Columbia Basin upset West #1 seed Lower Columbia in the first round of the NWAC Championships 69-46. Amber Swan lead the way for CBC with 25 points and 7 rebounds.

After splitting their regular season matchup 1-1, the rubber match came in the Sweet 16. Lower Columbia came out with the hot hand from deep and an early 15-9 lead. On the back side of a media timeout, Amber Swan and Sadie Tanner began to get going as the Hawks chased the deficit back. Being very familiar with each other, both teams looked very prepared to counter-punch the entire game. A couple of big stops down the stretch in the second lead to easy buckets including Swan's 18-footer just seconds before the buzzer giving the Hawks a 27-21 lead into the break.
 
Third quarter featured some fast break runs as LCC began to narrow the gap but Basin's rebounding kept them at bay as they continued to run their offense through Swan and Tanner. Point guard Analyssa Maldonado kept the ship steady despite LCC's aggressive press and defense. The steady play coupled with aggressive rebounding allowed the Hawks to build a 17 point lead midway through the 4^th quarter. 
 
An 8-0 run by the Red Devils cut it to 11 but it was too much CBC as the Hawks pounded away at the clock allowing to room for a comeback. Swan and sophomore Baylie Voile came up with huge buckets while Tanner and Maldonado each grabbed steals to seal the deal.
 
With the 69-46 final score, CBC moves on to the Elite 8 to face 2-seed Umpqua starting Friday at 2pm. The winner will move onto the second weekend and Final Four.