COMING UP: A berth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference postseason tournament is on the line for The Evergreen State College (9-13 overall, 7-11 CCC) this weekend when it hosts the Multnomah University Lions (1-27, 1-17) on Friday night and the Warner Pacific University Knights (10-18, 6-12) on Saturday night inside Costantino Recreation Center. Tipoff for both conference games is slated for 5:30 p.m.

FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen basketball fans unable to make it out to the CRC can still follow their Geoducks via live stats and/or pay-per-view streaming video at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/.

SENIOR NIGHT: Twin sisters Cierra Moss (Neah Bay, Wash./Neah Bay HS/Peninsula College/Haskell Indian Nations University) and Cherish Moss (Neah Bay, Wash./Neah Bay HS/Peninsula College/Haskell Indian Nations University) will be honored on Senior Night following the conclusion of the women's game, and prior to the men's game, against Warner Pacific. In addition to the regular Senior Night ceremony, the Makah Tribe with fete Cierra and Cherish inside the CRC at 4 p.m. Saturday with a Paddle Song Drumming ceremony.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen plays this weekend for a spot in the eight-team Cascade Conference postseason tournament. The Geoducks could earn either the seventh or eighth seed in the tournament, which would mean a road trip for Tuesday's quarterfinal round, or could end up on the outside looking in should they lose twice this weekend. The team has lost seven in a row, but five of those have come by seven points or less. Evergreen averages 68.0 points per game while allowing 71.2, and it is minus 5.9 rebounds per game compared to its opponents. The Geoducks rank eighth in NAIA Division II women's basketball free throw shooting with 77.4 percent accuracy, and they are 22nd in blocks per game with 3.6. Junior forward Cayla Jones leads the team with 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while also averaging 1.8 steals and shooting 77.9 percent from the free throw line. Frosh point guard Jahpera McEachin averages 13.1 points and shoots 85.7 percent from the foul line, junior guard Alexcis Higginbotham contributes 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 42.9 percent from three-point territory, and junior forward Deidra Miller chips in 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Evergreen women's basketball has advanced to conference postseason play eight times in the 17 previous seasons that the program has been tournament eligible. The Geoducks have hosted one conference tournament game (2015) and have never won in the postseason.

ABOUT MULTNOMAH: It's been a difficult year for the Lions, who lost junior guard Ana Wakefield for the season following an auto accident prior to the season. Multnomah, whose lone victory came on the road against Walla Walla in double overtime, averages 47.2 points and allows 74.9 per game and is negative 10.5 rebounds per game. The team shoots just 30.5 percent from the field, worst in the conference. Junior guard Bethany George is the scoring leader with 9.8 points per game and frosh forward Faith Kraatz is among the conference leaders with 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Junior forward Paris Sanders also averages 7.4 rebounds, while Valerie Wakefield contributes 3.2 assists per contest.

THE FIRST TIME: Alexcis Higginbotham scored 20 points to lead Evergreen to a 67-48 conference victory over Multnomah on Dec. 2 in Portland, Ore.

RECENT RESULTS: Evergreen has won four of the five games between the two clubs since Multnomah joined the conference prior to the 2015-16 season. Multnomah's 83-75 triumph over the Geoducks in the regular season finale in Portland last season sent the Lions to the playoffs and ended Evergreen's season.

ABOUT WARNER PACIFIC: The Knights looked to be in good shape to make the postseason tournament at the halfway mark of the conference season, but six straight losses have put them in a bind, one spot out of eighth place with two games to play. Warner Pacific, 1-8 on the road this season, averages 67.2 points and allows 73.1 per game and is negative 7.1 in rebounds compared to the opposition. The team shoots 38.6 percent overall and 33.8 percent from three-point range, which is third best among conference teams. Sophomore guard Darbi Pink is the scoring leader with 9.9 points per game, while junior guard Bailey Allen averages 9.0 points and 1.9 steals per contest. The leading rebounder is junior guard Deepika Kapil with an average of 5.7.

THE FIRST TIME: Trailing by one point with four minutes remaining, Evergreen outscored host Warner Pacific by 11 points down the stretch to open conference play with a 67-57 win on Dec. 1 in Portland. Jahpera McEachin led Evergreen with 16 points and Alexcis Higginbotham notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

RECENT RESULTS: Warner Pacific has won 12 of the 21 meetings between the two teams dating back to the 2007-08 season, though the Geoducks have won five of the past seven. 

NORTHWEST 86, EVERGREEN 80 (OT): A win would have assured the Geoducks of a spot in the conference tournament, but the host Eagles prevailed in overtime in a game played last Tuesday in Kirkland. Alexcis Higginbotham's runner in the lane rimmed out in the closing seconds, sending the game to overtime. Jahpera McEachin finished with 24 points and three steals for the Geoducks, who also got a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double from Cayla Jones and 19 points and seven rebounds from Higginbotham.