Rebecca Gimeno led Concordia with 17 points in their win over Pacific on Saturday.
Cavs Outlast Boxers 75-68 for Eighth Straight Win
FOREST GROVE, Ore.-A cold spell at the end of the contest allowed Concordia to finish ahead in a tight battle Saturday night as the Cavaliers took a 75-68 victory from Pacific in women's basketball action at the Pacific Athletic Center.
After playing through 15 ties and 14 lead changes in a high-energy contest, the Cavaliers (8-1) pulled ahead for good on a free throw by Sarah Eischen with 2:24 to go. Pacific (1-4) went scoreless in the final 3:44 of the game while Concordia hit 5-of-9 from the free throw line during that stretch to secure their eighth straight win.
“It wasn’t our prettiest game but anytime you can get a win on the road you take it,” Concordia head coach Aaron Christian said. “I tip my hat to Pacific as they played really hard, they played as a team and knocked down some big shots.”
Rochelle Reeves led all scorers with 20 points for the Boxers, connecting on 6-of-12 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Rebecca Gimeno led four Concordia players in double figures with 17 points as the Cavaliers shot 41 percent (25-61) from the field and 19-of-23 from the free throw line. Angela Gimeno added 16 points, Ann Snodderly scored 12 and Danielle Clauson connected for 11.
After falling behind five to open the contest, Pacific took their first lead at 8-7 lead on a pair of Kalei Frank free throws at the 15:42 mark. The two teams traded the lead twice before a string of three three-pointers by Reeves and Kim put the Boxers ahead 23-13 with 8:39 to go. A pair of Mallory Goldammer free throws and two Kim charity shots gave Pacific their biggest lead of the game, 27-15, with 7:32 to go.
Concordia whittled the lead down over the next six minutes and eventually tied the game at 33-33 on a pair of Rebecca Gimeno free throws with 29 seconds left. Brittney Anderson closed the half with two free throws that gave Pacific a 35-33 halftime lead.
Concordia took the early lead to open the second half, going ahead five on Snodderly's lay-in four minutes into the stanza. The Boxers tied the game three more times before building a four-point lead of their own, going up 53-49 on two Reeves free throws.
Neither team led by more than three points from the point until the Cavaliers took the lead for good on Eischen's free throw with 2:24 to go. Concordia made it a five-point edge on Rebecca Gimeno's jumper with a minute to go and secured the final margin on an Angela Gimeno free throw.
Pacific returns to action early next week, taking part in the Tiger-Poet Classic in Los Angeles with games against Whittier on Monday and Occidental on Tuesday. Concordia returns to action on Friday with a Cascade Conference tilt at Northwest Christian.