EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University women's basketball team shook off a Friday-night loss with a big 71-51 win over Evergreen on Saturday night.
 
After the Beacons burst out to an 18-8 lead in the first quarter, Evergreen put their foot on the gas, battling back to take a lead late in the half. NCU took a 28-27 edge into the intermission and proceeded to put the game away over the final 20 minutes.
 
NCU (9-15, 6-9 CCC) jumped into sole possession of seventh place with the victory, half a game clear of Multnomah in eighth and one full game ahead of Northwest University in ninth.
 
The Beacons shot 44% in the game but collected 12 steals as they forced 20 Geoduck turnovers. Evergreen (0-17, 0-14) was held to 35% shooting and were outscored 18-0 off the bench.
 
The Beacons were led by Morgan McKinney, bouncing back from a tough offensive night on Friday with 14 points and two blocks. Shanay Dotson and Kaylynn Bush followed with 13 points each while Dani Baker came off the bench to score nine. Hannah Eddens and Conner Borigo posted six rebounds each to lead the team.
 
Evergreen got a game-high 19 points from Anna Cook while Deidra Miller scored 11. Merrily Jomes added eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
NCU will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Portland to face Warner Pacific University and Multnomah. The Beacons defeated WPU at home earlier this year but were knocked off by the Lions who claimed their first victory ever against Northwest Christian.
 
Evergreen heads home to Olympia and will take on The College of Idaho and No. 10 Eastern Oregon University.