Northwest Christian Defeats Willamette, 74-58

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Lindsey Shearer of Northwest Christian University earned 29 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four steals to lead the Beacons to a 74-58 win over Willamette University in the second round of the Capital City/Bruce Henderson Memorial Holiday Tournament on Friday, Nov. 25. The game was played at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center on the campus of Corban University.

NCU improved to 6-4 overall. Willamette dropped to 0-3 on the season.

The Bearcats will play in the seventh place game on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 12 p.m. (PST) at Corban. Willamette will take on Johnson and Wales University (Colo.), which lost to Menlo College (Calif.), 97-61, in the second round.

Northwest Christian will play on Saturday at 2 p.m. (PST) at Corban. The Beacons will battle Menlo in the fifth place game.

Willamette's top scorer against NCU was MacKenzie Lamson (So., Wing, Portland, OR/LIncoln HS), who provided the Bearcats with 16 points on 7 of 12 field goals and 2 of 4 free throws. Rebecca Josephson (So., Wing, Fair Oaks, CA/Del Camp HS) achieved 10 points and six boards. Kaileigh Westermann (Sr., F, Belfair, WA/South Kitsap HS) finished the game with eight points and 14 rebounds.

In addition to Shearer, other double-digit scorers for Northwest Christian were Jess Anderson with 17 points and Katie Collins with 15 points.

The teams had nearly identical shooting percentages, with NW Christian hitting 24 of 67 field goals (35.8%) and Willamette making 24 of 68 attempts from the floor (35.3%). Northwest Christian gained a huge advantage at the free throw line, where the Beacons went 20 of 25 (80.0%), while the Bearcats were 7 of 12. WU was called for 20 fouls, while NCU picked up just 11 fouls.

Willamette also committed a season-high 27 turnovers, while the Beacons lost the ball just 14 times. NCU created 15 steals and Willamette earned six steals. The Bearcats offset their turnover troubles by hitting the boards, as WU accumulated a 52-40 rebounding margin, including 22 caroms from the offensive glass.

The Bearcats took a 10-5 lead following a 6-0 run that included baskets by Lamson, Westermann and Katie Kalugin (Fr., Wing, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS). Northwest Christian answered by scoring the next 13 points to claim an 18-10 lead with 10:09 remaining in the half.

A jumper by Shearer at the 7:51 mark increased NCU's margin to nine points, 23-14, but Willamette rallied, reducing the lead to 27-24 with 1:09 left before the intermission. WU's 10-4 run ended with four points from Josephson on a layup and a jump shot.

Anderson hit a 3-pointer for the Beacons with 58 seconds on the clock, giving NCU a 30-24 halftime lead.

Northwest Christian surged out at the start of the second half, as the Beacons used a 13-4 run to extend their advantage to 43-28. Jo Jo DeLong (Fr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) ended the streak with a 3-pionter for Willamette at the 15:00 mark. Westermann assisted on the play. Lamson tallied the next four points, allowing WU to pull within 43-35.

The Beacons countered with eight consecutive points for a 54-38 margin with 8:52 remaining. Northwest Christian led by double digits the rest of the game.

In the two second round games played in the winners' bracket, Vanguard University (Calif.) defeated Montreat College (N.C.), 82-76, and Corban defeated College of St. Mary (Neb.), 78-65. Vanguard will take on Corban in the championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m. (PST), while Montreat will play College of St. Mary in the third place game on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Remaining Schedule

Saturday, Nov. 26, 3rd Round
12 p.m. (at Corban) - 7th/8th - Willamette vs. Johnson and Wales
2 p.m. (at Corban) - 5th/6th - Northwest Christian vs. Menlo
4 p.m. (at Corban) - 3rd/4th - Montreat vs. College of St. Mary
6 p.m. (at Corban) - Championship Game - Corban vs. Vanguard

Games played on Saturday will have Live Stats available on the Corban Athletics Website.

An extended story will be posted later.