River and Ho Register Career Highs, but Bearcats Fall to Whitman, 79-66

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Megan River (Jr., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS) scored a career-high 23 points and Carolyn Ho (Jr., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) earned a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, but Willamette University lost to Whitman College, 79-66, in a Northwest Conference game on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Cone Field House. Willamette trailed by 21 points early in the fourth quarter before the Bearcats reduced the lead to 64-58 with 2:57 remaining. The Blues scored the next four points and held off Willamette's efforts to complete the rally.

Whitman improved to 11-5 on the season and 6-2 in the NWC. Willamette moved to 9-8 overall, including 4-4 in the NWC. The Blues remained in second place in the conference standings, while the Bearcats ended the game in a three-way tie for fourth place.

River broke her previous high of 20 points, set a week ago versus Pacific University on Jan. 14. Against Whitman, River hit 10 of 20 field goals and converted 3 of 3 free throws. She also grabbed six rebounds and earned a steal. She leads the Bearcats with 11.2 points per game, just in front of Ho, who is averaging 11.1 points per contest. On Saturday, Ho connected on 3 of 6 shots, including 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point range , to score 10 points. Her 12 rebounds surpassed her previous career-best of seven rebounds, which she recorded three times this season.

Kaitlin Imai (Fy., G, Santa Cruz, CA/Scotts Valley HS) added 11 points against the Blues and Sami Riggs (Sr., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) achieved eight points. Riggs and Ho each provided the Bearcats with three assists.

Kori Baker led Whitman with 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting. She grabbed 10 boards to complete a double-double. Lindsay Drango tallied 21 points to go with eight rebounds. Carly Martin scored 17 points and Natalie Lundberg contributed eight rebounds.

Baker scored six points early in the game to help Whitman grab a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes. River scored next for Willamette, but the Blues tacked on a 9-0 run for an 18-4 lead following a layup by Martin with 1:21 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats produced six unanswered points, ending with two layups by River, the second with one second on the clock, to cut the margin to 18-10 at the end of the quarter.

WU trailed 23-12 after a 3-pointer by Martin with 8:27 remaining in the half. The Bearcats used an 8-2 run to move within 25-20 at the 5:03 mark and reduced the lead to 29-26 a bit later when Riggs sank two free throws with 58 seconds to play. Whitman added five points to take a 34-26 lead at the intermission.

The Blues tacked on an 8-3 surge to open the second half, as Whitman gained a 42-29 advantage. The visitors outscored the Bearcats 28-17 in the third quarter to build a 62-43 lead. Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil (Sr., F, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) led Willamette with five points during the quarter.

After Whitman scored the first two points of the fourth quarter on a basket by Drango, the Bearcats responded with a 15-0 run to charge back within six points. The run included scores from five Bearcats and ended with two free throws by Rivers with just under three minutes to go. Willamette was unable to get closer, as the Blues won their fifth game in a row.

For the game, Whitman shot 48.4% from the field (30 of 62), while the Bearcats converted 41.4% of their field goals (24 of 58). Each team shot well at the free throw line, as the Blues went 13 for 15 (86.7%) and the Bearcats made 12 of 15 (80.0%). Both teams hit six 3-point shots.