Thunderbirds Hold Off Warner Pacific
PORTLAND, Ore. - Cascade College used a late first half surge to secure an important conference win over Warner Pacific 74-62 tonight at the Thunderdome.
With the score tied at 18-18 at the 7:52 mark, the T-Birds finished the half with a 18-4 run to build a 12 point cushion as the teams headed to the locker rooms. Te Awhina Aranui was a force inside for Cascade with 14 first period points.
The second half started with five quick points from Cascade and they looked to put the game out of reach. The shorthanded Knights would not go away quietly, however, and slowly chipped the lead down to four at 53-49 with 8:17 to play on a Bethany Baumann lay-in. Phieban Mulatu responded with a clutch three pointer for Cascade, and the T-Birds hit 12 of 18 freethrows down the stretch to salt the game away.
Sally Brown and Aurora Dillon scored 17 and 16 points respectively to pace Warner Pacific (5-17, 3-10 CCC). Meghan Ainsworth added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Aranui led the T-Birds (11-12, 4-9 CCC) with 24 points and 12 boards. Robin Swain added 15 points. Ashley Clark was a spark defensively contributing 5 steals and a block, along with swishing 2 of 3 three point attempts.