Olympia, Wash. | Following a rough outing at C.C. Perry Gym last Saturday, the Warner Pacific University Women's Basketball team (11-11, 9-8) put their offensive woes in the rearview mirror Friday night, easily handling The Evergreen State University Geoducks (7-13, 5-11) on the road, clinching the 82-68 victory.
 
The Knights jumped out to an early 11-7 lead against the Geoducks, thanks in part to two wide-open looks for senior guard Courtney Jackson from beyond the three-point line, nailing both of them to lead all scorers with six points at the first media timeout of the game. Following a pair of free throws from junior guard Peyton Slaga, Jackson hit yet another open look from three-point range, before finally missing her first shot on the following possession.
 
After allowing the Geoducks to crawl back into contention at the end of the first quarter, the Knights opened the second quarter by scoring on their first three possessions, while holding the Geoducks scoreless over that 6-0 run to grow the back to seven points.
 
Warner Pacific forced the ball down into the post on the offensive end possession after possession following their run, finding enough success to grow the lead to double-digits before Evergreen State manifested a run of their own to cut the lead to just three points with less than three minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Turnovers from both teams plagued the entire first half, with the Knights and Geoducks each sporting eight turnovers apiece going into the halftime break. However, the difference maker after the first 20 minutes of play was what would happen following the turnovers, as Warner Pacific outscored Evergreen State 15-8 on possessions following a turnover by the other team. Combine the points-off-turnover margin with the 51.4% made field goal percentage, and you find why the Knights held a 47-39 lead over the Geoducks heading to the locker room.
 
A single-digit halftime lead wouldn't prove to be all that Knights' Head Coach Matt Gregg and his squad wanted to get out of their trip to Olympia, as they busted out of the break to quickly double their lead, making it a 14-point lead with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. With Warner Pacific usually relying on their success from the three-point line to win games this season, the Knights had continued to force the issue underneath the basket, resulting in open looks on a consistent basis down the court.
 
Warner Pacific's lockdown defensive presence resulted in just 12 third quarter points for the Geoducks, resulting in WPU riding a 13-point lead going into the final quarter of play. Jackson had all scorers beat yet again at the end of the third quarter with 21 points, shooting well above 60% from the field.
 
After extending the lead to a game-high 18 points, Evergreen State hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull to within 12 points with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Geoducks' Head Coach Jackie Robinson quickly called a timeout, sensing the opportunity to get his team in the same mindset to close the gap in the final minutes of regulation.
 
However, a double-digit lead for the Knights proved too much to overcome, as buckets by both sides back-and-forth dictated the remainder of this game, thus sealing Warner Pacific's 82-68 win in their opening conference contest of the weekend.
 
Knights' senior forward Hannah Myers was an absolute presence on the court and in the key for Warner Pacific tonight, dominating the paint to score 21 points and haul in 12 rebounds to clinch yet another double-double, while adding eight assists to fall just two shy of her first ever career triple-double. Jackson matched Myers with 21 points of her own, continuing to score among the conference leaders to stay near the top of the leaderboard for points per game (16.6).
 
The Evergreen State College was led by guard Monique Bungay, who scored a game-high 24 points and added a pair of rebounds and assists to lead all scorers. Dual guard/forward threat Trinity Betoney added 14 points with seven rebounds by battling both in the paint and outside the key.
 
The Knights will look to avenge their first home loss of the season this year tomorrow afternoon, as they will travel a little further north to face the Northwest University Eagles at 3pm PDT. The Knights are looking for their 10^th conference win of the season, which would be the first time since their last full year during the 2019-20 season.