CALDWELL, Idaho – Playing a nationally-ranked opponent for the second straight night, the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t pull off the upset, falling to the 22nd-ranked College of Idaho Yotes, 76-58, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday night at the J.A. Albertson Center in Caldwell, Idaho
Junior Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) hit a jumper to open the scoring but the Yotes responded back with seven straight, forcing the black-clad Geoducks to play from behind. The differential hit double-digits for the first time with 10:49 left to play in the opening half after C of I’s Sienna Edmunson hit a three-pointer to give the Yotes the 23-13 lead.
Evergreen cut the Yote lead to single digits with 6:39 left to play but a 7-0 run put C of I up by 15 points at 36-21. The Geoducks cut the gap to 11 points as the game neared halftime but Katelin Shannon was fouled at half-court as the buzzer sounded, giving the Yotes the opportunity at three more points and C of I converted on two free throws to take a 40-27 lead into the break.
As the second half began, the Geoducks put some pressure on the nationally-ranked Yotes but C of I had an answer for nearly every Evergreen run. College of Idaho eventually began to pull away, pushing the lead to 21 following a layup by Felicity Jones with 3:01 left on the clock. Evergreen tightened the gap slightly down the stretch but it wasn’t enough in the end, falling 76-58.
Evergreen was led by 14 points from Swain, who also added six rebounds for the Geoducks. Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) added 12 points to go with six assists while Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) chipped in 10 points. The Geoducks were held without a three-pointer for the first time since Dec. 8, 2010 against Puget Sound.
College of Idaho was led by 19 points and 11 rebounds from Laura Geis. Jones added 15 points in the win while Katelin Shannon finished with 12 points for the Yotes. C of I did a great job hitting free throws, making 19 of 22 attempts for 86.4% from the charity stripe.
The Geoducks have one more game left to play before the new year as Evergreen plays host to Linfield in a non-conference game on Dec. 30, beginning at 4 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.