Women's Basketball Game Night: WU to Face Pioneers

By Sara Brooks, Assistant Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6219

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team will host Lewis & Clark College on Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. (PST) in Cone Field House. This is the first of four occasions in which the women will play the second game of the men's and women's doubleheaders during Northwest Conference action. The Bearcat men will square off against the Pioneers at 6 p.m. (PST).

The Bearcats are 2-11 overall and 0-4 in the Northwest Conference. Lewis & Clark is currently 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the NWC.

Last Week's Games

The Bearcats dropped a pair of Northwest Conference games last week. On Jan. 8, WU was defeated by the University of Puget Sound, 76-49. Linfield College pulled out a victory over the Bearcats, 68-55, on Jan. 9.

Willamette vs. Linfield College

Linfield, led by first year head coach Casey Kushiyama, got their first NWC victory of the season at Willamette. Both teams entered the contest at 0-3. The Bearcats and Wildcats played even for most of the first half before Linfield pulled away in the final minutes to gain a thirteen point advantage at halftime.

Despite a strong performance from Alex Zennan (Jr., G, Sammamish, WA/Eastlake HS), the Bearcats were never able to recover from Linfield's late first half run. The two teams played even in the second half, each scoring 32 points.

Zennan finished the game with 27 points, six rebounds and six steals. She knocked down seven three pointers during the game, tying the school record for three pointers made in a single game.

Not to be overlooked, Keilyn Fujioka (Jr., P, Kailua, HI/Iolani School) added twelve points, shooting 5-9 from the field. She also had six rebounds and five blocked shots.

Willamette vs. University of Puget Sound
Once again, it was two runs by the opponent that doomed the Bearcats. The Loggers ended the first half with a 14-4 run to take a 38-25 lead at halftime.

Willamette battled back in the second half, taking advantage of an injury to Puget Sound standout Claire Ely, and cut the lead to just four points with fourteen minutes to play. However, once Ely returned from the training room, the Bearcats could not hang with the Loggers. Puget Sound won the game 76-49.

Fujioka shot 7-11 from the field and finished with 17 points. She also added nine rebounds. Erin Barclay (Jr., G, Snohomish,WA/Bothell HS) contributed nine points on 4-8 shooting. Zennan finished with twelve points.

Ely scored 26 points for the Loggers. She continues to lead the NWC in scoring.

Tonight's Opponent

Lewis & Clark College
Nickname: Pioneers
Location: Portland, Ore.
Affiliations: NCAA Division III, Northwest Conference
2008-09 Record: 11-14, 5-11 NWC
2009-10 Record: 10-3, 4-0 NWC
Last Meeting: L&C won 68-59 on Feb. 14, 2009

Lewis & Clark is on a four game winning streak and is currently 4-0 in the NWC. The Pioneers received 17 points in the latest D3hoops.com poll to earn a spot in the others receiving votes category.

L&C leads the conference in scoring offense, averaging 66.8 points per game. The Pios are shooting 40% from the field, 42% from the three point line and 71% from the free throw line.

Their strong offensive attack is led by Margaret Dowling and Kristina Williams. Dowling and Williams are each averaging 13.3 points per game. Christina Herring (11.5) and Talerra Rich (10.3) are also averaging double figures. Herring leads the conference in assists with six per game.

Bearcat Fast Breaks

* Zennan's seven three pointers against Linfield tied the school record for three's in a game. Zennan is now tied in the record books with Amy Ulrey (1995) and Kelly Sorenson (2000).

* Fujioka scored 29 points in the Bearcat's last two games while shooting 12-20 (60%) from the field.

* As a team, Willamette leads the conference in blocked shots per game (6.25).

* Fujioka leads the conference in blocked shots with 2.75 blocks per game.

* The Bearcats are holding opponents to 35.7% shooting from the field.