PORTLAND, Ore. – In a fairly evenly-matched contest to open the 2012 portion of the schedule, the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t get the win on the road, falling to the Concordia Cavaliers, 60-49, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Friday night at Cavalier Gymnasium in Portland, Ore.
The two squads kept things tight early before a 15-4 run put Concordia (6-11, 2-4 CCC) up by 11 over the Geoducks (4-11, 2-4 CCC) with 2:28 left to play. The Cavs would go cold the remainder of the half as Evergreen scored six straight to cut the gap to just five at the break, 27-22. Sophomore Danielle Swain (Rainier, Wash./Black Hills HS) led all scorers with eight points in the first 20 minutes on four-of-seven shooting.
Concordia tried to extend the lead in the second half but the Geoducks would have none of it as a three-pointer by Swain with 7:24 left to play pulled Evergreen within just two points, 41-39, with 7:24 left to play. The Cavs again tried to pad the advantage as the clock ticked down as they managed to pull ahead by eight with just under four minutes left to go. Evergreen was able to cut the gap again but could never quite overcome the differential as Concordia picked up the 60-49 win to pull even with the Geoducks in the conference standings.
Evergreen was led by 22 points from Swain, who also added eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks. Junior Jessica Edge (Lake Stevens, Wash./Skagit Valley CC) added 12 points to go with nine rebounds as she almost earned the double-double. The Geoducks and Cavaliers were even on the glass, with each team bringing down 44 rebounds on the night.
Concordia was led by 17 points from Rachel Scarpelli, who also added seven rebounds. Malori Dixon and Gabi Beyer each chalked up 11 points in the win. Concordia shot just 30% from the field but made seven shots from behind the arc to pick up the win.
Evergreen will make the eight mile trip from Concordia to Warner Pacific College on Saturday for their CCC date with the Knights. Tip is set for 5:30 pm at C.C. Perry Gym on the WPC campus.
