Eugene, Ore. – Junior Morgan McKinney scored her 1,000th career point for Northwest Christian leading the Beacons to a 97-75 victory over Multnomah on Saturday night. The win moves NCU into sole control of first place in the Cascade Conference.
 
Multnomah kept things close in the first half, shooting 56% from the field and 5-of-7 from three, trailing by four at halftime, 45-41. NCU was then able to pull away in the second half as they outscored the Lions 52-34, shooting 58% from the field. The Beacons controlled the glass outrebounding Multnomah 42-36 with a season-high 20 offensive rebounds in the victory.
 
Beacon Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "If you love offense, tonight was the game to be at. I give credit to Multnomah. They hit some tough shots and hit some big threes in the first half which was frustrating for us. But we battled, and man are we fun to watch offensively. It was a great team win tonight as we move into first place. It is a fun place to be."
 
On a three point make late in the third quarter, Junior Morgan McKinney surpassed 1,000 career points for the Beacons as she tallied 26 points, six assists, and five rebounds on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
The milestone makes her the fourth player in NCU history to surpass 1,000 points behind Emily Gray (1236), Lindsey Shearer (1206), and Elise Gray (1124). She is the first junior to accomplish the feat and at 1,005, McKinney needs 231 points to become the Beacons all-time leading scorer.
 
Meadors said, "To be able to watch Morgan go out and score 1,000 points over the past two plus years with more to go she has just been a heck of a player for us. She is efficient and is continually making the right decision each and every time down court. She shares the ball and makes some unbelievable passes along with not turning the ball over."
 
Kayce Mock added to the Beacon attack with 16 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and four steals while Shanay Dotson scored 17 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Aspen Slifka added 15 points in the victory as NCU tied their season-high in scoring.
 
"Kayce had back to back double doubles," said Meadors. "I just can't say enough about the kid. If you look at her stat line tonight, while battling their 6-foot-6 post all night long, you can't help but be impressed."
 
Alaygza Portis led the Lions (3-11, 0-7 CCC) with 19 points and five rebounds on 8-16 shooting from the field while Erykah Campbell added 14 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. Dalila Rincan tallied 12 points, and nine assists in the loss.
 
Next week is shaping up to be a big one for the CCC as Corban (11-6, 7-2) and NCU (11-3, 6-1) hit the road to take on Oregon Tech (11-5, 5-1) and Southern Oregon (10-5, 6-2) in a clash between the top-four teams in the conference standings. On Friday night the Beacons face the Owls while Corban takes on the Raiders. Both games are set for 5:30 pm start times.
 
Meadors said, "Last night it was Sarah [Reinecker], tonight it was someone else. I can't wait to see who it will be next weekend. We have some work to do defensively and I hold that responsibility on me as we improve and tighten some things down over the week. I hope we can go out and get some more stops knowing our offensive will keep us in the game each and every night."