fifth straight conference title. So much for sending Cascade home like the rest of the Mounties victims this season — defeated, demolished, devoured.

Cascade? Yes, Cascade. The No. 8 seed. The team who trailed by 17 points in the second half, but then left here shocking Eastern Oregon, leaving it out of this Cascade Conference Tournament

altogether.

One and done? One and done.

And this one may sting until that plane leaves for the NAIA national tournament.

Loss of memory?

“I can’t put it into words,” EOU coach Anji Weissenfluh said afterward, standing in the Quinn Coliseum hallway as gleeful Thunderbirds passed by, wearing this shocking upset all over their faces.

“I don’t know if I’m mad ... angry ... disappointed ...

“I think frustrated might be the key.”

Did EOU forget it was the No. 1 seed? That it has been here before? That Cascade has never won a playoff game? Never?

EOU led by 17 points with 14 minutes left, looking ready for semifinal action Friday.

Here was Breana Olson, crashing the net out of nowhere, rebounding, dishing to Sheena Henderson — up, in, two points. Here was Henderson again, faking left, exploding right, up and under with precision — up, in, two more.

But then it all evaporated.

The Mounties forgot who they were. And so did Cascade.

See-saw excitement

EOU became tight. Fell out of rhythm. And little by little, Cascade creeped back in, powered by a player who was virtually non-existent in the opening half.

Raquel Morin.

Here she was, running, shooting, banking a billiards-like shot off the glass, getting it to somehow roll inside the rim— with English — for a 62-61 lead with 2:15 left.

Here she was again, driving, drawing a foul, then sinking both free throws, extending that lead to three points.

That three-point lead dwindled to one (64-63), when Henderson hit two free throws with 1:01 left. Then Cascade committed an offensive foul, and here was EOU, with a chance to take back the lead.

It did.

Thanks to Salena Leavitt.

Less than a half minute remained now, and the EOU sophomore cut down the baseline, put the ball of the glass, received an official’s whistle, then watched it drop in.

One-point lead!

She thumped into Elise Hawes. She was thumped by Olson. She heard the crowd give its loudest cheer of the night — then she hit the ensuing free throw, giving EOU a 66-64 advantage with 16.8 seconds left, drawing an even larger roar.

But one possession remained.

And someone forgot to remind EOU about — as Weissenfluh put it — “elementary school defense.”

Ice-filled veins

Down two points, an all-white crowd roaring, slamming hands against mats, chanting “DE-FENSE,” shot clock saying, “tick .. tick ... tick ...” like a bomb ready to detonate?

No problem.

None of it was.

Cascade junior Phieban Mulatu went into the corner, down to the baseline, then made a cross-court “how-did-she-see-that” pass atop the 3-point line, right to Morin.

Not her, right?

Her.

The balance of this crazy contest sat in her palms.

She looked. She jumped.  She released.

She drained it in off the rim with 6.5 seconds left.

Cascade 67, EOU 66.

EOU fans gasped. Cascade bench players exploded. And Morin had that “We came in here and did the unthinkable” look on her face, arms outstretched in mid air, copycating the referee signal.

Her again? Her again.

And EOU was down to its last opportunity.

One more chance

The ensuing inbound came into Jenny Fiso at halfcourt. She cut to the middle, she cut to the corner, she cut to the baseline.

Earlier in this game, she went to this same spot, made the same cut, and sunk it twice.

But that was earlier.

This was crunch time.

And this time, Fiso found the corner of the rim, not the inside.

But wait. Here came the rebound, right to Henderson. Her spot. In the paint. Her favorite spot.

But here came a Cascade hand, then another, and her shot was contested.

There went the horn.

There went Eastern, too.

And no whistle blew, either.

Game over.

“There was a foul,” Weissenfluh said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind.

“But it wasn’t the officials fault why we lost. It doesn’t come down to one possession.

“We had a (17) point lead.”

One and done.

Inexcusable meltdown

When you lead by 17 points with 14 minutes left, when you have yet to lose at home all season — all while, 72 hours earlier, you were cutting down nets, celebrating a conference championship — well, this cannot happen.

We still have “an automatic bid to the National tournament,” an EOU assistant coach said near the scorer’s table.

Well, Roger Clemens is innocent on perjury charges for the time being, too. In other words, we’ll see what happens.

No home game Friday. No home game Monday.

One and done.

In fairness to the Mounties, leading scorer Tiffanie Ulmer was out with an injured calf suffered in practice Monday. It could be strained, it could be torn, and an MRI will determine her fate. Hopefully for EOU, she is healthy and back soon. It will need her.

But does one player beat five? Does one player make up for this 17-point collapse?

“Would it have been easier? Yes. Is she a huge part of our success?  Yes,” Weissenfluh said.

“But we didn’t get it done.

“That’s the frustrating part.”

That’s the concerning part, too. And this loss is not a good thing to carry on your shoulders for two more weeks, right until that flight leaves the runway for Sioux City, Iowa.

One and done? One and done.

CASCADE COLLEGE (67)

Swain 1-6 2-2 5, Morin 3-7 3-4 10, Mulatu 2-3 0-0 5, Aranui 13-23 6-9 32, Russell 4-10 2-2 11, Clark 1-1 0-0 2, Stone 0-1 0-0 0, Layton 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 24-51 15-19 67.

EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY (66)

Leavitt 4-14 6-6 14, Olson 0-6 2-2 2, Fiso 5-9 0-0 11, Henderson 8-15 5-12 21, Hawes 5-9 0-0 12, Garro 0-0 0-0 0, Turner 1-2 0-0 2, Matson 2-5 0-1 4. Totals 25-60 13-21 66.

Halftime score – Eastern Oregon 31, Cascade 27. Three-pointers – Cascade 4-10 (Swaine 1-5, Morin 1-1, Mulatu 1-1, Russell 1-3), Eastern Oregon 3-9 (Olson 0-2, Fiso 1-2, Hawes 2-4, Turner 0-1). Fouled out – None. Total fouls – Cascade 18, Eastern Oregon 16. Technical fouls – None. Turnovers – Cascade 15, Eastern Oregon 14. Rebounds – Cascade 30 (Aranui 9), Eastern Oregon 38 (Henderson/Hawes 10). Assists – Cascade 17 (Swain/Mulatu 4), Eastern Oregon 18 (Leavitt/Fiso 5).