McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Coming off of a tough road loss a night earlier in Portland, the Linfield Wildcats answered with a resounding 68-52 Northwest Conference victory over the Puget Sound Loggers Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium. The 'Cats earned their first victory over the Loggers since February 11, 2011, breaking a 13-game losing streak to Puget Sound.
 
Tale of two halves
Neither team could stretch to a comfortable lead in the first half. The Loggers led 18-16 after one quarter before the Wildcats evened the score at 28 at intermission. Genna Hughes sprinted ahead of the pack and scored with 3.8 seconds left in the half to tie the game. The Wildcats defense forced a handful of Loggers turnovers in the early minutes of the third quarter, helping Linfield jump to a 15-point lead. Linfield erupted for 24 points in the third quarter to the Loggers' nine and never trailed after that.
 
Linfield by the numbers
Paige Graham and Molly Danielson finished tied for a team-high 16 points. Graham went 4-for-5 from three-point range with three assists. Danielson scored 16 points and tracked down two rebounds. Kory Oleson added 13 points and gathered 11 rebounds to earn her first-career double-double as a Wildcat. Hughes contributed eight points in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
Logger Leaders
Jamie Lange scored a game-high 18 points with eight rebounds. Elizabeth Prewit also contributed 12 points and five rebounds, despite shooting 33 percent from the field. Puget Sound failed to find a rhythm from beyond the arc, hitting just 20 percent of its attempts from three-point range.
 
NWC Ladder
With the victory, Linfield moved to 3-3 in the NWC and 7-8 overall. Puget Sound dropped to 1-5 in conference play and 6-9 overall.
 
Next
Linfield is home for its next three NWC contests, staring Friday when the Wildcats welcome nationally ranked Whitman to Ted Wilson Gym for a 6 p.m. matchup. On Saturday, the 'Cats square off with the Whitworth Pirates in game that tips off at 4 o'clock.