Geoducks Give Coach a Birthday Win Over Concordia
OLYMPIA – Uriah Thomas scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds Friday night to lead The Evergreen State College to a 59-55 Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s basketball victory over the visiting Concordia Cavaliers at CRC Gymnasium.
The Geoducks gave head coach Jennifer Schooler a birthday present with the victory, at the same time improving their record to 9-6 overall and 3-5 in the conference. They pulled even in the conference standings with the Cavaliers, who are now 8-8 overall and 3-5 in the CCC.
Thomas was one of four Evergreen players to score in double figures. Sadee Jones recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while LaNiecia Weatherspoon and Natasha Trinidad both finished with 10 points.
Lexi Campbell knocked down a trio of three-point field goals on the way to 14 points, while Sierra Dean added 13 for the Cavaliers.
The Geoducks shots 37 percent overall (23-for-62) and won the rebound battle, 44-40.
The Cavaliers shot just 33 percent from the field (19-for-57) but ended with 10 blocks, including four by Jordyn Peacock.
Concordia took a seven-point lead at with a little more than 3 ½ minutes gone in the first half, but the Geoducks managed to cut into the deficit and the teams went into the halftime locker room tied at 29-29.
Evergreen opened the second half with six consecutive points, including a pair of jumpers by Thomas, only to see Concordia rally to take a 42-41 advantage on a Dean layup with about 11 minutes remaining.
Once again the hosts went on a small run, scoring seven consecutive points to lead 48-42 with eight minutes to play, and they later took a nine-point lead, 55-46, after two free throws by Randi Boseman at the 5:21 mark. They never led by less than four points after that.
Evergreen returns to conference action at 5:30 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Warner Pacific at CRC Gymnasium.