Carpenter Leads Bearcats with 23 Points, Five 3-Pointers, in 84-80 Win over Regals

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Amanda Carpenter (Jr., G, Beaverton, OR/Sunset HS) of Willamette University scored a game-high 23 points and went 5 of 9 on 3-point shots to lead the Bearcats to an 84-80 victory over non-conference opponent California Lutheran University, on Friday, Nov. 22 at Cone Field House. Carpenter scored 14 points in the third quarter while going 4-for-4 from 3-point range. The Bearcats held a 61-57 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Willamette improved to 4-1 with the win. California Lutheran dropped to 0-2 on the season.

Following Carpenter on Willamette's scoring chart was Sami Riggs (Fy., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS), who tallied 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. She was 8 for 10 on free throws, including 6 of 8 in the fourth quarter. Ava Kitchin (Fy., F, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS) and Drew Farmer (Sr., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS) each contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Farmer also registered six assists and five steals.

Kassin Hopkins (Sr., G, Connell, WA/Connell HS/Bellevue College) chipped in eight points, five boards and four assists for the Bearcats. Elizabeth Logsdon (Sr., F, McMinnville, OR/McMinnville HS) also scored eight points.

"That was another great win for our program. We have had different players step up each game, and it was fun to see Amanda Carpenter shine on the offensive end tonight."
— Willamette Head Coach Peg Swadener

Mackenzy Iwahashi led six California Lutheran players in double figures with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting (2 for 2 on 3-pointers). She also recorded three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Cameron Mallory scored 13 points and led the Regals with nine boards. Natalie Ruhl and Taylor Oshiro each contributed 12 points. Jade Jordan grabbed seven rebounds.

California Lutheran owned a 37-35 lead at halftime, and the Regals opened the second half with a 7-2 run. The run ended with a 3-point basket by Mallory, giving the Regals a 44-37 advantage. Willamette countered with an 8-2 run, that started and finished with 3-pointers by Carpenter, to cut CLU's lead to 46-45 with 7:24 left in the third quarter. A bit later, Willamette tied the score at 50-50 on another 3-pointer from Carpenter at the 5:54 mark.

Willamette was behind 55-50 following a 3-pointer by Mallory and a jumper by Iwahashi. A layup by Farmer, a jumper by Riggs, and Carpenter's fourth 3-pointer of the quarter propelled the Bearcats into a 57-55 lead with 3:17 remaining in the period.

After Oshiro created the sixth tie of the game with a jumper for CLU, the Bearcats completed the third quarter with two free throws by Rigss with 1:49 to go and two free throws by Carpenter with 29 seconds left for a 61-57 edge. Willamette never trailed again.

Riggs hit a jumper with 9:38 on the fourth quarter clock and Kitchin tacked on two free throws 32 seconds later, as Willamette increased its lead to 65-57. Neither team scored again until Ruhl made two free throws for the Regals to pull within 65-59 with 6:45 to play. The Bearcats earned 10 of the next 16 points, including one 3-pointer each by Hopkins and Kitchin, to extend the margin to 75-65 at the 4:43 mark.

Two free throws by Riggs with 3:06 left increased Willamette's advantage to 77-65. California Lutheran cut the deficit to 77-68 on a 3-pointer by Jozie Tangeman and moved within 79-70 on a pair of free throws by Ruhl with 1:29 on the clock. The Bearcats' returned to a double-digit lead at 81-70 on a steal and layup by Farmer with 58 seconds remaining.

California Lutheran got as close as 82-78 on a 3-pointer by Iwahashi with 17.1 seconds to play. After a timeout, moved the ball to the front court. The Regals stole the in-bounds pass, but Farmer stole the ball back moments later. Riggs converted two foul shots for the Bearcats with 11.5 seconds remaining for a six-point lead. Iwahashi added two free throws for the Regals with 3.5 seconds left, before WU ran out the clock.

Willamette shot 42.9% for the game (27 of 63), including 36.0% on 3-pointers (9 of 25). The Regals connected on 45.9% of their shots (28 of 61) and hit 10 of 22 three-pointers (45.5%). At the line, WU sank 21 of 28 attempts (75.0%), while CLU went 14 for 17 (82.4%). Willamette outrebounded California Lutheran, 39-32.

The Bearcats never trailed in the first quarter and held an 18-13 lead following a jumper by Riggs with 20 seconds left. CLU scored the first six points of the second quarter on two 3-pointers to begin a 12-2 run for a 25-20 lead. Willamette cut the margin to one point three times, before tying the score at 35-35 on a 3-pointer by Carpenter with 1:37 on the clock. Tangeman provided the Regals with a two-point advantage after hitting two free throws with 24 seconds left before halftime.

The next game for Willamette will be at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Game time in Claremont, California, is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PST). The Bearcats will play at California Institute of Technology on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m., and will complete the road swing at Whittier College (Calif.) on Friday, Nov. 29 at 12 p.m.