Imai Scores Career-High 27 as Comeback Bid Falls Just Short vs Occidental

Honolulu, Hawaii - A day after taking an early lead and holding on for the victory, on day two of the 2024 Hawaii Classic it was Willamette's turn to fall behind early and make a strong charge in the second half.  In the end, a career-high 27 points from Kaitlin Imai wasn't enough as the Bearcats fell to Occidental College 71-67.

The Tigers scored the opening four points of the game and took an early 11-3 lead, with Imai providing the Bearcats' only points with her first of seven made three-pointers on the afternoon.  Willamette pulled back within four at 11-7, but Occidental scored the final four points of the quarter to lead 15-7 after the first ten minutes of action.

Alexis Dockter scored the first five points of the second quarter for the Bearcats and another Imai three pulled Willamette within five at 20-15 before a 12-1 run by the Tigers put them ahead 32-16 with just over two minutes left in the half.  After another Imai shot from long-range, Gio Horner hit two free throws in the final minutes to make the score 34-21 as the game reached the halfway point.

The teams traded baskets early in the second half and then much like the run that sealed the game for the Bearcats the day before, this time five straight points by Elyse Waldal and a layup by Peyton Gardner helped pull Willamette within six points at 46-40 with just over two minutes to go in the third.  Another three-pointer by Waldal and a layup by Horner cut the Occidental lead to 50-47 as the game headed to the final ten minutes.

Occidental quickly pushed its lead to seven as they scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Willamette continued to battle by hitting from deep as Imai hit two more from beyond the arc, followed by Dockter and Waldal each with one to keep the Bearcats within three points at 62-59.  Another quick run by the Tigers put them up eight before Imai scored six straight to cut it back to two at 67-65.  After a Bearcat foul and one-of-two foul shots for Occidental, another layup by Gardner cut the lead to one at 68-67.  Willamette had one more chance after the Tigers split another pair of free throws, but ran out of time as Occidental prevailed by four.

Else Waldal scored 17 points for the second straight game to join Imai in double figures, along with Alexis Dockter chipping in ten points.  Waldal and Daisy Boling-Schmidt led the Bearcats in rebounds with four, followed by Imai and Emma Floyd with three.  Peyton Gardner handed out six assists to lead the team with Imai contributing three of her own.  Syd Shoemaker came off the bench to block two shots.

Willamette returns to action in the new year when they travel to take on the Bruins of George Fox University at 8:00 pm on Friday, January 3rd.  The next home game for the Bearcats will be Friday, January 17th, when they host Pacific Lutheran University.