Bearcats Move into Fourth Place in NWC with 62-59 Win over Rival Linfield

Written by Mark Colachico, Contributing Writer

SALEM, Ore. - For the fourth time in the past six meetings, Willamette University's women's basketball team defeated Northwest Conference rival Linfield College, securing a hard-fought 62-59 victory over the visiting Wildcats on Friday evening, Feb. 14, inside Cone Field House.

With the win, Willamette improves to 12-10 overall and 6-7 in Northwest Conference games. Also, the Bearcats move into a tie with Linfield for fourth place in the current NWC standings with three games remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, Linfield falls to 12-10 overall and 6-7 in conference contests as well.

Elizabeth Logsdon (Sr., F, McMinnville, OR/McMinnville HS) led the Bearcats with a team-high 16 points and game-high tying nine rebounds, while Kassin Hopkins (Sr., G, Connell, WA/Connell HS/Bellevue College) also scored in double figures for Willamette adding 10 points. Sami Riggs (Fy., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) and Amanda Carpenter (Jr., G, Beaverton, OR/Sunset HS) contributed nine points each, while Drew Farmer (Sr., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS) added six points, four rebounds, and a game-high tying four assists. Ava Kitchin (Fy., F, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS) would assist Logsden on the glass with nine rebounds of her own, while Carpenter tied Farmer with four assists.

Kory Oleson, a senior transfer from NCAA Division II member Western Oregon, led Linfield with a game-high 18 points, while Delaney Ragan and Shasta Lofgren added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Oleson would also grab a team-high eight rebounds, while four Wildcats tallied two assists each.

The first quarter saw Willamette quickly jump out to a 5-2 lead before Linfield used a 5-0 run over a 71-second span to pull ahead by two points (7-5) on an Oleson free throw. The host Bearcats would then use a 5-0 run of their own over the next two-plus minutes to grab a 10-7 lead on a lay-in by Lucy Morrill (Jr., G, Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) with 3:48 on the clock. Over the final three-plus minutes, neither team would pull ahead by more than three points as the opening quarter would end in a 13-13 tie thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play by Riggs.

Quarter #2 would see Willamette push its lead to as much as five points (22-17) over the opening five-plus minutes, as Logsdon would connect on a lay-in with 4:53 on the clock. The final almost five minutes would see the host Bearcats push their halftime lead to double digits (36-26) thanks to a quarter-closing 14-9 run that included a three-pointer by Madison Ballard (So., G, Monroe, OR/Monroe HS) for the final points of the opening half.

The third quarter would see Linfield increase its defensive pressure and used a 17-5 run over the opening six-plus minutes to pull ahead by two points (43-41) on a Oleson three-pointer with 3:41 on the clock. Over the next two minutes, Willamette would use a 7-0 run to pull back in front by five points (48-43) on a Logsdon lay-in with 104 seconds remaining on the clock. The visiting Wildcats would fight back to within a single point (50-49) at the end of the third quarter, as Brooke Landis closed out the quarter's scoring with a buzzer-beating lay-in.

The fourth and final quarter would begin with neither team holding more than a one-point lead, as Willamette would grab a four-point advantage (57-53) on a Logsdon lay-in with 6:21 left in the game. Linfield would claw its way back within two points (59-57) on back-to-back free throws by Lofgren, as just under three minutes showed on the clock. Neither team would score again over the next minute, as Willamette finally broke through with a three-pointer by Riggs to pull ahead 62-57 with 1:44 left. Fifty seconds later, Linfield's Ragan would bring the Wildcats within a long distance bucket (62-59). The Wildcats would force a turnover by Willamette with 15 seconds left before Linfield nearly tied the game on a last-second attempt from beyond the arc by Cassidy Schutz that rattled off the rim, sending the host Bearcats to their first win this month as well as snapping a three-game losing streak.

As a team, Willamette combined to shoot 22 for 55 (40.0%) from the field that included a 9-for-27 (33.3%) showing from beyond the three-point line and a 9-for-10 (90.0%) performance at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Linfield was a combined 21 for 57 (36.8%) from the field, 4 for 14 (28.6%) from long distance, and 13 for 16 (81.3%) at the charity stripe.

Willamette returns to action tomorrow afternoon - Saturday, February 15 - against the Lutes of Pacific Lutheran University beginning at 4 p.m. (PST) in Tacoma, Washington.