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

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