LA GRANDE, Ore. – Earning all-conference honors for the third straight season, forward Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) has been named First Team All-Cascade Conference as announced by the conference office on Tuesday morning.

Swain, who is a junior athletically but will be graduating this spring, led the Geoducks this season with 12.8 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game.  She also put up 41 blocks to finish with a new school-record 112 for her career.  Among the CCC, she was fifth in rebounding and fourth in block.

Also earning honors was junior guard Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Monroe HS/Edmonds CC).  Clark was among those named Honorable Mention after averaging 3.8 assists per game to go with 11.1 ppg.

Warner Pacific’s Chelsey Christensen was named Red Lion CCC Player of the Year.  College of Idaho’s Katelin Shannon and Corban’ Tara Vanweerdhuizen shared Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.  The Co-Freshman of the Year away was also shared by McKenna Daly of Concordia and Carly Meister of Southern Oregon.

Eastern Oregon head coach Anji Weissenfluh was named CCC Coach of the Year after leading the Mounties to a perfect 18-0 conference record in the regular season, as well as three wins in the conference tournament to win that title as well.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Evergreen Geoducks made the postseason for the sixth time in school history but they couldn’t collect the first postseason win in school history, falling to the Oregon Tech Owls, 63-44, in the first round of the 2013 Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday night at Danny Miles Court in Klamath Falls, Ore.

In the first half, senior Dela Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Scottsdale CC) gave the Geoducks an early lead with a three-pointer just over a minute into the game but Karissa Dixon gave Oregon Tech the lead back about 90 seconds later and the Owls would stay ahead the rest of the half, but not by much.  OIT pushed the lead to seven before Randi Boseman (New Orleans, La./Newport HS) cut the gap to five right before the break as Evergreen trailed 26-21 at half.

The Hustlin’ Owls hustled out of the gate in the second half, going on a 7-1 run to push the lead to double-digits with 17:19 left to play.  After the Geoducks briefly cut the lead back to five, the Owls flew out to a big lead again as the advantage moved into the high teens.  The lead was large enough for Oregon Tech to cruise the rest of the way, earning the 63-44 win to advance in the conference tournament.

Evergreen was led by 13 points from junior Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC).  Jessica Edge (Lake Stevens, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) added 11 points in her final game for  the Geoducks.  Evergreen forced 22 turnovers by the Hustlin’ Owls but the Geoducks shot just 24.6% on the night, making 14-of-57 attempts.

Oregon Tech was led by 14 points and nine rebounds from Kassi Conditt as she just missed the double-double.  Karissa Dixon added 12 points in the win, playing 32 of 40 minutes for the Owls.  OIT held the advantage on the glass, outrebounding Evergreen, 43-33.

The Geoducks conclude the season at 7-16, having finished tied for sixth in the standings after being picked ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Box Score

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Evergreen Geoducks propelled themselves into the sixth seed in the upcoming Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball Championships by virtue of a 55-47 win over the Northwest Eagles in a CCC women’s basketball game on Saturday night at NU Pavilion in Kirkland, Wash.

After the Geoducks took the initial lead, the Eagles soared back with a 7-0 run that put NU up by six early at 10-4.  Evergreen managed to cut the lead to one point but Northwest continued to hold onto the advantage as the half progressed.

The Geoducks took the lead back with 5:29 left to play in the opening period after senior Jessica Edge (Lake Stevens, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) sunk a pair of free throws to put the green and white up by one.  Northwest grabbed back the lead and stayed in front heading into halftime, 28-26.

Both teams struggled to get it going in the second half as the first basket didn’t come until the 16:30 mark as Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) put in a layup to tie things up.  Senior Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) made a jumper following a turnover by NU to give the Geoducks a two-point lead with 16 minutes to play as Evergreen began to build a lead.

Northwest finally got their first points of the second half with 13:18 left to play on a three-pointer that cut Evergreens lead from six to three at 34-31.  The Eagles managed to tie the game right before the midway point of the period but the Geoducks built a small lead yet again.

This time, the Geoducks wouldn’t give the lead back as clutch shooting from the charity stripe down the stretch clinched the 55-47 win to propel the Geoducks into the postseason with a two-game win streak. Evergreen finished the regular season tied with Northwest Christian for sixth but they held the tiebreaker over the Beacons thanks to last week’s win over Southern Oregon.

Evergeen was led by 14 points and 12 rebounds from Swain, who is now just eight points shy of 1000 for her career.  Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds while Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) also finished with 10 points on the night.  The Geoducks went to the free throw line 29 times, making 22 attempts for 75.9%.

Northwest was led by a game-high 15 points form Alyssa Dario.  Sanda Milovic added 11 points while Domi Mendezona finished with 10 points.  The Eagles shot 34.7% on the night, making 17-of-49 attempts.

Evergreen has a short turnaround before hitting the road as they open up the postseason on Tuesday night against Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore.  Tip with the Hustlin’ Owls will be 7 p.m. on Danny Miles Court.

Box Score