COMING UP: Evergreen (0-15 overall, 0-11 CCC) travels to Oregon this weekend for a pair of Cascade Collegiate Conference contests. The Geoducks play the No. 22-ranked Corban Warriors on Friday in Salem and the Northwest Christian Beacons on Saturday in Eugene, with both games slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.

FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen women's basketball fans unable to attend the road games in Oregon can still follow their favorite team via live stats and a live video stream provided by both opponents - www.corbanwarriors.com and www.gobeacons.com. Live stats and video links have also been created under the Schedule tab on the www.gogeoducks.com site.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Still in search of its first victory of the season, Evergreen faces the rising Corban Warriors and the struggling Northwest Christian Beacons. The Geoducks have certainly had struggles of their own this season and those issues are exacerbated by the roster being reduced to just six players. Leading scorer and senior guard Alexcis Higginbotham (13.0 points per game) recently left school to be with her ill mother, while junior center Imani Dunn has pneumonia. In the wake of the team's struggles, Angela Sikora is starting to heat up for the Geoducks. The junior guard out of Dayton, Nev., has scored in double figures in six straight games and in nine of the last 10, including a 28-point effort at College of Idaho and a 24-point output last Saturday against Oregon Tech. Sikora has brought her scoring average up to 11.9 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range. She ranks 18th nationally with 2.73 made three-pointers per game. Another standout is junior post Merrily Jones with seven double-digit rebound games, including a season-high 15 last Saturday against Southern Oregon, and 2.33 blocks per game, seventh best in NAIA Division II women's basketball. Senior forward Deidra Miller averages 11.5 points per game, and junior forward Anna Cook has hit double-digits points in four straight contests. 

ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS: Junior post Imani Dunn and sophomore guard Madison Early have earned Academic All-Cascade Conference honors, both for the first time, as announced by the conference office. To earn recognition as a CCC scholar-athlete, a student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 and sophomore standing.  

ABOUT CORBAN: Other than unbeaten and Top 10 ranked Eastern Oregon, the third-place Corban Warriors (14-7, 8-3) are the hottest team in the conference with eight wins in their past nine games, with the only loss coming on the road to EOU. Junior forward Jordan Woodvine is the undisputed team leader, averaging 20.8 points per game while leading all of NAIA Division II in three-point shooting accuracy at 49.3 percent. Two weeks ago she was named the national player of the week. Other top players for the Warriors are senior forward Emily Yost with 13.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and senior guard Treasure Farmer with 11.4 points and a conference-leading 5.3 assists per contest.

THE FIRST TIME: Corban made the plays down the stretch to hold off an upset bid by the host Evergreen Geoducks, winning by a 67-57 score on Dec. 30 inside Costantino Recreation Center. Merrily Jones and Angela Sikora both scored 12 points for the Geoducks.

SINCE 2007-08: Looking back through statistics dating to the 2007-08 season, Evergreen has won eight of 24 against Corban. The Warriors swept the Geoducks last season in two close games, 70-65 in overtime in Salem, Ore., and 66-64 in Olympia.

ABOUT NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN: The Beacons (7-13, 4-7) are just 1-4 on their home court entering weekend games against Northwest University and Evergreen. NCU is down this year, but Morgan McKinney has been a star for the Eugene school. The sophomore guard/forward averages 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, both team highs, to lead the eighth-place Beacons.

THE FIRST TIME: Visiting Northwest Christian outscored Evergreen 29-10 in the third quarter in running away to an 82-50 conference victory on Dec. 29 inside Costantino Recreation Center. Angela Sikora scored 15 points and Merrily Jones registered 13 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Geoducks.

RECENT RESULTS: Evergreen has won 12 of 23 games played against the Beacons dating back to the 2007-08 season. Northwest Christian swept two games last year, 75-55 in Eugene, Ore., and 74-71 in Olympia.

LAST WEEK: The Geoducks suffered two home court defeats last weekend, losing 85-55 to Southern Oregon and 81-53 to Oregon Tech. Deidra Miller scored 18 points and Merrily Jones tallied 13 points and 15 rebounds against SOU, while Angela Sikora netted 24 in the loss to Tech.