Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – Needing a victory to secure the final berth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball tournament, The Evergreen State College instead came up just short in an 83-75 defeat to the host Multnomah Lions.

Though the teams ended up tied for eighth place in the conference standings, the Lions (8-20 overall, 6-14 CCC) make it into the playoffs by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over the Geoducks (7-20, 6-14).

The result seemed little in double at the midway point of the third quarter when the Lions took their largest lead of the game at 24 points, 57-33. Evergreen made it interesting down to the final buzzer, however, putting together a furious fourth quarter rally that saw it pull to within three points, 76-73, on Autumn Moorcroft's steal and layup with 43 seconds to play.

Multnomah's leading scorer, Miranda Schmillen, responded 20 seconds later with a three-point play, and both Schmillen and Valerie Wakefield knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds as the Lions held off the Geoducks.

The Lions shot nearly 58 percent in building a 41-27 halftime lead, and they ended up at 53 percent for the game on 31-for-58 accuracy. They were especially sharp from beyond the three-point line, hitting nine of their 19 attempts, and they also held a 37-34 edge in rebounding.

Schmillen scored 27 points and added three assists and three steals to lead the Lions, who also got 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds from Lacie Kamper.

Moorcroft, one of two Evergreen seniors playing her final game, scored 10 of her team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead the team's late surge. Corina Tacardon hit a trio of three pointers on her way to 14 points, while Zaria Jones added 13 points and five assists. Evergreen's other senior, Gabi Fenumiai, closed out her collegiate career with seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Geoducks shot 41 percent overall (28-for-68) but just 25 percent (5-for-20) from beyond the three-point line.