Willamette Battles Back, but Lewis & Clark Regains Lead to Defeat Bearcats, 73-64

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University charged back from a 34-23 halftime deficit to take the lead, but Lewis & Clark College scored the game's final 13 points, as the Pioneers downed the Bearcats, 73-64, on Friday, Feb. 19 at Cone Field House. The Bearcats ended the year at 12-13 overall, including 4-12 in the Northwest Conference. L&C moved to 3-21 on the season, 2-13 in the NWC with one game to play.

Miyah Heath topped L&C with 23 points, while Ayisat Afolabi scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Kaitlin Mathewson added 10 points for the Pioneers.

Kylie Towry (Jr./So., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) of Willamette led all scorers with 24 points, including 22 in the second half. She made 6 of 9 three-point shots. Her six 3-pointers tied her for fifth on Willamette's single-game list. Towry holds the school record with nine 3-pointers versus California Institute of Technology on Nov. 21, 2014.

Towry led this year's team with 64 three-point baskets, good for third on Willamette's single season list. She is fifth on WU's career list with 154 three-pointers.

Ashley Evans (So., PG, Canby, OR/Canby HS) chipped in 10 points for the Bearcats. Madi Andresen (So., C, Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS/Clackamas CC) scored eight points.

Both teams shot well from 3-point range. Lewis & Clark finished 7 for 10 (70.0%). Willamette was 10 for 18 (55.6%). During the second half, L&C hit 3 of 4 shots from behind the arc, while WU was 9 of 12.

Lewis & Clark recorded the game's first six points and led 12-2 following a jumper by Natalie Kelly with 5:03 left in the opening quarter. WU scored the next four points on layups by Evans and Marisa Hamilton (Jr./So., F, Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS), but L&C answered with a 9-4 run to end the quarter with a 21-10 lead.

Willamette matched the Pioneers in the second quarter, as each team scored 13 points.

Lewis & Clark increased its advantage with a 6-2 surge at the start of the quarter for a 27-12 margin. A bit later, back-to-back jumpers by Alex Wert (Jr., F, Spokane, WA/St. George's HS) pulled WU within 30-19 with 3:38 on the clock. The teams exchanged baskets over the remainder of the half.

A big third quarter by the Bearcats reduced Lewis & Clark's lead to 51-48. Willamette scored 25 points during the quarter, including 16 from Towry, who hit 4 of 5 three-point shots. The Bearcats ended the quarter with a 10-3 run that started and ended with a 3-pointer by Towry.

Whitney Anderson (So., G, Willamina, OR/Willamina HS) sank a 3-point basket for WU just 19 seconds into the fourth quarter to forge a 51-51 tie. The Bearcats claimed their first lead at 56-54 on a layup by Andresen with 8:47 remaining.

L&C tied the game on a jumper by Kelley Koeppen, but Towry put through a 3-pointer with 7:08 left to give the Bearcats a 59-56 edge. The next four points went to the Pioneers, before WU recorded five points in a row with a 3-pointer by Towry and a jumper by Wert. The Bearcats led 64-60 with 4:48 to go.

Willamette was unable to score again. The Pioneers received a pair of free throws from Mathewson at the 3:28 mark. Sara Hogman added a 3-pointer for L&C late in the shot clock with 2:50 remaining to give the Pioneers a 65-64 lead.

Later, a 3-pointer by Cianna Ochoco with 2:18 left increased the margin to 69-64. The Pioneers sank 4 of 6 free throws in the final minute.

Lewis & Clark shot 50.0% for the game (25 of 50), including 51.9% (14 of 27) in the first half. Willamette hit 59.3% of its field goals in the second half (16 of 27) to finish at 46.6% overasll (27 of 58). The Pioneers converted 16 of 23 free throws, while Willamette did not shoot a free throw during the game.

During pre-game announcements, the Bearcats honored Jill Phillips and Rachel Van Kessel. Phillips, a senior on the WU women's soccer team, joined the Bearcat basketball team as a practice player following the soccer season. Van Kessel, also a senior, worked as the team's manager. The Willamette basketball roster did not include any seniors this season.