KIRKLAND, Wash. – Northwest University scored a pair of free-throws with 11 seconds remaining to take the lead and Bushnell was unable to hit on two jumpers in the key as time ran out, giving the Eagles a 74-73 victory in Cascade Collegiate Conference action Friday night. 
 
Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "We had our opportunities, we had chances at the end, and we had a lot of offensive rebounds, which has been our Achilles heel. We just didn't shoot the ball well tonight and we blew three different leads when we had a chance to put it away."
 
The win was a big one for the Eagles (16-12, 10-11 CCC) who have clinched a playoff berth but are battling for position for the upcoming Cascade Conference tournament. NU shot 51% from the field and overcame a 1-for-13 performance from three-point range and 16 turnovers.
 
Bushnell (17-12, 14-7), already guaranteed a home game for Tuesday's CCC Quarterfinals, are now locked into fourth place and the No. 4 seed for the tournament after shooting 39%.
 
The Beacons out-rebounded NU 47-40, held a 23-13 advantage in points off the bench, but were out-scored in the paint and off turnovers.
 
"We made mistakes and feel like we gave one away tonight," said Meadors, "but at this point in the year you have to look at the positives and our rebounding really picked up. If we are going to make a run here late in the year, rebounding is the thing that is going to put us over the top. Nine times out of ten, shooting isn't going to be the element that lets us down."
 
Bushnell had four players in double-figures on Friday, led by Bella Pedrojetti who came off the bench to score 17 points. Aspen Slifka added 16 points, Kalina Rojas scored 12 and Sarah Reinecker added 11. Aly Mirabile ended her night with seven points, along with a game-high nine assists and Libby Mathis came off the pine to score six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Northwest was led by Sam Van Loo who led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Livi Lindsey scored 16 points while Duchesne finished with ten points and seven assists.
 
Bushnell closes out the regular season on Saturday afternoon against Evergreen at 3:00 pm. Then it will be a waiting game as they find out who their first-round guest to the Morse Center will be.