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

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Playing her final game at CRC gymnasium, Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) blocked a game-tying three point attempt with just seconds to go as the Evergreen Geoducks held off the Southern Oregon Raiders, 68-65, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday night at CRC Gymnasium.

The Raiders (19-9, 8-8 CCC) took the initial lead as Ashley Claussen hit a three-pointer to open the game.  Swain tied things up for the Geoducks (6-15, 5-12 CCC) two possessions later but it wouldn’t be until the 4:42 mark that Evergreen found themselves back on top as Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) hit a jumper to put the Geoducks up, 22-21.

Evergreen managed to build the lead up to six but the Raiders put together a mini-run towards end of the period to close the gap to three at halftime, 34-31.  The Geoducks had one of their strongest shooting halves of the year in the first period, sinking 12-of-27 attempts for 44.4%, including four-of-six behind the arc.

In the second half, Evergreen held on to the lead up the 12:15 makr as Allison Gida hit a pair of free throws to tie the game for the fourth time.  The Geoducks dug deep and pushed the lead to nine points with seven minutes to go but the Raiders weren’t giving up that easy, pulling within one on a jumper by Carly Meister with 17 seconds left to play.

The Geoducks sprinted down the court as Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Edmonds CC) put in a layup to give Evergreen a three-point lead at 68-65 with just 15 seconds left to play.  Southern Oregon brought the ball down the court and after a pair of timeouts, put the ball in the hands of Melissa Sweat at the top of the key but Swain got a hand on the ball for the sixth time in the game as time expired to give the Geoducks the win.

Evergreen was led by 18 points from Clark.  Swain finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.  Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) added 11 points and 11 rebounds in the winning effort.  The Geoducks finished the game shooting 42.1% from the field, making 24-of-57 attempts on the night.

Southern Oregon was led by 16 points off the bench from Alexi Smith.  Meister added 12 points and 11 rebounds to collect the double-double while Claussen and Sweat finished with 10 points each.  The Raiders shot well from the charity stripe, sinking 20-of-27 attempts to keep the game tight.

The Geoducks hit the road next Saturday to wrap up the regular season with a game at Northwest.  Tip with the Eagles is set for 5:30 p.m. in Kirkland, Wash.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A poor shooting effort in the first half proved too much for the Evergreen Geoducks to overcome as the visiting Oregon Tech Owls picked up a 46-35 win in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

The Geoducks controlled the pace early as neither team found much success shooting the basketball.  Oregon Tech finally found their shot near the midway point of the period as a 10-0 put the Owls up by eight with 7:05 to go in the first half.  The differential went into double-digits just a few minutes later as Oregon Tech took an 11-point lead into the break at 25-14.

The second half was low scoring as well as the two teams played a pretty even 20 minutes.  Evergreen managed 21 more points in the second half but Oregon Tech matched them nearly point-for-point, taking the 46-35 win.

Evergreen was led by 10 points and 11 rebounds from junior Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS).  The Geoducks, who shot just 22.6% on the night, outrebounded the Owls, 39-38.

Oregon Tech was led by 10 points each from Maria Ramirez and Kassi Conditt.  The Owls shot slightly better, making 39.1% of their attempts.

The Geoducks wrap up the home portion of the schedule on Saturday night as they host Southern Oregon.  Tip with the Raiders is set for 5:30 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

Box Score