PORTLAND, Ore. – Struggling offensively nearly all night, the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t get the win on Saturday night, falling to the Concordia Cavaliers, 60-53, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game at Cavalier Gym in Portland, Ore.
In the opening minutes, Evergreen found a way to control the pace, holding the Cavaliers without a field goal for nearly five minutes as the Geoducks had the early lead. Despite a shot-clock malfunction that left both teams without a good clue of how much time remained, Evergreen continued to hold on to a brief lead.
Just before the five-minute mark, Concordia put together a 7-0 run that gave the Cavs a 6-point lead at 28-22 and the home squad took a 34-26 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Geoducks battled back and pulled within three points at 38-35 but Evergreen couldn’t complete the comeback as Concordia pushed the lead back to double-digits as the Cavaliers earned the 60-53 win to move a half-game ahead of the Geoducks in the conference standings.
Evergreen was led by 13 points from junior Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC), who also posted 11 rebounds for the double-double. Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) added 11 points while Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) chipped in 10 points.
Concordia was led by 17 points from Kelly Huey. Gabi Beyer added 12 while Caitlyn McCuthceon chipped in 11 in the win. The Cavaliers shot 42% from the field, making 22-of-52 attempts on the night.
The Geoducks return to Olympia for the final two home games this season as they play host to Oregon Tech on Friday night. Tip with the Owls is set for 5:30 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium.