Geoducks Turn Close Game Into 11-Point Win
KIRKLAND – Evergreen scored 14 unanswered points during a four-minute portion of the second half Friday night on the way to a 77-66 women's basketball victory over Simpson University at Northwest University's NU Pavilion.
The game was the second of the day at the Northwest/Evergreen Challenge and followed a 93-40 victory by Northwest over Walla Walla University. On Saturday, Evergreen takes on Walla Walla at 6 p.m. and Northwest hosts Simpson at 8 p.m. in the tournament finale.
Following tonight's game Evergreen is 2-0 while Simpson remains winless in seven contests.
The first half featured three ties and five lead changes. Evergreen took its largest advantage of the opening half just 2 ½ minutes in when Natasha Trinidad drained a three ball to put her team on top 5-2.
Simpson jumped ahead 14-12 on a three-point basket by Fallon Greenhaw with 12:04 left in the period, and the Redhawks would maintain the lead throughout the half. They grabbed their largest margin of the period, 34-27, on a Hannah Saylor layup with 4:00 on the clock.
The half ended with Simpson on top, 39-35, and at that point Karina Gee was doing all she could to keep the Geoducks in the game. The junior guard put 13 of her 15 total points on the board in the opening 20 minutes.
Through the first 10 minutes of the second half the teams continued to battle each other on even terms. There were eight ties and five lead changes during that time, but Evergreen finally broke the game open over the closing minutes.
After Simpson tied the game at 55-55 on a layup by Saylor with 7:09 remaining, the Geoducks scored 14 unanswered points to take an insurmountable 69-55 lead with 3:25 to play.
LaNiecia Weatherspoon started the run with a three-point basket, and after a layup by Brittany Gray, she scored a conventional three-point play on a layup and free throw. Sadee Jones knocked down a jump, Gee hit a basket in the paint, and Gray closed the run with another jumper.
Amber Huffhines hit a pair of free throws to end the streak, but by that point the Geoducks were well in control. Though the Redhawks got to within eight points at 72-64, Trinidad hit two at the foul line to get the lead back to double figures and put the game in the win column.
In fact, the Geoducks nailed eight of their 10 free throws inside the final three minutes of the game. They benefitted from Simpson foul trouble, entering the double bonus free throw situation with about 10 minutes to play. For the game, the Geoducks shot an impressive 80 percent (24-for-30) from the foul line.
Weatherspoon led the team in scoring with 18 points, including 9-for-13 from the charity stripe. Brittany Gray scored 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and she also led the team with eight rebounds. Gee, who had the hot first half, finished with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while Trinidad ended up with 12 points.
Evergreen shot 46 percent overall (25-for-54) and also enjoyed a 36-30 rebounding edge.