Willamette Bearcats Battle #14-Ranked Puget Sound in 81-75 Loss

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team battled the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, Jan. 7, before falling to the #14-ranked Loggers (WBCA Poll), 81-75, at Cone Field House. Just seven players saw action for the Bearcats, but WU held a 19-point advantage in the second quarter and led 51-50 entering the final period. Puget Sound outscored the Bearcats 31-24 in the fourth quarter to improve to 11-2 on the season, 4-0 in the NWC. Willamette fell to 6-7 overall, 1-3 in the NWC.

Carolyn Ho (Jr., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) paced Willamette with 19 points and also earned five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. She was 8 for 15 from the field and 3 for 5 on 3-point shots. Megan River (Jr., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS) supplied 15 points and was 6 for 12 on field goals. She led WU with six assists and finished with four boards.

Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil (Sr., F, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) played all but just a few seconds during the game, and accumulated 13 points, to go with a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bearcats. Kaitlin Imai (Fy., G, Santa Cruz, CA/Scotts Valley HS) also scored 13 points, and was credited with six rebounds and four assists.

Willamette blocked five shots, all in the first half. Sami Riggs (Sr., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) registered two blocked shots, while Ascuena-Mercil, Ho, and Imai each rejected one shot. The Bearcats have blocked 35 shots so far this season.

Smantha Swartout topped Puget Sound with 18 points, while Katie Minnehan tallied 17 points, and Jenai Ancheta ended the game with 14 points. Grace Pytynia-Hillier added 10 points. Swartout and Minnehan were two of four Loggers with four rebounds. Also grabbing four boards were Sophie Nilsson and Paige Gerhart. Minnehan achieved five steals and Nilsson provided four steals.

The Loggers led 6-4 after a layup by Nilsson with 4:15 left in the first quarter, but the Bearcats responded with a 9-0 run to move in front 13-6. The outburst started with a 3-pointer by Ho and a 3-pointer by Imai. Ascuena-Mercil completed the run with a traditional three-point play on a fast break layup with 2:27 on the clock. PS moved within 13-12 on a pair of free throws by Minnehan with 1:39 remaining. Baskets by River and Riggs gave WU a 17-12 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

Swartout scored for the Loggers on a jump shot to begin the second quarter. Willamette tallied the next 11 points to build a 28-14 lead. The string of unanswered points included four points from Ho and ended with a trifecta by Claire Bonnet (Sr., G, Boise, ID/Boise HS) with 6:04 to go in the half. WU's advantage reached 35-16 on a fast-break layup by River with 3:07 left. A bit later, the Bearcat held a 39-21 lead after a pair of free throws by Imai. Minnehan added a  layup for Puget Sound and Ancheta put through a jumper from outside the lane with 12 seconds on the clock, as the Loggers cut the margin to 39-25 at halftime.

Puget Sound increased its pressure on defense during the second half and forced Willamette into 15 turnovers that led to 21 points. Meanwhile, the Loggers lost the ball just four times in the final 20 minutes, leading to six points for the Bearcats.

At the start of the third quarter, the Loggers went on a 15-7 run to reduce WU's lead to 46-40 with 4:28 remaining. River scored next for the Bearcats on a 3-pointer and Riggs tacked on a layup for a 51-40 advantage at the 3:32 mark. Puget Sound ended the quarter with a 10-0 surge, ultimately pulling within 51-50 on a layup by Minnehan with nine second left.

The Loggers moved in front 52-51 when Swartout added a layup 35 seconds into the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands six more times before PS took the lead for good at 61-58 on a basket and foul shot by Minnehan with 5:46 to go.

Puget Sound increased the lead to 66-58 on a 3-pointer by Gerhart with 4:22 on the clock, but Ascuena-Mercil replied with a 3-pointer for WU 21 seconds later. The Loggers stretched their advantage to 74-62 with 2:00 remaining on a layup by Minnehan. WU moved within seven points at 79-72 when Emma Floyd (Fy., F, Camano Island, WA/Stanwood HS) hit a jumper with nine seconds left. After Puget Sound added a pair of free throws, Ho scored the game's final basket for the Bearcats on a 3-point shot at the buzzer.

Willamette finished the game with a 37-29 rebounding edge. The Bearcats shot 51.9% from the field (28 of 54), while the Loggers hit 47.6% of their shots (30 of 63). WU owned a sizable margin behind the 3-point line, where the Bearcats made 10 of 23 attempts (43.5%), while PS went 2 for 9 (22.2%).

The Loggers held a 10-point advantage at the free throw line. Puget Sound sank 19 of 29 free throws (65.5%) and Willamette put through 9 of 12 attempts (75.0%).

Up next for the Bearcats is a Northwest Conference game at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, Jan. 13. Game time is set for 6 p.m. (PST).