GAME NOTES: The Evergreen State College (6-6 overall, 4-4 CCC) will host Cascade Collegiate Conference travel partner Northwest University (6-11, 3-5) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday inside Costantino Recreation Center.
FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen fans unable to attend home games can follow the Geoducks via live stats and pay-per-view video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/.
COMING UP THIS WEEKEND: The Geoducks will play the final two games of their current five-game home stand on Saturday and Sunday when the Walla Walla University Wolves come to Olympia. The contests are slated to start at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The new conference schedule sets either consecutive home or road games with Walla Walla, which does not have a travel partner. This year the Geoducks host the Wolves on back-to-back days, and next season it will be the Wolves who host on consecutive days.
ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen has opened the five-game home stand with a loss against nationally ranked Eastern Oregon and a harrowing three-point victory over College of Idaho. Junior forward Cayla Jones scored 36 points combined in the two games and averages 15.2 points and 3.2 assists to lead the team in those two categories. She has scored in double-figures in six of Evergreen's last seven games. Freshman point guard Jahpera McEachin, who averages 38.0 minutes per game, is the team's second-leading scorer with 13.5 per game and she remains among the national leaders in free throw percentage at 89.3. Junior guard Alexcis Higginbotham paces the Geoducks with 5.8 rebounds per game while scoring 11.8 points per contest, while junior forward Deidra Miller adds 8.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. As a team, Evergreen shoots free throws at a 79.7 percentage, a mark that currently ranks in NAIA Division II women's basketball.
ABOUT NORTHWEST: Junior point guard Mariah Stacona is the team leader with 12.6 points per game, followed by junior post Miranda Langenhorst at 10.6 and senior guard Kalee Fowler with 10.4 per contest. Langenhorst is among the conference rebounding leaders with 9.9 per game, and she shoots 62.8 percent from the field. The Eagles have lost three of their last four game and are 4-7 away from the friendly confines of NU Pavilion.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS: With a 4-4 record, the Geoducks are in seventh place in the conference standings, one-half game out of fourth place behind Oregon Tech, Corban and Warner Pacific. Evergreen has already defeated Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific this season but lost on the road to Corban. Trailing Evergreen by one game in the CCC standings is Northwest U.
RECENT RESULTS: The Eagles have defeated the Geoducks four consecutive times dating back to the 2014-15 season when it was Evergreen that swept aside Northwest. Last year, Northwest beat the Geoducks 60-42 in Kirkland and 66-44 in Olympia.
EASTERN OREGON 94, EVERGREEN 68: The No. 8-ranked Mountaineers started fast and were never headed in beating the Geoducks last Friday inside Costantino Recreation Center. Cayla Jones scored 16 points to lead the Geoducks, followed by Cierra Moss with 14, Alexcis Higginbotham with 13 and Jahpera McEachin with 10.
EVERGREEN 56, COLLEGE OF IDAHO 53: The Geoducks led by 23 points in the third period and took a 19-point advantage into the final quarter before holding off a furious rally by the visiting Coyotes. Evergreen managed just two points in the final period, but those two free throws by Cayla Jones with 4.5 seconds on the clock provided the final cushion. Jones led Evergreen with 20 points.
