Kirkland, Wash. | The Warner Pacific University Women's Basketball team (12-11, 10-8) dug deep in a crucial conference matchup Saturday afternoon against the Northwest University Eagles (14-11, 8-10), finding just enough room to clinch their 10^th conference win of the year and sweeping the Washington schools by defeating the Eagles 78-74.
 
Knights' Head Coach Matt Gregg was ecstatic for his squad's fifth win in seven games back from the two-week pause on WPU Athletic Events, as he called upon his team to find it in their hearts to bring back the passion they had before the break.
 
"We haven't been playing exceptionally well after our pause as a team," Coach Gregg started off by sharing.
 
"The team got together and talked about being consistent in what we do, and they completely backed it up this weekend. I am very happy with our effort today, as we have several kids step up and make plays for the team," said a very content Coach Gregg.
 
The Knights and Eagles picked up right where they left things off in Portland earlier this season, going toe-to-toe up until the first media timeout, with the score knotted at 12-12. Both teams were finding success in the key and via the three-point shot, showing why these two teams matchup so well with each other. Senior guard Lynden Harry was feeling it from three-point land earlier, connecting on two of her three attempts to lead WPU from range.
 
A main area of concern this season for Warner Pacific has been their ability to defend against tall post players underneath the basket, and just like in their December 17^th matchup, Eagles' Post Sam VanLoo continued to be the focal point of Northwest's offense in the first quarter of this game. VanLoo trailed only Knights' senior forward Hannah Myers in scoring at the end of the first quarter, with Myers holding a one point edge of 11 points in Warner Pacific's 24-18 leading first 10 minutes of action.
 
Northwest was able to cut their six point deficit in half over the length of quarter number two, as Warner Pacific took a three point lead of 39-36 into the halftime break. Northwest almost managed to flip the script just before the end of the quarter, with VanLoo now leading all scorers with 14 points, while Myers had to take a seat on the bench at 13 points midway into the second quarter after picking up her third personal foul.
 
Despite holding the edge in nearly every statistical category, Warner Pacific only had that three-point lead to look back on over a half in which they shot 61.5% from the field, and a scorching 6-of-10 from beyond the three-point line, some of their best shooting numbers in a half this season. The issue for WPU came in second-chance points for the Eagles, as Northwest came down with an offensive rebound on nearly every time down the court, leading to more opportunities for Northwest to close the gap to a single possession before the halftime horn.
 
Northwest shot out of halftime looking to make this an even more competitive half, hitting their first two three-pointers to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point lead over the Knights. VanLoo continued to have her way in the post, snagging a then game-high eight rebounds before picking up her second foul, en route to a double-double performance with 19 points.
 
The Knights and Eagles battled back-and-forth for the entirety of the third quarter, with lead changes happening on almost every possession for either team. However, Northwest was able to find the most consistency to take a six-point lead into the final quarter of play, as all WPU could do was try to find an offensive presence with multiple starters in foul trouble.
 
The battle between Warner Pacific and Northwest intensified even more so into the fourth quarter, with the Knights scratching and clawing their way back into a one possession game with less than four minutes remaining in the contest. Myers and VanLoo both returned to the court, each looking to make one final push for their teams without fouling out.
 
On the very next trip down the court for WPU, Myers drove to the basket and drew a foul from the Eagles to put herself on the free-throw line, where she hit both to tie this game at 68-68, three and a half minutes remaining. VanLoo was blocked by Knights' freshman Makayla Jenkins the next play, resulting in an easy coast-to-coast layup for Harry to put Warner Pacific up two for their first lead of the fourth quarter.
 
After the Eagles briefly retook the lead, Knights' senior guard Courtney Jackson decided to make her presence felt, hitting a deep three-point basket to steal the lead back, then went coast-to-coast on the next possession to hit the quick layup for a Warner Pacific three-point advantage, with less than a minute to play.
 
Despite Knights' senior guard Anna Farner picking up her fourth foul on the next offensive possession for the Eagles, Northwest' guard Livi Lindsey missed both of her bonus free throws, and WPU picked up the rebound to force the Eagles into a must-stop defensive possession.
 
The Knights missed two crucial shots under the basket with time ticking down, but a called jumpball with 13 seconds remaining gave Warner Pacific the ball back, and the Eagles had to play the foul/free-throw game if they were going to get back into this contest. Myers hit one-of-two free-throws to make it a four-point game with 10 seconds left, and Northwest called their final timeout of regulation in hopes drawing up a basket and a stoppage to force an overtime period.
 
Rather than risking a potential game-tying four-point play, Myers fouled the Eagles on the floor, setting up two free throws for the Eagles. Unfortunately for the Knights, that was Myers fifth personal foul, forcing her to the bench for the remainder of this matchup.
 
Myers' foul out didn't prove to be as costly for Warner Pacific as expected, as Knights' senior guard Kylie Guelsdorf sank both of her free-throws after being fouled in a last-ditch effort from the Eagles, clinching the Knights' 78-74 road win.
 
Harry finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shots from the floor, hitting 5-of-6 three-point attempts in the process. Myers followed Harry with 16 points and five assists and four rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble.
 
Eagles' VanLoo had the most dominate game of any player on the court tonight, scoring at will for 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the court to go along with 13 boards for an easy double-double. Lindsey was the only other player to score in double-digits for Northwest, cashing in 11 points and five assists in their home loss.

With the victory, WPU now holds a tie-breaker scenario over The Evergreen State College, meaning that no matter what game outcomes occur over the last two weeks of the regular season, the Warner Pacific Women's Basketball team will be in Cascade Collegiate Conference Playoffs.
 
The Knights look to build on the weekend sweep of the Washington schools by traveling south next week for their toughest conference partner matchups of the season, starting with Southern Oregon University on Friday at 5:30pm PDT, then continuing on to Oregon Tech on Saturday at 3pm PDT.

This will be the first matchup of the season for Warner Pacific and the southern conference schools, as the first weekend of games set in Portland was forfeited by the Knights due to Covid-19 protocols.