KENNEWICK — The Clark College women’s basketball team was eliminated from the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament after a 70-53 loss to Blue Mountain of Pendleton, Ore., in the fifth-place semifinal on Monday afternoon at the Toyota Center.
The Penguins finished the tournament with a 1-3 record and went 16-11 on the season.
Clark found itself fighting to stay in the game within the first seven minutes. The Timberwolves (18-10) had sizable leads throughout the game by shooting 42 percent from the field compared to Clark’s 32 percent.
“It’s has been a tough tournament,” Clark center Alexa Orcutt said. “The ball didn’t always fall the way we wanted it to, but we always played hard and gave it our all.”
The Penguins were out rebounded 46-39.
Leading the Timberwolves throughout the tournament is Fort Vancouver High grad Mar’Shay Moore, averaging close to 30 points a game. Moore had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against the Penguins.
“The main part for me is to come out here and have as much fun as I can,” Moore said. “Just being here is fantastic and a blessing. I love to be able come out and help my team as much as I can.”
Clark coach Al Aldridge, said his team battled all year through injuries.
“On top of it all we also lost (Michaela Bitanaga) yesterday,” he said. “It’s really hard to play through it all. You could tell our girls were tired, and without a deep bench we found the score slipping away from us.”
In his first three seasons at Clark, this will be the first time that Aldridge won’t be bringing back a trophy from the NWAC tournament.
“This is a great group of girls,” Penguins’ coach said. “They have fought so hard and it is a true testament to their character that they were able to make it this far and beat the No. 1 seed in the East (Walla Walla).”
Leading Clark with points against Blue Mountain was Orcutt with 17 and Taylor Howlett with 16. (Click here for complete boxscore)
“This being my last year with Clark I have so enjoyed my teammates and the school,” Howlett said. “Although we wanted to have a different outcome to our time here, we still did a great job with everything that we have come through this season. I’m proud to be a Penguin, and this team has helped me realize who I am as a player and a person.”
