Columbia Basin defeated Linn-Benton at home to close out 2024 73-53.

On the verge of Christmas break, CBC had one more game in the bag before the holiday against Linn-Benton. The Roadrunners hit a few quick buckets early to make it 6-2 but the Hawk press began to set in and do its thing. Ezrah Ray was hot early on the post while Sadie Tanner and Analyssa Maldonado were able to create easy drives to the bucket. At the end of the first, Basin had mounted a 15-2 run to make it 17-8. Linn-Benton came right back with a haymaker of their own in the second as buckets were harder to come by for the Hawks. Both teams exchanged layins with under 30 seconds to go giving CBC the the 29-25 lead heading into the break.

Outside of half time, Tanner knocked down an early 3 to get the Hawks back going in the right direction. In 3 mintues, CBC had the lead back to 18 points lead by Tanner's quick hands on defense and some outside shooting from Baylie Voile off the bench. Late in the 3rd, Linn-Benton capitalized off of a few consecutive turnovers to cut the lead back to 11 heading into the 4th. Right out of the break, Tanner nabbed another steal the lead to free throws on the other end. From there, the Hawks took control of the game by settling in and pounding the ball inside. The Roadrunners couldn't muster any sort of momentum for a comeback as Basin would go on to win it by the final score of 73-53.

The Hawks move to 7-4 on the season to finish out 2024. They will return in 2025 on Holden Court to open up league play against Treasure Valley on Wednesday January 8th at 5pm.