OLYMPIA, Wash. – Matched up well, the Warner Pacific Knights held off a comeback attempt by the Evergreen Geoducks, earning a 54-51 win in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

The Geoducks (4-7, 3-4 CCC) built the early lead as Warner Pacific (9-7, 5-2 CCC) didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 14:19 mark in the first half.  Once they got started, the Knights were hard to stop as they used a 13-3 run to pull ahead by three with 7:31 left in the opening period. The WPC lead sat at five heading into the break with the Knights leading 25-20.

Evergreen cut the gap to just one point with 13:11 left to go as Jessica Edge (Lake Stevens, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) hit a jumper to put the lead at 31-30.  The Knights never gave up the advantage and built it back up again, hitting double-digits with just over five minutes to play but Evergreen battled back.

After getting the differential down to two points with 31 seconds on the clock, the Knights pushed it back to five points but a jumper by Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) as the buzzer sounded put the final score at 54-51 in favor of Warner Pacific.

Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) led the Geoducks with 16 points on the night.  Denmon earned the double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds on the night.  Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) rounded out the Evergreen scorers in double-digits with 10 points on the night.

Warner Pacific was led by 24 points from Chelsey Christensen, who played all 40 minutes in the win.  Morgan Wolff added 14 points while Tori Carroll came off the bench to add 11.  Nichole Jackson, who leads the CCC in assists, finished with eight dimes on the night.

Evergreen hits the road next week, traveling to Southern Oregon.  Tip with the Raiders is set for 5:30 p.m. in Ashland, Ore.

Box Score