Fenumiai Clutch for Geoducks in 64-61 Win
OLYMPIA - Gabi Fenumiai scored 20 points, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with 3.1 seconds to play, to give The Evergreen State College a 64-61 Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball win over the visiting Corban Warriors on Saturday night inside Costantino Recreation Center.
Fenumiai put together her ninth double-double of the season for the Geoducks (5-19 overall, 4-13 CCC), adding 11 rebounds to her 20 points. Chloee Hunt scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds and Autumn Moorcroft added 10 points and four assists to the winning cause.
Evergreen ended a five-game losing streak with tonight's triumph.
Maddey Pflaumer led the Warriors with 22 points and nine rebounds, followed by Sadie Pilgeram with 13 points and Maci Benedict with 10. Both Pilgeram and Benedict finished the contest with three assists.
Evergreen built its largest lead of the game at 29-18 on a pair of Imani Dunn free throws coming with 4:02 remaining before halftime, but Corban responded by running off nine unanswered points to close the half down by just two, 29-27.
The Warriors regained a two-point advantage entering the fourth quarter, but the Geoducks got consecutive baskets by Fenumiai to take a 48-46 lead a little more than one minute into the period. There were two more ties after that before Zaria Jones nailed a three from the deep left corner to give the hosts a lead that they would not relinquish.
A Fenumiai layup put the Geoducks up 60-53 with 3:55 to play, but a 6-0 Corban run pulled the visitors within a point with 1:31 on the clock.
Evergreen's Kylie Gorton drilled a pair of free throws with 15.1 showing, giving the Geoducks a 62-59 edge, and after Payton Wilcox reciprocated for Corban with 4.0 seconds on the clock, Fenumiai was fouled and hit the clinching charity tosses.
A desperation shot by the Warriors was off the mark, and the Geoducks had the win.
Evergreen, which shot 44 percent (22-for-50) for the game, knocked down all 16 of its free throws and ended up with 16 assists on its 22 baskets.
Corban shot 35 percent (20-for-58) after starting just 3-for-17 in the first quarter, at which point it trailed 13-8. The Warriors won the rebound battle by a narrow 34-33 margin.