EUGENE, Ore. – Northwest Christian was unable to hold onto a pair of leads this weekend, dropping two games to open play in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. After leading by as many as 14 points, NCU fell to Cascade College on Friday night, 77-66. They also held leads against Warner Pacific on Saturday before falling 55-50.

On Friday night the Beacons were ahead 45-31 with 18 minutes to play and seemed to be in control of the game against Cascade College. The Thunderbirds Kristina Schumacher, however, hit back-to-back field goals and Cascade was off to the races, using a 15-0 run to take the lead, 46-45 with 12:51 remaining. After trading buckets, Schumacher hit another layup to give the T-Birds the lead for good.

“We played well in the first half,” said Head Coach Liz Turner-Bolton, “but we came out flat in the second half and struggled from there. We couldn't handle the pressure.”

The Beacons were led by McKenzie Gambee (pictured), who recorded a double-double with 13 points, ten rebounds and four blocked shots. Jenneca Crocker scored a team-high 14 points, hitting four first-half three pointers that helped NCU establish their early lead. Elise Gray came off the bench to score 12 points before fouling out.

Cascade (4-0, 1-0 CCC) was led by Schumacher, who finished with 29 points, including a 13-for-17 performance at the charity stripe. Amy Russell added 14 points for the Thunderbirds.

On Saturday it was Warner Pacific College's turn to mount a comeback as they handing NCU a 55-50 defeat. Northwest Christian shot 46% in the first half and established a 26-24 lead at the intermission, but an 8-for-24 second-half spelled doom for the Beacons, who dropped to 0-2 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.

Coach Bolton said, “We're struggling keep our composure right now after getting off to decent starts. Hopefully it's something that will come around.”

The Beacons (3-6 overall, 0-2 CCC) were led by Emily Gray who had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Calie McVicker added ten points and a game-high six assists.

Warner Pacific (5-4, 1-0) was led by Kelsey Mattsen, scoring 16 points, and Jacque Barton with 14.

The Beacons will be back in action next Monday as they travel to McMinnville, Oregon to face Linfield College in non-conference. The Wildcats have opened the season 0-4, with all four losses coming at the hands of Cascade Conference schools.