PORTLAND, Ore. --
Allison DeBerry (Sr., G) scored the tying basket in regulation, and
Sydney VanNess (Sr., G/F) provided the go-ahead free throws in overtime, as The Evergreen State College downed Warner Pacific University 85-80 in a Cascade Collegiate Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Geoducks trailed by four points with 2:34 to play in overtime, but ended the game with an 11-2 run.
VanNess led Evergreen with 25 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Mikail Montez (Sr., F/C) finished with 22 points, eight boards, and three assists. Emily Fortin was Warner Pacific's top scorer with 25 points. Fortin also recorded 10 rebounds and four assists.
The win, Evergreen's third victory this week, improved the Geoducks to 6-14 overall and to 6-12 in the CCC. The Knights fell to 7-17, 4-14 in the CCC. The Geoducks defeated Northwest University 74-51 on Tuesday and edged Multnomah 64-63 on Friday.
DeBerry tied the score at 72-72 on a layup with three seconds left in regulation. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Geoducks held a 59-53 advantage with 8:41 left after VanNess made a layup. Evergreen led 66-59 following a basket by Montez with 3:20 to play, but the Knights countered with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 68-68 on a layup by Fortin with 1:10 remaining.
Evergreen moved in front 70-68 on a jump shot by VanNess with 51 seconds to go. Fortin provided WPU with a layup and a foul shot at the 16-second mark, and McKeeley Tonkin sank one of two free throws with nine seconds on the clock to grab a 72-70 lead. Following a timeout, DeBerry forced overtime six seconds later on an assist from Montez.
In overtime, Warner Pacific tallied six of the first eight points, ending with a layup by Tonkin for a 78-74 margin with 2:34 remaining. Evergreen rallied by scoring 11 of the final 13 points.
Montez hit two free throws with 2:12 left and added two more with 1:40 to go, as Evergreen tied the score at 78-78. VanNess put the Geoducks in front 80-78 on two free throws with 52 seconds left. DeBerry was fouled and made one free throw with 25 seconds to play.
Thuyvi Tran (Sr., G) added two free throws at the 0:19 mark to create an 83-78 lead.
Skylar Groesbeck of WPU sank two free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to 83-80. VanNess hit two free throws for Evergreen two seconds later for the final score.
Joining VanNess and Montez in double figures for the Geoducks was Tran, who registered 12 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds, plus a blocked shot and two steals.
Jalyn Sackrider (Sr., F/C) earned nine points, six rebounds, seven assists, and one blocked shot. DeBerry was credited with nine points and six boards.
Tonkin followed Fortin on WPU's scoring chart. She produced 17 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Amalya Sales scored eight points and contributed five assists for the Knights.
Evergreen shot 40.5% for the game (30 of 74) and went 18 for 22 (81.8%) at the free throw line. The Knights hit 25 of 58 shots (43.1%) and converted 24 of 30 free throws (80.0%). The Geoducks achieved a 46-35 rebounding edge, including 23-12 in offensive boards.
The Geoducks led 22-21 at the end of the first quarter on the strength of six points by Sackrider and five points and four rebounds from Tran. Evergreen trailed 19-11 after six minutes, but ended the quarter with an 11-2 run. Fortin scored six points for Warner Pacific in the opening quarter.
WPU held a 33-31 lead with 3:16 left in the second quarter following a free throw by Alex Saunders. Evergreen also trailed 35-33, but scored the final six points of the half, including a 3-pointer by Tran. In the third quarter, Evergreen was in front by eight points at 55-47 after DeBerry put in a jumper with 1:28 left. The Knights earned the last four points of the quarter.
Evergreen will host Bushnell University at the Costantino Recreation Center on Friday, Feb. 14. Game time for the CCC match-up is set for 5:30 p.m. PST.
