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.

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. – After falling behind by 10 points early in the second half, the Evergreen Geoducks had a chance to win it in the final seconds but the Warner Pacific Knights found a way to hold on to earn a 51-47 win in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Friday night at C.C. Perry Gymnasium in Portland, Ore.

The Geoducks held the lead early as Warner Pacific struggled to find their shot.  The Knights eventually evened up the score at 17-17 with just over a minute to play in the opening half and WPC would talk on three more points before the buzzer to take a 20-17 lead into the break.

Warner Pacific continued the run into the second half, pulling ahead by 10 points at 31-21 with 14:51 left to play in the game.  The double-digit differential was enough to wake up the Geoducks, who fought back to pull within two on a three-pointer by Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) with 10:20 left to go.

Evergreen tied the game up for the fourth time in the contest with 7:40 left to go as Dela Jones (Las Vegas, Nev./Scottsdale CC) hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 39-39.  The Knights resumed the lead for the next few minutes but a pair of free throws from Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills H) gave Evergreen a one-point lead with just 1:37 left to play.

Melissa Carey hit a jumper following a WPC offensive rebound that put the Knights back up by one with 1:21 left to play and the Geoducks just couldn’t put the ball in the basket the rest of the way, allowing Warner Pacific to escape with the 51-47 win.

Evergreen was led by 17 points and 10 rebounds from Swain, who now sits at 945 career points as she creeps towards the 1000-point club.  Clark finished with 12 points and nine rebounds to narrowly miss the double-double while Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) brought down 11 rebounds against her former team.

Warner Pacific was led by 16 points from Chelsey Christensen.  Tori Carroll added 10 points for the Knights, who shot 35.2% from the field, making 19-of-54 attempts.

The Geoducks remain in Portland overnight, making the short trip to Concordia on Saturday.  Tip with the Cavaliers is set for 5:30 p.m. at Cavalier Gym.

Box Score