Salem, OR – On opening night of their 2025-26 regular season campaign, the #18 Lady Firestorm fell to the Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon 57-66 on day one of the Hampton Inn Classic hosted by Corban University (OR).  The team was led in scoring and rebounding by senior post player Emily Till who recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Taylor Schwab tallied 15 points to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
 
The Lady Firestorm got off to a hot start in quarter one and raced out to an early 18-7 lead.  Till scored ten of those points on 4-4 shooting and anchored the defense which held the Mountaineers to eighteen percent shooting.  Till's strong play carried over into the second quarter, and she received help from Schwab who scored six points of her own.  The Mountaineers though, also found their shooting touch, and got a spark off the bench from Reigha Niemeyer and Mya Alvarado to win the quarter and cut the Firestorm lead down to nine going into half time.
 
The third quarter is where the tide turned, and the Mountaineers would outscore the Firestorm 20-6.  Again, it was the bench play of Niemeyer and Alvarado who both re-entered the game at the 8:00 mark with their team down seven and sparked the comeback by hitting back-to-back three pointers.  It was two Niemeyer free throws at the end of the third which put the Mountaineers up five points entering the final frame.
 
In a competitive fourth the quarter that saw more scoring from the Lady Firestorm, the team was unable to stop the Mountaineers at the other end who once again scored 20 points and gradually pulled away for the final advantage.
 
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