OLYMPIA, Wash. – Junior forward Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) put up a game-high 24 points to earn the double-double but when the buzzer sounded, it was the 17th-ranked College of Idaho Lady Yotes earning the 63-52 win over the Evergreen Geoducks in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.
Laura Geis gave the Lady Yotes (14-6, 10-2 CCC) the early lead on a jumper just nine seconds into the game and College of Idaho would never trail the rest of the way. After the Yotes pushed the lead to 11 with 10:36 to go in the first half, the Geoducks (5-11, 4-8 CCC) battled back to get within one point on a three-pointer by Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) with 59 seconds to play in the first half.
Geis managed two more baskets in the final minute of the period, giving C of I the 26-21 lead heading into the break. College of Idaho shot 42.3% in the first half, making 11-of-26 attempts from the field, compared with 33.3% on nine-of-27 shooting for the Geoducks.
In the second half, the two teams continued to play even as the lead hovered around seven points nearly the entire period. Evergreen cut it to four points on a jumper by Swain with 6:24 left to play but the Yotes answered back with a three-ball by Aleah Lowber as College of Idaho eventually picked up the win, 63-52.
Evergreen was led by the 24 points and 11 rebounds from Swain, who earned 15 of those points in the second half alone. Clark finished with 13 points on the night to go with seven assists while Jessica Denmon put up 11 points with seven rebounds in the losing effort. The Geoducks shot 51.9% in the second half to finish at 42.6% shooting for the game.
College of Idaho was led by 21 points off the bench from Lowber, who had four from behind the arc and was seven-for-eight from the charity stripe. Katelin Shannon added 13 points in the win while Geis finished with 11 points in the win. The Yotes were aided by 14-of-21 shooting on free throws, compared with just six attempts for the Geoducks.
Evergreen returns to action on Saturday night, playing host to fifth-ranked Eastern Oregon. Tip with the Mountaineers is set for 5:30 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.