Waldal Nets Game-High 17 Points in 78-53 Loss to Visiting Boxers of Pacific (Ore.)

SALEM, Ore. – Senior Elyse Waldal closed out her career wearing the Cardinal and Gold with a game-high 17 points, as Willamette University's women's basketball team dropped its final game of the 2024-25 season, 78-53, on Senior Day against the visiting Boxers of Pacific University of Oregon Saturday evening inside Cone Field House.

Today's result drops Willamette to a final record of 8-17 overall and 5-11 in Northwest Conference game. On the other hand, Pacific improves to 11-14 overall and 7-9 in NWC contests to close out its season as well.

Waldal's team-high scoring performance came on 7-for-17 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-9 showing from beyond the three-point line. The senior Bearcat was aided offensively by junior Kaitlin Imai with 15 points, while sophomore Addie Hiler and first-year player Daisy Boling-Schmidt added seven points each. Waldal also led Willamette in rebounds with six boards, while Imai dished out a game-high tying four assists for the Bearcats.

Pacific began the game by scoring the opening seven points before pushing its advantage to as much as 10 points (12-2) on a jumper in the paint by Shaade Williams with 4:23 left in the first quarter. Willamette would get within seven points (12-5) thanks to a three-pointer by Imai before the visiting Boxers jumped back in front by double digit (15-5) once again a mere 90 seconds later. Waldal would cap the scoring in the first 10 minutes on a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds showing on the clock for the final difference of seven points (15-8) after the first quarter of play.

The second quarter began with a Waldal lay-in that pulled Willamette within five points (15-10) before Pacific slowly pushed its lead to as much as 17 points (34-17) as a result of a 19-7 run over a span of seven minutes. Over the final two-plus minutes, Willamette scored the final four points to cut its deficit to 13 points (34-21) at halftime.

Within the first two-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, Willamette scored seven more unanswered points to stretch its run to 11-0 over a span of five minutes between the end of the second quarter and start of the third frame to shrink the margin down to six points (34-28) with 8:12 on the clock. Unfortunately that would be as close as the host Bearcats would get, as Pacific put together a 16-4 run over a span of nearly seven minutes to pull in front by a score of 50-32 with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. The visiting Boxers would secure a 15-point advantage (52-37) at the end of three frames after putting together their third straight quarter scoring 15-or-more points.

The fourth and final quarter began with Pacific slowly increasing its lead to a game-high 29 points (72-43) behind a 20-6 run over a span of six-plus minutes. Despite the largest deficit, Willamette continued to battle pulling within 23 points (76-53) on a lay-in by Hiler with less than a minute to play. Unfortunately, Pacific would score the game's final points as the Boxers left Cone Field House with a convincing 25-point victory (78-53).

Pacific was led offensively by five different Boxers – Williams, Emily Holsan, Anya Henderson, Jasmine Olivar, and Sydney Esperanza – scoring in double figures with 15, 12, 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Holsan capped her double-double performance by leading the Boxers with a game-high 13 rebounds, while Keiki McGee handed out a game-high tying four assists for the visiting team.

As a team, Willamette was a combined 18-for-59 (30.5%) from the field, 6-for-26 (23.1%) from beyond the three-point line, and 11-for-13 (84.6%) at the free throw line. On the other hand, Pacific was a combined 31-for-66 (47.0%) from the field, 9-for-23 (39.1%) from long distance, and 7-of-8 (87.5%) at the charity stripe.

On Senior Day, Waldal was spotlighted for her two-year career in a Bearcat uniform where she played in a combined 51 games and scored 617 points on 42.9% (227-for-529) from the field and 38.7% (104-for-269) from long distance. The transfer from Linfield University also tallied a combined 222 rebounds (avg. 4.4), 71 assists (avg. 1.4), 33 steals, and five blocked shots. She also earned All-Northwest Conference First Team honors in 2024, while also being named Willamette Bearcat Newcomer of the Year.

Willamette concludes its 2024-25 season and now turns its attention toward next year, as the Bearcats as slated to return 11-of-12 players from this year's roster.