Fifth Straight Win Comes at the Foul Line
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Evergreen State College (5-2 overall, 3-0 CCC) shot 18-for-19 from the free throw line Friday night on the way to a 73-63 Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball victory over the Oregon Tech Owls (7-6, 0-3) inside Costantino Recreation Center.
The Geoducks, who won their fifth straight game, got 18 points from Alexcis Higginbotham and 13 points each from Jahpera McEachin, Cayla Jones and Deidra Miller. Nohea Waiwaiole scored 13 points and Megan Morris added 11 for the Owls.
Evergreen came into the game shooting 78.9 percent from the charity stripe, a percentage that ranked it third in NAIA Division II women's basketball. That percentage went up as the Geoducks rallied from a 25-18 first quarter deficit with solid defense and deadly foul shooting, particularly in the fourth period when they hit all 13 of their charity tosses.
The first quarter can only be described as frenetic with both teams playing at a high and sometimes reckless tempo. Oregon Tech found their way to the basket repeatedly, shooting 11-for-17, or 65 percent, in building its eight-point lead through the first quarter.
After that, however, the Geoducks made it difficult on the Owls, limiting them to a 25 points - their first quarter total - in the second and third quarters combined and to just 38 points for the final 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Geoducks whittled away at their deficit, pulling to within 35-31 at the half and taking a 45-44 lead, their first since the midway point of the first quarter, on a Higginbotham three-point basket with 5:04 to play in the third quarter.
Evergreen grabbed a 41-40 advantage after three periods and didn't trail again, finally taking a double-digit lead at 65-54 on a Deidra Miller jumper with 2:57 remaining.
Miller was outstanding off the bench for Evergreen with her 13 points, including 5-for-5 from the free throw line, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Higginbotham added six rebounds and four assists to her 18 points, and Jones had seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in addition to her 13 points.
Evergreen shot 39 percent overall (24-for-61) but was 47 percent (7-for-15) from beyond the three-point line, that in addition to its outstanding free throw shooting.
Oregon Tech finished at 42 percent from the field (27-for-65) and 50 percent from beyond the three-point line (6-for-12), but was just 3-for-8 at the foul line.
Both teams return to conference play tomorrow night, Evergreen hosting Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech playing Northwest University in Kirkland.