by OLYMPIA, Wash. – Cierra Moss (Makah Tribe) scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures as The Evergreen State College defeated Walla Walla, 75-65, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s basketball game played Saturday night inside Costantino Recreation Center.
Cayla Jones (Yakama) recorded a double-double for the Geoducks (8-6 overall, 6-4 CCC) with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and other double-figure Evergreen scorers were Alexcis Higginbothamand Jahpera McEachin with 13 each and Deidra Miller and Kaelin Williams-Kennedy with 10 apiece.
Carolina Montes scored 20 points for the Wolves (2-12, 0-9), who also got 14 from Alyssa Blankenship. Sarah Halversen recorded a double-double for Walla Walla with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
There were four lead changes in the first three minutes of the game before the hosts took control for good, building a 12-point advantage at 38-26 on McEachin’s three-point basket. Walla Walla’s Montes scored the next seven points to make it a five-point game before the Geoducks settled for their eight-point advantage at the intermission.
Both teams shot the ball well in the opening 20 minutes, the Geoducks at 46 percent and 48 percent for the Wolves, but Evergreen led at the break by virtue of hitting seven shots from beyond the three-point line. Higginbotham was particularly sharp from distance, hitting all three of her attempts.
Evergreen stayed on top the rest of the way, building its largest lead at 21 points just before the end of the third quarter. Walla Walla made one more push, getting to within eight points on a couple occasions.
