LaNiecia Weatherspoon led the Geoducks to victory.
Geoducks Beat 'Yotes in Thriller
OLYMPIA – The Evergreen State College made some history on Friday night in a harrowing 75-72 Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s basketball victory over College of Idaho at CRC Gymnasium.
As a result of the victory, the Geoducks improved to 16-8 overall and to 10-7 in the conference, assuring themselves of fourth place in the standings. Fourth place gives the Geoducks a home game in the opening round of the CCC postseason tournament that is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Evergreen’s women’s basketball program had advanced to the postseason tournament on seven occasions in the past but never had a home game in the opening round. The Geoducks lost all seven of those playoff contests.
The 16th win also ties a program for most wins in a season set by the 2003-04 Evergreen team that finished 16-14.
Evergreen head coach Jennifer Schooler said that while wrapping up a home playoff game was satisfying, the win meant more to the program.
“It’s bigger than that,” Evergreen head coach Jennifer Schooler said. “Everything about what just happened tonight is everything that (former) Coach Monica (Heuer) has built, and we have just kept it going. It is every year achieving a new standard.”
College of Idaho was one of two teams that had a chance of grabbing fourth place away from Evergreen, but with the loss is now 8-18 overall and 7-10 in the conference.
While the hosts led for slightly more than 30 minutes, the game nevertheless featured eight ties and nine lead changes. It eventually came down to a potential game-tying three-pointer from College of Idaho’s Aleah Lowber that rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
While the game was closely contested throughout, Evergreen seemed to be in pretty good shape with a 70-62 lead, possession of the ball and two minutes remaining. The Geoducks missed a shot and College of Idaho’s Kilee Jafek converted a layup on the other end of the floor. An ensuing Evergreen turnover led to another layup, this one by by Elisha Hensey with 1:21 to play, and suddenly it was a four-point game.
Evergreen’s LaNiecia Weatherspoon and C of I’s Hensey both hit a pair of free throws, and after a Geoducks shot clock violation, Kellie Ross drove the lane with 37 seconds left to pull the ‘Yotes to within two, 72-70.
After Randi Boseman hit the second of two free throws to give Evergreen a 73-70 lead with 23.3 seconds left, and Jafek hit a follow basket with 13 seconds left to make it a 73-72 game. Evergreen’s Natasha Trinidad then knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 8.1 seconds showing to give her team a 75-72 lead, setting up the near miss on the potential game-tying three from Lowber.
Weatherspoon, one of five Evergreen seniors who will be honored after tomorrow night’s final regular season game against Eastern Oregon, was crucial to the victory. She finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals.
“She was special the entire game,” Evergreen head coach Jennifer Schooler said of Weatherspoon. “She just had this calm confidence that we needed. Throughout the game they fought me a little bit but she was home base for us.”
There were other heroes wearing Evergreen gray. Sadee Jones recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, Trinidad scored 16 points for her fourth straight game in double figures, and Uriah Thomas ended up with 15 points. The Geoducks finished the game with 19 assists on their 26 field goals with Weatherspoon getting her seven and Boseman and Jones adding four apiece.
Hensey was College of Idaho’s answer to Weatherspoon. After the College of Idaho senior guard missed her first four shots, she was nearly unstoppable. She finished with a game-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-15 from the field and 6-for-6 at the foul line. She added six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals to her line.
Joining Hensey in double figures was Haylee Burnham with 16 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range, and Jafek with 13 points. Jafek led her team with 10 rebounds.
Evergreen shot its season average of 42 percent for the game (26-for-63) and was especially impressive at the foul line, going 18-for-22 for 82 percent. College of Idaho shot 44 percent overall (26-for-59) and was 12-for-13 (92 percent) at the charity stripe. The Geoducks enjoyed a 41-31 edge in rebounding.
Both playoff-bound teams finish their regular season tomorrow, Evergreen hosting league leader Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho playing at Northwest.