Despite a historic defensive performance from Bayleigh Harder, the Evergreen State College Geoducks came up short in a 64-54 loss to Bushnell University in Cascade Collegiate Conference women’s basketball action at the Costantino Recreation Center on Saturday, Jan. 31 in Olympia.
Harder, a senior and Yelm High School graduate, tied the Evergreen single-game record with eight blocked shots, matching the mark set last season by Jalyn Sackrider against the same Bushnell squad. Evergreen finished with nine blocks as a team.
Senior guard Jenna Glenzel led the Geoducks offensively with 12 points, while narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. She also added three assists and three steals. Harder finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and freshman guard Habiba Adam joined them in double figures with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.
Despite trailing for much of the game, Evergreen battled late in the fourth quarter.
The Geoducks jumped out to an early lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Adam and Amaialyne Cepeda put Evergreen ahead 7-4. Jesselle Victo Castillo followed with a layup to extend the margin before Bushnell responded with a late first-quarter run to take an 18-15 lead.
Evergreen briefly pulled even early in the second quarter when Harder knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 20-20. Bushnell answered with a decisive surge to close the half, outscoring the Geoducks 10-0 over the final minutes to take a 36-24 lead into the break.
The Beacons opened the third quarter with a 16-2 run to build their largest advantage of the night, but Evergreen continued to fight. The Geoducks outscored Bushnell 16-7 in the fourth quarter and trimmed the deficit to 10 points with just over a minute remaining, though the comeback attempt fell short.
Haleigh Hanson added eight points and four rebounds for Evergreen, while Victo Castillo finished with five points and three assists.
Bushnell was led by Kenzie Pedersen’s 17 points and six rebounds. The Beacons improved to 6-16 overall and 4-10 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, while Evergreen fell to 0-17 overall and 0-14 in conference play.
The Geoducks take to the road Friday, Feb. 6, when they travel to face Eastern Oregon University at 5:30 p.m.
