PORTLAND, Ore. – The No. 24-ranked NCU women's basketball team won their fifth consecutive conference contest on Saturday night, beating Warner Pacific College by a final of 75-62 on the Knights home court. Current CCC player-of-the-week Anamaria Virjoghe scored 19 points for the Beacons while making nine of her 11 field goals (81.8-percent).
 
Warner Pacific (9-10, 5-4 CCC) shot at a slightly higher clip on the night, but were outmatched inside with Northwest Christian (13-1, 6-1) holding a 47-28 advantage on the boards. The Beacons capitalized on their strength with 28 second chance points, compared to just two by the Knights.
 
"We really battled hard tonight against a tough team." NCU head coach Heath Alexander said. "We rebounded really hard, and Kat was incredible tonight. Our big lineup was really tough for them to stop, and we guarded really well."
 
Fouls began the game for both teams, with the first six points on the board coming via free-throws. Most of the first period was back-and-forth, with the score tying four times within the first seven minutes. Niki Duncan broke what would be the game's final tie with her first three-pointer at the 2:28 mark to a key a ten-point run the Beacons, sending the first quarter into the books with NCU up eight, 18-10.
 
The beginning of the second played similar to the first, with matching scores from both sides before the Beacons pulled-away with another ten-point streak to put them up 30-17 with 3:03 left in the half. NCU padded their lead by a few more and went into the break with a 16-point lead.
 
The Beacons played the entire second half from an advantageous position, holding-on to a double-digit lead throughout. The Knights shot 58.6-percent from the field in the final 20-minutes of action, but were unable to close the gap as NCU left Portland with their 13th win of the season.
 
Virjoghe added seven rebounds to go with her 19 points, while fellow freshman Morgan McKinney scored 17 points with seven boards of her own and four steals. Niki Duncan finished the game with 14 points, hitting four three-point shots. Katerina Brejchova continued to be the catalyst for the Beacons, totaling fifteen rebounds, eight points, eight assists and two steals on the night.
 
Bailey Allen led the Knights with 19 points and three assists, with Deepika Kapil (11) and Grace Prom (10) finishing in double-figures as well.
 
The Beacons return home next weekend for a pair of conference games, the first being a top-25 clash against the No. 11 Southern Oregon Raiders on Friday, January 12. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in the Morse Event Center.