Bearcats Lead Wire-to-Wire in 72-68 Win Over Centre College

Honolulu, Hawaii - Willamette Women's Basketball jumped out to an early 17-2 lead and fought back against a furious comeback attempt by Centre College to defeat the Colonels 72-68 in the first game of the 2024 Hawaii Classic.  Gio Horner led Willamette in scoring with 19 points and Elyse Waldal added 17.

Kaitlin Imai scored the first eight points of the game for Willamette on a three-point shot, three-point play, and two more three-throws, putting the Bearcats up 8-2.  Three straight triples from Maya Sanders, Imai, and Emma Floyd helped Willamette extend its lead to 17-2 with just under three minutes remaining in the quarter and they led 24-6 after one quarter of play.

Another three by Floyd and a layup by Sanders gave Willamette their largest lead of the contest early in the second quarter at 29-6.  A jumper by Horner with three minutes left in the quarter put Willamette up 38-16 as Centre started to begin their comeback.  The Colonels finished the half on a 10-2 run to cut the Bearcat lead to 40-26 as the teams headed to the break.

Willamette maintained its lead at the start of the second half and a Gio Horner triple put the Bearcats ahead 49-34 with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.  That would be the last basket for the Bearcats for over eight minutes, during which Centre went on a 13-0 run that lasted into the start of the fourth quarter and cut the Willamette lead to two at 49-47.

Waldal got the Bearcats on the board with a jump shot to make the score 51-47 and a three-point play by Horner put the Bearcats up 54-49 with seven minutes left in the game.  A long-range jumper by Waldal pushed the Willamette lead back to eight at 61-53 and the Bearcats made their foul shots down the stretch to hold off the Colonels 72-68.  Waldal had 9 of her 17 points in the final quarter and Peyton Gardner scored all four of her points in the closing minutes to help seal the victory.

In addition to Horner and Waldal in double figures, Kaitlin Imai chipped in 13 points and three assists.  Imai's three assists tied her for the team lead with Peyton Gardner.  Daisy Boling-Schmidt had a career-high eleven rebounds to lead the team, followed by Waldal with eight.

Women's Basketball finishes their trip to Hawaii when they play Occidental College on Sunday, December 22nd, at 3:15 PST. Their next game will be at George Fox University on Friday, January 3rd at 8:00 p.m.