Friday, 2/18 at Northwest University, 5:30 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday, 2/19 at The Evergreen State College, 3:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
LAST WEEKEND: The Beacons split their final regular season home games, falling to CCC-leading LC State on Friday, 69-66 before defeating Walla Walla University on Saturday, 71-67.
 
Against the No. 21-ranked Warriors, Bushnell erased all of a 19-point second-half deficit but couldn't hold on late. The Beacons shot 32% from the field and were volume shooters from deep, hitting nine triples on 41 attempts. LC State hit 40% from the field, out-rebounded the Beacons 52-48 and survived despite a 22-turnover night. Bushnell was led by Bella Pedrojetti, finishing the night with 17 points while Kalina Rojas scored 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
On Saturday night, an upset-minded Walla Walla team made things interesting but the Beacons were able to pull out a four-point victory in the end. The pesky Wolves held a late lead in the third quarter before Bushnell was able to pull away, but that they did, leading by as many as eight points over the final ten minutes and icing the game at the free-throw line shooting 10-for-12 in the fourth quarter.
 
Aspen Slifka led the way for the Beacons, scoring a double-double with 22 points, ten rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Aly Mirabile scored 11 points and had four steals. 
 
BEACON RANKINGS: Bushnell is currently sixth in the CCC in scoring (67.3 ppg) and seventh in defense (65.4 ppg allowed). The Beacons are fourth in the conference for shooting (.415) and three-point shooting (.319). The Beacons are second in the CCC in assists (16.2 apg), and third for steals (10 spg) and blocks (3.7 bpg).
 
Individually, Aspen Slifka is currently seventh in the CCC in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. Aly Mirabile is second in the CCC in assists (3.9 apg) while Morgan McKinney is close behind in fourth (3.8 apg). Bella Pedrojetti continues to be the top three-pointer shooter in the CCC, hitting on 43.3% of her shots.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: Bushnell's victory on Saturday clinched a top-four finish in the Cascade Conference, guaranteeing a home game for the quarterfinal round of the CCC Tournament next Tuesday, February 22.
 
Fourth-place is clinched, but third is still a possibility as the team sits two-games behind Eastern Oregon with two games to play. Bushnell needs a pair of wins, along with EOU losses on the road to Multnomah and Warner Pacific and then the Beacons would own the tie-breaker for the No. 3 seed as they swept the season series with the Mounties.
 
All eight teams are locked into the playoffs heading into the final weekend, but the Beacon's first place opponent is still very much in the air as two games separate fifth through eighth place. OIT, Warner Pacific, Northwest, and The College of Idaho are among the teams jockeying for position.
 
MILESTONES AND RECORDS:  Morgan McKinney should break another career record this weekend, needing just four assists to pass Aly Bruns (2009-2013) for the career record of 370.
 
Junior Aspen Slifka scored 36 points last weekend, and became the eighth Beacon to ever score 900 points. She is 17 points away from seventh-place on the all-time scoring list.
 
MEET THE EAGLES: Northwest (15-12, 9-1 CCC) has clinched a berth in the CCC tournament and could still finish anywhere from fifth through eighth place. They come into the weekend having split their last six games, 3-3.
 
The Eagles are seventh in the conference in scoring (64.4 ppg) and fifth in defense (61.4 ppg allowed). They lead the Cascade Conference with 17 assists per game and they are the fifth-best rebounding team in the CCC (40.3 rpg).
 
Sam Van Loo leads the team in scoring and is ranked No. 13 in the CCC with 13.3 points per game. She is ranked fifth in rebounds (8.7 rpg) and second for field goal percentage (.563). The guard duo of Livi Lindsey and Grace Meza are second and third in the conference respectively for steals, combining to average 4.7 per game.
 
Bushnell won the first meeting between the schools in January, claiming a 68-47 victory. It was the Beacons best defensive performance of the season holding NU under 30% shooting including a 2-for-12 performance from three-point range. Bushnell blocked nine shots in the game, led by three from Libby Mathis. Rojas posted a double-double in that game with 17 points and ten rebounds while Slifka added 11.
 
With that win, Bushnell has won four straight in the series and have pulled to an even 14-14 against the Eagles all-time.
 
MEET THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen (8-16, 6-14) will miss the postseason this year after dropping five of their last seven games. The Geoducks are not to be taken lightly on their senior night, however, as they are 6-4 at home this season including a win over CCC-leading Southern Oregon University.
 
TESC comes into the weekend ranked ninth in the conference in scoring (62.1 ppg) and sixth in defense, allowing 62.7 points per contest. Opponents are shooting just .378 against them, which is the third-lowest total in the conference, and they are tied for the CCC lead for blocks, averaging 4.2 per game. Sha'nece Garret leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game good for sixth in the CCC.
 
Evergreen will be meeting the Beacons for the first time this season after giving Bushnell a COVID-forfeit victory in the first meeting. Bushnell is 16-13 in the all-time series and, including the forfeit, have won ten straight. Nobody on the current Beacon roster las lost to the Geoducks.