LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The Evergreen State College led 45-38 after three quarters, but Eastern Oregon University rallied to defeat the Geoducks 64-55 in a Cascade Collegiate Conference matchup on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Jalyn Sackrider (Sr., F/C) scored 22 points for Evergreen, while
Mikail Montez (Sr., F/C) added 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Mountaineers, who trailed 29-19 at halftime, outscored Evergreen 26-10 in the fourth quarter behind nine points each from Kelsie Siegner and Maggie Smith. The win improved EOU to 19-8, including 15-7 in the CCC women's basketball standings. The Geoducks fell to 8-16, 8-14 in the CCC. It was the final regular season game for both teams.
Eastern Oregon and Evergreen will both compete in the CCC Women's Basketball Tournament. The top eight teams will qualify for the tournament. First round pairings have not yet been announced.
Sackrider' 22 points were earned on 10-of-22 shooting. She was 2 for 2 on 3-points shots. Sackrider also provided six rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot, and a steal.
The nine rebounds by Montez led the Geoducks on the glass.
Thuyvi Tran (Sr., G) contributed seven points and six boards, while
Sydney VanNess (Sr., G/F) supplied six points and four rebounds.
Allison DeBerry (Sr., G) earned a game-high six assists.
For Eastern Oregon, Siegner tallied 21 points and was 8 for 17 from the field. Brie Holecek provided 19 points while hitting 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range. Holecek also was credited with nine boards and five assists. Smith scored 12 points to go with five boards and three steals. Kristina Blauman grabbed six rebounds.
Evergreen played strong defense throughout the first half and shot 75.0% from the field in the opening quarter. The Geoducks scored the first six points of the game and held a 9-3 lad after Sackrider sank a 3-point shot with 5:31 left. The 3-pointer opened a 10-0 run for the Geoducks, who led 16-3 following a jumper by Sackrider with 2:57 remaining in the quarter. TESC owned a 21-10 lead entering the second quarter.
The Mountaineers shot just 25.0% in each of the first two quarters, hitting 4 of 16 shots in the opening quarter before making 3 of 12 attempts in the second quarter. Evergreen also struggled in the second period, hitting 4 of 17 shots (23.5%). The Geoducks led 29-13 with 3:12 to play in the half after a jumper by Sackrider. EOU ended the half with a 6-0 run on 3-pointers by Siegner and Smith.
A 7-2 run to begin the third stanza pulled Eastern Oregon within 31-26. Evergreen countered with a 9-0 surge that ended with a layup by Montez at the 5:23 mark. The Mountaineers eventually reduced the margin to 42-38 on a pair of free throws by Brinley Hagemeier with eight seconds left in the quarter.
Honey Let Padasdao (Sr., G) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to increase the Geoducks' lead to 45-38.
EOU opened the fourth quarter with 10 consecutive points for a 48-45 lead with 7:39 remaining. The run included seven points by Siegner. Evergreen regained the lead at 49-48 on a layup from Sackrider and at 51-50 on a jumper by DeBerry with 5:31 to go. A layup by Smith moved Eastern Oregon into the lead, and a 3-pointer by Holecek increased the margin to 55-51 with 4:10 on the clock.
The Geoducks cut the lead to 55-53 when Montez scored on a jump shot with 2:57 left. EOU closed the game with a 9-2 run to secure the win. Even so, the lead was just 58-55 after VanNess hit two free throws with 1:51 remaining. Siegner answered with a jumper at the 1:267 mark.
Eastern Oregon gained an advantage by connecting on 10 three-points shots, while Evergreen made five 3-pointers. The Moutaineers were 10 for 11 at the free throw line (90.9%). The Geoducks sank 4 of 8 free throws. Evergreen achieved a 37-31 rebounding edge.
