COMING UP: The Evergreen State College (5-5 overall, 3-3 CCC) hosts Eastern Oregon University (14-2, 7-0) on Friday and College of Idaho (1-10, 1-4) on Saturday night in Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball contests. Both games start at 5:30 p.m. inside Costantino Recreation Center.
FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen fans unable to attend home games can follow the Geoducks via live stats and a pay-per-view video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/.
ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: This has been a season of streaks for Evergreen, currently on a three-game skid which followed a five-game winning streak that came after two losses to open the regular season. Freshman point guard Jahpera McEachin is having an outstanding year with averages of 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. She is among the national free throw percentage leaders, hitting 90.0 percent of her shots. Junior forward Cayla Jones averages 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and shots 81.7 percent from the foul line, while junior guard Alexcis Higginbotham averages 12.0 points and 6.1 boards per contest. Junior forward Deidra Miller has come off the bench in all 10 games to average 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The Geoducks rank third in NAIA Division II women's basketball with 79.8 percent accuracy at the foul line. For the season, Evergreen averages 67.1 points and allows 66.7, but it is negative 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 turnovers per game.
ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS: Eastern Oregon comes to Costantino Rec Center with an eight-game winning streak and the No. 8 ranking in the latest NAIA Division II Top 25. The top-shooting free throw team in the country at 85.6 percent, Eastern Oregon also ranks second nationally in three-point shooting at 40.2 percent. Junior guard Maya Ah You-Dias leads a talented crew with 16.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.7 percent from three-point range and 95.1 percent at the foul line. Other standouts include senior forward Stormee Van Belle with 13.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, junior guard Maren Herrud with 11.7 points per game and 49.3 percent accuracy from beyond the arc, and guard Reece Bauer with 4.4 assists per game. The Mountaineers create mismatches on the floor with their height and as a result average 18.0 points and 8.9 rebounds more than their opponents per game. They also lead the conference with 17.9 assists per game.
RECENT RESULTS: Eastern Oregon has a 19-game winning streak over Evergreen with the last Geoducks victory coming by a 67-63 score on Feb. 16, 2008.
ABOUT THE COYOTES: College of Idaho, which plays at Northwest University on Friday night, is off to a slow start at 1-10, though nine of those games have come against ranked opponents. Junior guard Alyssa Case averages 14.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Lindy Westendorf is the rebounding leader at 6.7 per contest. The Coyotes shoot just 31.3 percent from the field and 25.3 percent from three-point range, and they are negative 14.4 in the rebounding department.
THE SERIES: One thing that College of Idaho has going for it against Evergreen is a tradition of success with 35 wins and just six losses in the all-time series, including a 16-4 record in Olympia. The Coyotes have defeated the Geoducks in four straight games with the last Evergreen win coming by a 75-72 score on Feb. 20, 2015.
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN 75, EVERGREEN 55: Jahpera McEachin scored 19 points, including a 14-for-16 effort at the foul line, but the Geoducks couldn't stay with the No. 24-ranked Beacons last Friday night in Eugene, Ore. Kaelin Williams-Kennedy scored a career-high 14 points and Deidra Miller grabbed nine rebounds to lead Evergreen in that category.
CORBAN 70, EVERGREEN 65 (OT): Evergreen took Corban to overtime last Saturday night before falling, 70-65, in a conference game played in Salem, Ore. Cherish Moss paced the Geoducks with 17 points and four boards, while Cayla Jones also had a very productive night with 17 points and six assists.
