Wert Provides Strong Play in Final Game of her Career for the Bearcats
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University senior women's basketball player Alex Wert (F, Spokane, WA/St. George's HS) closed out her career as a Bearcat with an outstanding effort in the final game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Linfield College. She scored a career-high 15 points and tied a season-high with 10 rebounds.
Wert played well on Saturday even when the Bearcats were struggling in the opening quarter. She scored Willamette's first five points by going 3 of 4 at the free throw line and adding a jump shot. The Bearcats were just 2 of 15 from the field in the first quarter, but thanks to Wert's efforts, Willamette trailed just 19-7.
In the second quarter, a layup by Wert completed a 7-0 run that pulled WU within 19-16. The Bearcats trailed by just a single point, 29-28, at halftime.
Wert tacked on eight points in the second half to finish with her career high. For the game, she was 4 of 7 from the field, hit her only 3-point attempt, and sank 6 of 7 free throws.
Willamette led on two occasions in the third quarter, but Linfield went on to win 65-57. Even so, the game will be remembered for Wert's hard work all over the court.
It was a strong personal finish to a successful career for Wert, who averaged 6.2 points per game in each of her final two seasons while leading Willamette in rebounds both years. In 2015-16, she averaged 6.6 rebounds per game. This year, she averaged 6.2 boards per contest, including eight or more rebounds in seven of the last nine games.
"Alex's performance to finish the season was really indicative of who she is as a player," said Willamette Head Coach Peg Swadener. "She prepared herself to give us whatever we needed, and while we've always relied on her rebounding, we also needed her to step up as a scorer those last few games. We were all really happy to see her go out the way she did with that double-double."
Wert concluded her four seasons as a Bearcat with 449 career rebounds to rank 10th on the team's all-time list. She also scored 431 career rebounds and registered 110 assists in her career.
Along the way, Wert improved her basketball skills and statistics. Her shooting percentage increased from 30.5% as a freshman to 40.7% as a junior and 47.1% as a senior. She hit a career-high six 3-pointers this season after increasing her shooting range. And she shot over 70% at the free throw line during each of the past two seasons.
Wert played in 95 games for Willamette, including every game as a junior and a senior. She averaged 25.3 minutes played this season and averaged 23.8 minutes during her career. She grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against Multnomah University on Nov. 21, 2015, recorded six assists at California Institute of Technology on Dec. 18, 2015, and was credited with five steals versus Linfield on Jan. 9, 2016.