Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. - The Evergreen State College broke a tie with about 13 minutes remaining and went on to defeat host Warner Pacific, 59-51, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball game played Friday night at Bart Valentine Court.
The Geoducks, now 14-8 overall and 8-7 in the conference, assured themselves of a postseason playoff berth while also strengthening their grip on fourth place with the victory. They moved one game ahead of fifth-place Oregon Tech, which is 7-8 and had the night off. Warner Pacific is now 10-17 overall and 3-12 in the conference.
Natasha Trinidad led the Geoducks in scoring for the second straight game, pouring in 17 points, while
LaNiecia Weatherspoon added 14 and
Randi Boseman 10.
Sadee Jones scored nine points and led both teams in rebounding with 11.
"It was a valiant team effort. We struggled in the first half and didn't execute our game plan," Evergreen head coach
Jennifer Schooler said. "They turned around in the second half and did the things we normally do; get ourselves to the line, finish our buckets, rebound, and most importantly, play together."
Evergreen got out to a quick start and led by as many as 10 points in the opening half, the final time at 23-13 on a
Uriah Thomas layup with 8:55 on the clock. The host Knights scored the next eight consecutive points and with 27 seconds left in the period took their first lead of the game, 31-28, on a three-point shot by Daesha Jackson.
The teams traded baskets and the lead several times in the opening minutes of the second half before Trinidad tied the game at 37-37 with a free throw at the 13:36 mark. In its next three possessions the Geoducks got a free throw from Boseman, two more from Jones and a layup from Trinidad to take a 42-37 advantage. Jackson later hit another three-pointer to pull the home team within one point with 5:30 to play, but the Geoducks were able to pull away over the closing minutes.
Evergreen shot 42 percent (20-for-48) from the field, which is right at its season average, and ended the game with 11 assists and eight steals. Weatherspoon paced the team with four assists and Trinidad had three steals.
Jackson hit four three-pointers to lead her team with 14 points, while Lindsay Loe tallied 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. After shooting 52 percent in the first period Warner Pacific went cold from the field in the final half, going 6-for-30 for 20 percent. The Knights shot 34 percent overall and just 24 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Evergreen returns to conference action at 5:30 Saturday night with another road game, this one against the Concordia Cavaliers.
