COMING UP: Evergreen (0-19 overall, 0-15 CCC) plays its final home game of the season on Tuesday night against the Northwest University Eagles. Tip off inside Costantino Recreation Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. This coming weekend, the Geoducks will travel east to College Place where they will face the Walla Walla University Wolves in back-to-back games at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three contests are Cascade Collegiate Conference counters.

FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen basketball fans unable to attend Tuesday's night clash against Northwest can still follow their favorite team via live stats at http://sidearmstats.com/evergreen/wbball/xlive.htm and video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/evergreen/#. Walla Walla University provides live stats and a video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/walla.

SENIOR NIGHT: A pair of two-year Evergreen women's basketball student-athletes will be honored following the conclusion of the team's home finale. Senior guard Alexcis Higginbotham, who came to Evergreen from Zillah by way of Columbia Basin College, has averaged 12.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 38 games throughout her two seasons. Miller, a Monroe native who attended Skagit Valley College prior to coming to Evergreen, has averaged 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds as a Geoduck.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen, which has officially been eliminated from the Cascade Conference playoffs, is still in search of its first win of the season. Alexcis Higginbotham is expected to return to the team this weekend after missing six games for personal reasons, and her return - along with a team-leading average of 13.0 points per game - wil be very welcome. Deidra Miller is second in scoring average with 11.7 points per game, followed by junior guard Angela Sikora with 11.4 points per game. Junior post Merrily Jones has been outstanding near the basket with averages of 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. With an average of 2.5 made three-point baskets per game, Sikora ranks second in the conference and 21st nationally, while Jones is 11th in blocked shots.

ABOUT NORTHWEST: The Eagles (9-18 overall, 6-11 CCC) are one of three teams in the hunt for the final two conference tournament berths, and they have been playing some of their best basketball of the season in recent games. Evidence of that came last Friday when they took the No. 10-ranked and conference unbeaten Eastern Oregon to double overtime before losing, 94-91. Senior center Miranda Langenhorst is the focal point with averages of 13.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She ranks first in the conference and seventh in NAIA Division II women's basketball in rebounding.

THE FIRST TIME: Northwest University shot 11-for-14 from the floor in the final quarter to pull away and beat Evergreen, 83-70, in a conference game played Dec. 19 in Kirkland. The Eagles led 57-53 entering the final period and then used excellent field goal accuracy to prevent the Geoducks from coming back. Anna Cook recorded Evergreen's first double-double of the season that night with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Alexcis Higginbotham added 20 points for the Geoducks. 

RECENT RESULTS: Both teams won on their home courts last season, the Geoducks by a 74-71 count in Olympia and the Eagles by an 86-80 overtime score in Kirkland. Northwest U has defeated Evergreen six times over the past seven games dating to the 2014-15 season when Evergreen swept the two games. 

ABOUT WALLA WALLA: The Wolves (2-23 overall, 1-15 CCC) picked up their only conference win back on Dec. 14, beating Multnomah by a 72-63 score in Portland, Ore. Sophomore guard Carolina Montes led the team that night with 26 points, and she is the team's overall scoring leader with an average of 15.0 points per game. Sophomore forward Titi Graham is the rebounding leader with 5.6 per contest. The Wolves are being outscored by 29.5 points and out-rebounded by 15.8 per game.

RECENT RESULTS: The two highest-scoring games in Evergreen women's basketball history have come against Walla Walla, including a 102-68 victory at home during the 2016-17 season. Former Geoducks standout Gabi Fenumiai set the Evergreen single-game scoring record of 36 points in a 98-41 victory over Walla Walla during the 2015-16 season, and she scored 34 in the record-setting 102-68 win. Last year's games were played in Olympia and were much closer, the Geoducks taking 75-65 and 79-74 victories.

LAST WEEK: Evergreen lost home games to College of Idaho (77-40) and Eastern Oregon (82-61). Merrily Jones had a strong game against Eastern with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Former basketball player and Geoducks volleyball standout Chloee Hunt joined the team prior to last weekend's games and scored a combined 21 points in the two contests. Hunt has a commitment this weekend so will not travel to Walla Walla, but she is expected to play the three other scheduled games, including Tuesday's contest.