Bearcats Battle Loggers into Final Minute, but Puget Sound Earns 66-60 Victory

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

TACOMA, Wash. -- Willamette University kept battling against University of Puget Sound until the final minute, when the Loggers earned a 6-2 scoring edge to turn a two-point lead into a 66-60 victory over the Bearcats on Friday, Jan. 11. The win improved the Loggers to 10-3 on the season, including 3-2 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette slipped to 6-9 overall, 1-5 in the NWC.

Amanda Carpenter (So., G, Beaverton, OR/Sunset HS) topped the Bearcats with 19 points, as she matched her career high set against Linfield College a week ago on Jan. 4. Britanny Kochenderfer (Sr., G, Klamath Falls, OR/Henley HS/Idaho State Univ.) added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. It was her 11th double-double of the season and fifth in as many games. Kassin Hopkins (Jr., Connell, WA/Connell HS/Bellevue College) also scored 11 points for Willamette.

Elizabeth Logsdon (Jr., F, McMinnville, OR/McMinnville HS) of Willamette earned eight points and eight rebounds. Drew Farmer (Jr., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS) contributed a game-high six assists.

"I was very proud of the effort we showed tonight," Willamette Head Coach Peg Swadener commented. "It was a great game that we unfortunately weren't able to win, but I thought we really came together and competed."

Puget Sound's Jamie Lange matched Carpenter for game scoring honors with 19 points. Lange also registered eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. RaeAnn Allen scored 18 points to go with four boards and three assists. Elizabeth Prewitt tacked on 11 points for the Loggers.

The Loggers led 49-44 entering the fourth quarter and took a seven-point lead when Allen scored on a layup with 9:41 to go. The Bearcats fought back, cutting the lead to 51-49 on a layup by Carpenter with 7:51 left and tying the game on two free throws by Carpenter at the 6:35 mark. The Bearcats fell behind by a single point, before Avery Mickelsen (Fr., C, Ephrata, WA/Ephrata HS) gave WU a 53-52 advantage by hitting a pair of free throws with 5:57 remaining.

Prewitt sank a 3-pointer for Puget Sound, but the Bearcats tied the game at 55-55 on two more free throws by Carpenter with 5:08 to play. The Loggers took the lead for good with 4:23 on the clock, when Lange made a layup. Puget Sound's lead reached 60-55 before Carpenter hit two free throws with 3:06 left and converted 1 of 2 charity shots with 2:30 to go, reducing WU's deficit to 60-58.

The score did not change until Allen sank a 3-point shot for the Loggers with 53 seconds remaining. Farmer was unable to put through a 3-point attempt with 31 seconds left, and Allen added two free throws for Puget Sound four seconds later. Allen hit 1 of 2 free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to give Puget Sound a 66-58 lead. Hopkins hit a jumper for WU with one second to play.

WU and Puget Sound battled back and forth in the first quarter, which included five ties and four lead changes. Three of the ties were in the first 1:36 of action, ending with a 6-6 score on a layup by Logsdon. A bit later, Willamette forced the fourth tie at 8-8 on a layup by Kochenderfer. Puget Sound scored the next four points on layups by Meghan Hamel and Lange for a 12-8 lead -- the largest of the quarter.

The Bearcats responded with a 3-pointer by Hopkins at the 6:06 mark and moved in front, 14-12, when Carpenter sank a 3-pointer leas than a minute later. There were two more lead changes and one more tie before the quarter ended with Puget Sound holding a 17-16 lead.

Logsdon scored first for the Bearcats in the second quarter to give Willamette an 18-17 edge. Puget Sound went on a 12-4 run to surge in front, 29-22. WU trailed by a 37-31 margin at halftime. Early in the third quarter, the Loggers held a 41-33 lead after Cassidy Daugherty hit a 3-pointer. A bit later, Puget Sound led 43-35 following a fast-break layup by Prewitt. Willamette outscored the Loggers 9-6 over the remainder of the quarter.

Willamette shot 36.2% from the field (17 of 47) during the game and made 5 of 23 three-point attempts (21.7%), but connected on 21 of 25 free throws (84.0%). Puget Sound converted 23 of 58 field goals (39.7%), while making 8 of 19 shots from 3-point range (42.1%). The Loggers were 12 of 17 at the free throw line (70.6%). Willamette gained a 34-33 rebounding edge.

The Bearcats will not play again until Friday, Jan. 18, when they will take on Lewis & Clark College in an NWC match-up in Portland, Oregon. Game time slated for 6 p.m. (PST).

Big Moment of the Game for Willamette

Amanda Carpenter scored on a layup and added a free throw for an
old-fashioned three-point play with 8:13 left in the game. Then she
added another layup to pull Willamette within 51-49 with 7:51 to go.
Later, she tied the game at 51-51 and 55-55, hitting a pair of free
throws each time. She hit 8 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter, while
scoring 12 of WU's 16 points. Her free throw with 2:30 to play moved the
Bearcats within 60-58, before Puget Sound ended the game with a 6-2 run.