Bearcats Move within One Point in 4th Quarter before Loggers Pull Away, 68-54

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University played a strong game against the University of Puget Sound, one of the Northwest Conference's top teams, on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Cone Field House. The Bearcats were within two points in the third quarter and trailed the Loggers 52-48 entering the final quarter. Willamette moved as close as 54-53 with 8:23 left on two free throws by Amanda Carpenter (Grad., G, Beaverton, OR/Sunset HS), but Puget Sound ended the game with a 14-1 run to defeat the Bearcats, 68-54.

The Loggers improved to 17-3 on the season and to 10-2 in NWC. Puget Sound trails only Whitman College (12-0) in the NWC standings. Willamette moved to 10-10 overall, 5-6 in the NWC. The Bearcats will host George Fox University in a make-up game at Cone Field House on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Carpenter led all players with 19 points, including a game-high four 3-point baskets. Carpenter also grabbed nine rebounds and earned two assists. Ava Kitchin (So., F, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS) supplied WU with 12 points and matched Carpenter with nine boards and two assists. Carolyn Ho (So., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) was credited with nine points and three assists, while Sami Riggs (Jr., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

Leading Puget Sound was Samantha Swartout, who scored 14 points and hauled down 12 rebounds. Kennedy Brown contributed 11 points, while Rhae Schulz-O'Neil added nine points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Willamette built a 7-4 lead in the first two minutes, with Carpenter providing a 3-pointer, while Riggs tacked on a jump shot, and Morgan Yamane (Sr., F, Moses Lake, WA/Moses Lake HS) scored on a layup. A bit later, WU held a 10-5 advantage after Carpenter completed a traditional three-point play with a floating jump shot and a free throw with 6:18 on the clock. The Bearcats were in front 13-9 after a jumper by Kitchin at the 4:51 mark, but Puget Sound ended the first quarter with a 15-4 run to grab 24-17 margin.

The Loggers were in front by as many as 15 points in the second quarter at 38-23 on a layup by Katie Minnehan with 2:59 remaining. Puget Sound owned a 39-27 lead at halftime. Brown topped the Loggers with 11 points at the break, while Kitchin had 10 points for the Bearcats.

Willamette outscored Puget Sound 21-13 in the third quarter. Carpenter tallied 11 points during the quarter while hitting three 3-point shots. One of Carpenter's 3-pointers pulled the Bearcats within 46-44 as the clock reached the 3:16 mark. The Loggers took a six-point lead twice in the final two minutes of the period, but Ho sank two free throws for Willamette with four seconds to go, cutting the lead to 52-48.

Sofia Lavinder earned the first basket of the fourth quarter for the Loggers, but the Bearcats countered with a 5-0 run. Claire Bonnet (Jr., G, Boise, ID/Boise HS) started the run with a 3-pointer, while Carpenter finished the run by hitting a pair of free throws at the 8:23 mark to reduce Puget Sound's lead to 54-53.

WU didn't score again until 27 seconds remained in the game, but the Bearcats trailed by just four points, 57-53, with 4:32 left. The Loggers tacked on a basket by Schulz-O'Neil with 3:18 to play and increased the margin to 61-53 on two free throws by Schulz-O'Neil with 1:54 to play. Puget Sound's 14-1 run to end the game included six points by Swartout.

The Loggers shot 39.1% overall on field goals (25 of 64), but hit just 3 of 17 on 3-point attempts (17.6%). Willamette was 17 of 59 on field goals (28.8%) and 6 of 23 from 3-point range (26.1%). Puget Sound sank 15 of 20 free throws (75.0%), while the Bearcats went 14 for 23 (60.9%) at the free throw line. The Bearcats earned a 44-42 rebounding edge, but committed 18 turnovers, while the Loggers lost possession eight times.