GREAT FALLS — Providence's women defeated Eastern Oregon 67-57 in the opening round of the NAIA tournament on Friday. Providence freshman Keanna Salave’a led the Argos to victory with 35 points and seven rebounds.
The second-seeded Argos didn’t have a walk in the park against the No. 15 seeded Mountaineers. After the opening quarter of play, Eastern Oregon led the hosts 17-16. Providence got its largest lead of the first half at 29-24 after a layup by Salave’a.
Eastern’s Macie Elliott drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to end the half and put the Mountaineers ahead 32-31. The Argos had a rare bad half, giving away the ball nine times but was able to stay in the game thanks to 16 first-half points from Salave’a.
Providence flipped a switch in the second half. The Argos went ahead by as much as 10 and outscored Eastern 19-10 in the third quarter to hold a 50-42 lead going into the fourth. The Argos gained a 15-point lead in the fourth and never let it fall under eight from there.
Providence will move on to Saturday’s second round game against the winner of Reinhardt and Arizona Christian at 5 p.m.
