Lady Yotes pose with the CCC Banner after clinching title with win over Evergreen
CALDWELL, Idaho - Nicole Gall led all scorers with 24 points, fueling a tenacious College of Idaho attack, as the Lady Yotes clinched their first outright Cascade Conference regular-season championship since 2001 with a convincing 76-47 victory over Evergreen State, tonight inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
With the win, the No. 19 ranked Lady Yotes (18-6, 14-3) earn the first of two automatic berths for the conference to the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, beginning March 10. The squad also secures the top seed in next week’s CCC Tournament and home court advantage throughout the tourney.
The Geoducks (9-19, 5-12), who were eliminated from postseason contention with the loss, hung around early, trailing just 12-9 with 12 minutes remaining in the opening half. However, the visitors would go 0-for-11 and commit six turnovers in a ten minute stretch, as The C of I went on a game-changing 34-4 run to put the contest away – with Nicole Bruce and Whitney Owen adding eight points each during the spurt, as the Coyotes hit 56-percent of their first half shots, including 7-of-10 from three-point range.
The lead would build to as many as 46, as a Meghan Hughes jumper gave the Yotes a 70-24 lead midway through the second half.
Gall added seven rebounds, six assists, and three blocks on the night, with Bruce finishing with 12 points and six rebounds, and Owen scoring 11. Latrina Woods was the lone Evergreen player in double figures with 13.
The Lady Yotes return to action tomorrow night, closing out the regular-season with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off against Northwest University. It will mark the final regular-season home game for four seniors – Owen, Kayla Isham, Katee Brewer, and Katie Strunk.