EUGENE, Ore. – After trailing by 13 points at half-time and falling behind by as many as 34 in the first eight minutes of the second half, the Northwest Christian University women's basketball team mounted a big comeback, getting to within eleven before falling 78-64 to Warner Pacific on Friday evening. Jenneca Crocker had 14 second-half points and finished with a career-high 22 for the Beacons, hitting four three-pointers.

It was raining threes in the early going as the Knights quickly built a 15-3 lead behind five beyond-the-arc buckets. Marissa Towry was the leading contributor, hitting a trio of treys in the first four minutes, before a pair of early fouls sent her to the bench for the next 16 minutes.

The Knights continued to spread their advantage, getting strong post play off the bench from Stephanie Rider. Rider had ten points in the half, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 on shots all under the basket as WPC led by as many as 18 in the period. Warner Pacific took a 41-28 edge into the intermission.

WPC continued to dominate in the early going of the second half, using a 24-3 run to build a seemingly insurmountable 65-31 lead. But then NCU caught fire, forcing turnovers and hitting their shots as Jenneca Crocker hit three straight three pointers. The Beacons were off on their own 24-5 run, climbing within 15 points. They were soon down eleven with under a minute remaining, but the comeback came up short.

Head Coach Liz Turner-Bolton said, “I think in the second half we started to understand our situation and we started to play some defense and really get fired up. We dug ourselves too big a hole, but we still fought hard. Jenneca got us back into the game, it's that simple. That is what can happen when she gets fired up. Every point she scored was on a hustle play.

Crocker shot 8-for-16 from the field for the Beacons (7-14, 2-9 CCC), grabbing a team high seven rebounds, along with four steals, a block, and an assist. Crocker said, “This was really a team effort tonight. #Calie [McVicker]# had some really big plays and that was the real spark in our comeback. She gave the rest of us the inspiration to keep fighting.”

Elise Gray added 13 points and McVicker chipped in nine for NCU. Gray was playing the game in the #12 jersey originally belonging to her twin sister Emily Gray. Emily, a senior, had a season and thus career ending knee injury a few weeks back. Elise plans to pay tribute to her sister by wearing her jersey for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season.

Warner Pacific (11-12, 7-7) was led to victory by four players in double-figures. Towry finished with a team-high 18, followed closely by 17 from Kelsey Mattsen. Rider finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds and Jacque Barton (North Eugene HS) scored ten, along with a game-high eight assists.

The Beacons will be back in action tomorrow night when they take on Cascade College. Tip-Off is set for 5:30 pm.