OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College led for much of its game against NAIA #14-ranked Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, Dec. 7, but the Warriors ended the fourth quarter with a 19-5 run to claim a 55-46 win over the Geoducks at the Costantino Recreation Center. LCSC remained undefeated at 8-0, including 3-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Evergreen fell to 1-3 overall, 1-1 in the CCC.
Sydney VanNess (Sr., G/F) of Evergreen led all players with 24 points, while hitting 6 of 9 three-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws. She also grabbed five rebounds, blocked a shot, and earned two steals.
Jalyn Sackrider (Sr., G/F) supplied the Geoducks with seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Honey Let Padasdao (Sr., G) contributed four rebounds and four assists.
Sitara Byrd of the Warriors scored 19 points and hauled down nine boards. Darian Herring achieved 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots, and four steals. Mataya Green hauled down nine rebounds.
Evergreen led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter and the teams were tied 23-23 at halftime. The Geoducks owned a 38-34 edge after three quarters. Evergreen held a 41-36 lead with 8:08 left in the game following the sixth 3-pointer of the evening for VanNess.
A 3-pointer by Camden Barger and a free throw by Herring cut the Geoducks' advantage to 41-40 at the 5:59 mark. Green of LCSC scored on a layup with 4:34 left to put the Warriors in front 42-41.
Allison DeBerry (Sr., G) tied the score by sinking 1 of 2 free throws with 3:27 to go.
Lewis-Clark State scored next on a layup by Byrd with 1:59 on the clock for a 44-42 lead. Byrd added a 3-pointer 30 seconds later for a five-point margin. The Warriors scored four additional unanswered points to grab a 51-42 lead with 34 seconds left.
VanNess was fouled on a 3-point shot with 24 seconds to play and hit the first two free throws. Sackrider grabbed the rebound on the third free throw and scored for the Geoducks to cut the lead to 51-46. The Warriors sank 4 of 4 free throws the rest of the way to secure the win.
In the opening quarter, Evergreen took a 3-2 lead on a 3-pointer by VanNess. The Geoducks trailed 8-4, but another 3-pointer by VanNess started an 11-0 run. The run also included a 3-pointer and a layup by
Mikail Montez (Sr., F/C), plus the third 3-pointer of the game for VanNess. Barger scored on a jumper for Lewis-Clark State with three seconds left to cut the TESC lead to 15-10.
The Geoducks led by five points twice in the second quarter, including 21-16 following a jumper from VanNess. LCSC went on a 7-2 offensive surge to tie the game at halftime. Byrd scored the tying basket on a layup with 43 seconds to go.
Evergreen trailed 25-23 after Byrd tallied the first points of the third quarter on a layup, but DeBerry countered with a 3-point at the 7:37 mark to put the Geoducks back into the lead. A layup by Sackrider and a 3-pointer by VanNess increased the margin to 31-25. One basket each by Payton Hymas and Ellie Sander cut the lead to two points. The Geoducks eventually took a 38-32 lead on a jumper by
Thuyvi Tran (Sr., G) with 40 seconds left in the period, but Byrd scored for the Warriors 22 seconds later.
For the game, Evergreen was 16 of 45 on field goals (35.6%), including 8 of 18 (44.4%) from 3-point range. Lewis-Clark State was 22 of 53 from the field (41.5%), while hitting 2 of 15 three-point shots (13.3%). LCSC held a 39-32 rebounding edge.Â
Evergreen will remain at home to take on Northwest University in CCC action on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Game time at the CRC is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST.
