Evergreen's Winning Recipe: Share and Score the Ball
The Evergreen State College was reminded Saturday night that the combination of sharing the ball and finishing the shot pays big dividends, and that was the case in the Geoducks' 74-64 victory over the visiting Warner Pacific Knights in Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball action at Costantino Recreation Center.
Tonight's win by the Geoducks (3-6 overall, 2-1 CCC), combined with a Friday night victory over Multnomah, marked Evergreen's first weekend sweep of two conference opponents since the 2014-15 season.
Gabi Fenumiai put together solid back-to-back performances for the winners, scoring 27 points and grabbing nine rebounds against Warner Pacific after a 25-point, 12-rebound effort against Multnomah. The senior post from Alaska was 12-for-16 from the field, most of those coming near the basket on assists from teammates or rebound baskets.
Fenumiai and Autumn Moorcroft, who scored 16 points while shooting 5-for-6 from the field and 6-for-10 at the foul line, benefitted from an offense that emphasized sharing the ball. Point guard Zaria Jones recorded a game-high 10 assists as the Geoducks finished with 21 assists on their 26 field goals.
"Tonight we shared the ball and tonight we made buckets," Evergreen head coach Jen Schooler said. "Gabi and Aubumn are playing together and playing well at the same time and the freshman point guard (Jones) is putting it together, so it's pretty special."
The Geoducks shot 48 percent overall, but with the game on the line they were 8-for-13 from the field in the final quarter, outscoring the visitors 24-13 and overcoming a 51-50 deficit.
The Knights (2-9, 0-3) put themselves in position to win their first conference game of the season by shooting 7-for-9 from three-point range in the second quarter when they outscored the hosts, 27-23, on the way to building a 40-32 halftime bulge.
The long-range accuracy didn't stay with Warner Pacific in the final 20 minutes of the game, however, and their inability to consistently find the basket contrasted with Evergreen's effectiveness in the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Still, the game was tied at 54-54 with 7:50 to play when Evergreen finally pulled away by scoring nine of the next 11 points. Kylie Gorton hit a three-pointer to start the run and Fenumiai added the next six on a trio of layups.
That gave the Geoducks a 63-56 lead with 4:33 to play, and they added to the lead until the final buzzer.
Joining Fenumiai and Moorcroft in double figures was Asiyah Davis with 14 points, and she also contributed seven rebounds and four steals to the win.
Kyeli Hendryx shot 5-for-7 from three-point range on the way to a 20-points performance for Warner Pacific, which also got 12 points from Bailey Allen and 11 points and five assists from Darbi Pink.