Box Score
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A back-and-forth game ended in heartbreak for the Northwest Christian University women’s basketball team on Friday night as Alex Saab hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds to play, giving The Evergreen State a 57-55 victory.
Neither team could miss in the first half as NCU shot 69% from the field and the Geoducks hit on 60%. Evergreen, however, took advantage of 17 Beacon turnovers and took a 36-31 lead into the intermission. Both teams went cold in the second half as neither team shot better than 40 percent after the break. Evergreen held their lead until 9:26 remained when Kelsey Boldander scored to give Northwest Christian a 44-43 lead.
After several more lead changes, the Beacons were ahead 55-54 and fouled Tana Palmason with 12 seconds to play, giving ESC a chance at a lead. Palmason missed both free-throws attempts, but the Beacons failed to box out as Katie Garcin snagged the rebound for Evergreen. Garcin immediately kicked the ball out to Saab for what proved to be the winning trey.
Head Coach Liz Bolton said, “We came out with a greater sense of urgency in the second half and we held them defensively. We had our chances at the end to put it away and we just weren’t able to get it done. There is definitely a lot that we can take away and learn from this game.”
The Beacons (8-11, 2-8 CCC) fell behind Evergreen into last place in the CCC with the loss. NCU was led in scoring by
Lori Renner (pictured) with 15 points, followed by 11 points and five steals for
Calie McVicker.
Jenneca Crocker came off the bench to score eight points. She hit 2-for-2 from three-point range, giving the senior her 100th and 101st triples of her career.
Evergreen State (7-14, 3-7) was led by Latrina Woods, scoring 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Garcin added 13 points and six rebounds while Saab finished with five points.