McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Kory Oleson's season-high 20 points, combined with a 49-21 rebounding advantage, ignited the Linfield Wildcats to a wire-to-wire 76-60 nonconference victory over California-Santa Cruz Sunday afternoon at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
How it played out
Paige Graham scored the first bucket just nine seconds into the game and the Wildcats never trailed after that, steadily pulling away from the Banana Slugs as the afternoon wore on.
 
When Hannah Bingham sank two free throws with 3:23 left in the first quarter, giving the Wildcats their first double-digit margin at 15-5. Linfield led by as many as 14 in the opening half as Oleson scored nine points, and Graham and Bailey McDevitt pumped in six each.
 
Linfield owned a 13-point halftime lead, 38-25. A 6-0 run to begin the second half pulled UC-Santa Cruz to within six points. An Oleson three-pointer marked the starting point for a 12-6 Linfield surge and the hosts never looked back after that.
 
'Cat Stats
Oleson made 9 of 14 shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. The sophomore guard added seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Molly Danielson combined with McDevitt for 29 points off the bench as the Linfield reserves outscored the UCSC backups 40-16.  Danielson turned in a game-high six assists.
 
Graham finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Bingham totaled eight points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
 
Using a noticeable size advantage, Linfield repeatedly worked the ball inside to Danielson, McDevitt and Oleson, helping Linfield build a 48-24 disparity in points in the paint.
 
Linfield outshot UCSC .534 to .322.
 
Summing up the Slugs
Katie Young led the way with 18 points. Kim Tom added 14. Katilin Stephenson pulled down 10 of the Slugs' 21 rebounds but struggled from the field, making just 1 of 11 attempts.
 
Where they stand
Linfield evened its early season record at 4-4. UC-Santa Cruz dropped its fourth straight contest to fall to 2-6.
 
Next
Linfield heads to southeast Portland on Thursday to take on the Warner Pacific Knights. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.