Box Score WALLA WALLA – The Evergreen State College dominated host Walla Walla in the middle two quarters on Sunday afternoon in garnering a 65-54 Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball victory at Windemuth Court.
In ending an eight-game losing streak, the Geoducks (4-14 overall, 3-8 CCC) rallied from a 19-16 first quarter deficit by outscoring the Wolves in the middle two quarters, 40-15. That gave the Geoducks plenty of cushion to hold off a final push by Walla Walla, which won the final quarter, 20-9.
Gabi Fenumiai, who set the Evergreen single-game scoring record of 36 points in a home court win over Walla Walla last season, paced the Geoducks with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Autumn Moorcroft was the team's leading scorer with 20 points, and she also grabbed eight rebounds.
Corina Tacardon added 12 points,
Zaria Jones had 11 points and three assists, and
Kylie Gorton contributed eight rebounds and a team-best five assists to the winning cause.
Evergreen shot 40 percent (29-for-72) from the field and enjoyed a significant 59-38 rebounding advantage.
Leading the way for Walla Walla (2-14, 0-10) was Sierra Briggs with 17 points and eight rebounds and Alyssa Blankenship with 16 points and seven rebounds. The Wolves shot just 31 percent (21-for-67) from the field, including 4-for-20 from three-point range.
Walla Walla raced out to a 12-4 lead at the midway point of the first quarter and stayed on top through the first four minutes of the second period when Moorcroft and Fenumiai each scored four points during a momentum-changing 8-0 Evergreen run.
The Geoducks led at the half, 30-22, and took their first double-digit lead when Fenumiai scored a layup 17 seconds into the third quarter. Moorcroft scored 10 of Evergreen's next 20 points in helping the hosts build a 52-32 lead with 2:45 to play in the third period. That advantage gave the Geoducks plenty of breathing room during a final quarter that saw the Wolves get their deficit under double digits only once at 62-53 with 1:38 to play.
Evergreen returns to action next Friday when it hosts Oregon Tech in Costantino Recreation Center.
