EUGENE, Ore. – In a battle of two teams tied for third in the Cascade Collegiate Conference it was Northwest Christian that emerged victorious on Friday night, toppling Warner Pacific College 61-46. NCU held the Knights to just 19% shooting from the field, handing their foe just their fourth loss of the season.
 
The Beacons (11-6, 7-2 CCC) are quickly establishing themselves as a third-quarter threat and that was certainly the case once again. Leading 19-15 after a low-scoring first-half, NCU went 7-for-9 from three-point range and outscored Warner Pacific 30-10 in the third to put plenty of distance between the teams and more than enough to survive a late comeback attempt by the visitors.
 
Head Coach Heath Alexander said, "This was a great defensive win for our team. We played about as well as we can in the third quarter and our focus and effort on the defensive end was exactly what it needed to be.
 
NCU got dueling aerial assaults on Friday from senior Sami Pitts and sophomore Niki Duncan (pictured). Each played scored 15 points and each hit five three-pointers as the Beacons jumped into a second-place tie in the CCC. Hanna Mack added nine points a team-high ten rebounds while Monique Thompson finished with six points, six boards and four assists.
 
The Beacons had eight blocks in the game, bringing the season total to 105 which sits just two blocks shy of the school's single-season record. Andrea Gloss and MeShel Rad did the majority of the work with three blocks each.
 
Warner Pacific (11-4, 6-3) was led by Daesha Jackson with 18 points. The diminutive senior was just 3-for-15 from the field but went 11-for-14 at the free-throw line and had two blocks of her own. Kyeli Hendryx added nine points and six rebounds. Brett Larson finished the game with eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
 
NCU will look to hold on to their share of second place on Saturday night as the first half of the Cascade Conference schedule comes to a close with a home game against Multnomah University (3-14, 1-8). Warner Pac will aim to rebound in Salem as they take on Corban (9-9, 4-5). Both games will tip-off at 5:30 pm.