Yotes Topple #23 Northwest
KIRKLAND, Wash. - #23 Northwest University suffered their fourth straight conference loss as the College of Idaho would defeat the Eagles 69-54 in the final regular season game for both teams in Cascade Conference play. With the win, the C of I earns the #4 seed in the conference’s post season tournament while Northwest will be the #3 seed.
C of I would lead for 36 minutes as they trailed for only three minutes of the contest. After Northwest jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, College of Idaho would tie the game at 5-5 at the 17:02 mark on a layup by Nicole Bruce and take the lead for good (7-5) on a Nicole Shannon layup in the paint with 16 minutes to go in the half. C of I would slowly increase their lead to 13 points, 21-8, as Nicole Gall would bury a 3-pointer from the right side of the top of the key with 10:35 left on the clock. The Coyotes would maintain their lead the remainder of the half as they would take a 38-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Northwest would get the lead down to nine, 38-29, less than two minutes in the period, but the C of I would put on a 9-0 spurt to increase their lead to 18 points, 47-29, with 13:30 left on the clock. Meghan Hughes would hit a driving layup to give the C of I their largest lead, 51-32, at the 10:14 mark. The Eagles wouldn’t go away easily and would chip into the Yotes lead to get it down to 8 points, 61-53 with 2:38 to go, but the College of Idaho would make 8 of 10 free throws to close out the game and earn the upset win over the #23 Eagles.
Senior Brittney Marshall (Snohomish, Wash.) led Northwest U. (18-9, 12-6 CCC) with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Jessalyn Jackson (Vancouver, Wash.) added 12 points while teammate Emily Drivstuen (Monroe, Wash.) score 10 points for the Eagles. NU shot 50% in the second half and 45% for the game, but was held to 25% shooting from the 3-point line. The Eagles also out rebounded C of I 47-30 including 18 offensive rebounds.
College of Idaho (16-12, 11-7 CCC) was led by senior Nicole Gall’s (Boise, Idaho) 19 points and 12 rebounds. Katelin Shannon (Caldwell, Idaho) scored 15 points and Meghan Hughes (Eagle, Idaho) added 13 points and 9 rebounds for the Coyotes from Caldwell, Idaho. The Yotes would shoot 45% on the night, including 43% shooting from beyond the 3-point line.
#6 Eastern Oregon with face Northwest U. on Tuesday, Feb. 22 in Kirkland while #5 seed Warner Pacific visits #4 College of Idaho in Caldwell. Both games are slated for 7:00 p.m. start times.