WALLA WALLA, Wash. --
Sydney VanNess (Sr., G/F) scored 14 points and contributed five rebounds for The Evergreen State College, but Walla Walla University defeated the Geoducks 63-53 in a women's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Cascade Collegiate Conference match-up was played at Walla Walla Community College due to a conflict on the WWU campus.
Evergreen was in front 35-32 at halftime. The Wolves outscored the Geoducks 15-7 in the third quarter to take a 47-42 lead.
The Geoducks trailed 52-48 with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter following a layup by Evergreen's
Jalyn Sackrider (Sr., F/C). The Wolves closed the game with an 11-5 run.
After Sackrider's layup, Jaylo Bello provided WWU with a 3-point basket at the 2:23 mark. Natalee Trevino added a free throw for the Wolves with 2:00 to go and also scored on a jumper with 1:46 on the clock for a 58-48 advantage. Walla Walla hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 53 seconds to clinch the win.
VanNess was one of three Geoducks who earned double digit scoring totals.
Mikail Montez (Sr., F/C) tacked on 12 points to go with five rebounds, while sinking 4 of 4 free throw shots. Sackrider supplied 11 points and 11 boards.
Allison DeBerry (Sr., G) finished with five points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Bello of Walla Walla led all scorers with 20 points and was 6 of 12 on field goals, including 5 of 10 on 3-point shots. She also hauled down four rebounds. Chariah Daniels earned 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. She was 6 of 8 on field goals and topped all players with three steals. Allison Haslam produced 12 points for the Wolves.
Walla Walla shot 44.0% from the field (25 of 50) and went 9 of 24 on 3-point attempts (37.5%). Evergreen was 21 of 62 on field goals (33.9%) and hit just 4 of 18 three-pointers (22.2%). The Geoducks registered a 40-37 rebounding margin.
A layup by Sackrider and a 3-pointer from VanNess gave the Geoducks a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. The Wolves recorded the next eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Bello, but Evergreen tied the score at 8-8 with a 3-pointer by DeBerry as the clock reached 5:50.
Evergreen held a 17-13 lead later in the quarter after Van Ness hit a jumper. Two free throws by Haslman with 10 seconds left supplied the Wolves with a 21-20 lead at the end of the quarter.
Daniels sank a 3-pointer for the Wolves to start the second quarter, but the Geoducks outscored Walla Walla 15-8 over the remainder of the period to build their 35-32 halftime margin. Montez scored six points for Evergreen during the quarter.
In the third quarter, Bello put WWU in front 37-35 with a 3-point basket with 7:34 left. Neither team scored again until the 4:41 mark, when Montez made a layup to create a 37-37 deadlock. Daniels put the Wolves ahead 39-37 on a layup 23 seconds later. Evergreen pulled within 42-41 on a layup by
Honey Let Padasdao (Sr. G) as the clock entered the final minute, but Walla Walla ended the quarter with a 5-1 run.
WWU improved to 5-15 on the season, 2-12 in the CCC. The Geoducks ended the night at 3-12 overall and 3-10 in the CCC.
Evergreen will play at the Costantino Recreation Center in Olympia, Washington, on Friday, Jan. 31 when the Geoducks host Oregon Tech. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST.
