EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University women's basketball team knocked off Concordia University on Saturday night 71-66, moving within a half game of fourth place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Seniors Melyssa Weber and Allie Kelsey combined to score 30 points in their final regular season home game.
 
The Beacons trailed for most of the night, but a 24-for-28 effort at the free-throw line helped separate the combatants as NCU erased a six-point deficit over the final 3 ½ minutes.
 
Lexi Campbell set the tone early for the Cavaliers with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. A Sierra Dean triple with 15:57 to play gave the visitors a 13-5 lead which would remain theirs for most of the first half. NCU rallied late in the period and briefly took a pair of short leads before a three-pointer from Janae Klarich at the buzzer sent CU to the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
 
The Beacons kept things close throughout the second half, clawing to within a single point on multiple occasions and tying the game at 54-54 with 7:10 remaining. The Cavaliers calmed things down with six straight points over the next three minutes to claim a 60-54 advantage.
 
With 3:25 remaining, senior Hannah Frederick lit the Beacons on fire with an old fashioned three-point play igniting a 15-0 run to give the Blue and Gold their largest lead of the night, 69-60 with 43 seconds to play. The Beacons did miss two of their four free throws in the final possessions, but it wouldn't matter.
 
NCU (11-12, 7-8) shot 38% in the game and out-rebounded the Cavs 45-33. Weber proved to be dominant again, scoring a game-high 16 points as she shot 5-for-8 from the field. Kelsey capped her Morse Event Center career on a high note, scoring 14 points as she hit a pair of three-pointers.
 
Chandler Gabrio came off the bench to score 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Demarea Caples added 11 points off the bench. The NCU reserves outscored their CU counterparts 35-18 in the contest.
 
Frederick added six points, three assists and two steals in her final regular-season home game, senior Mindy Smith got the start with two rebounds and an assist, and senior Breanna Schmidt was able to begin the game on the floor as well, despite being unable to compete due to a lower leg injury. She was quickly substituted, but was able to add one more career start to her four-year resume with the team.
 
Head Coach Heath Alexander said, "Tonight was all for our seniors. Thank you to Mindy, Bri, Hannah, Mel and Allie for all that you have done for this team."
 
Concordia (11-12, 5-9) had three players in double-figures with Dean and McKenna Daly scoring 14 points each. Klarich added 13 points and eight assists in the loss. Concordia suffered from foul trouble all evening as three players fouled out and the Cavs also shot just 13-for-23 from the free-throw line. They were 39% from the floor and hit seven three-pointers.
 
As a sign of just how much parity the Cascade Collegiate Conference has on display, NCU is now a half game behind Evergreen for fourth place in the conference but has yet to clinch a playoff spot with three games to play. A single win for the Beacons over the last two weeks or a loss by Northwest would ensure a return to the post season for the third consecutive season. Concordia remained in seventh place with their loss.