SALEM, Ore. – Brittany Kochenderfer and Kyle Towry combined for 43 points and the Willamette Bearcats withstood a late Linfield rally to defeat the visiting Wildcats 66-63 Tuesday night inside Cone Field House.
 
Where they stand
The Bearcats moved to 8-3 in the Northwest Conference, strengthening their hold on third place while rising to 12-8 overall. At 4-7, the Wildcats slipped to sixth place in the NWC. Linfield is 9-11 overall.
 
Breaking down the Bearcats
Kochenderfer hit 6 of 7 three-point attempts on her way to a game high 22 points. Towry struggled from the field, going 5 for 20 from the floor, but went 9 for 11 from the free throw line to finish with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Celine Gregoire and McMinnvillle native Elizabeth Logsdon each grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Linfield leaders
Molly Danielson came off the bench to hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor and ended with a team-high 15 points along with eight rebounds. Kory Oleson finished with 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Jade Everage scored all 10 of her points following intermission, sinking 4 of 6 shots. McDevitt contributed eight points, five rebounds and two steals.
 
1st Half
Behind Towry's eight first-quarter points, the Bearcats built a 20-12 lead through the opening 10 minutes. Linfield snipped that margin to six following a three-pointer by Bailey McDevitt. Willamette held a 33-26 lead at the intermission.
 
Linfield held a sizable advantage on the backboards in the first half, but 11 first-half turnovers, combined with six Bearcat three-pointers, allowed the hosts to take control.
 
2nd Half
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 12 points midway though the second half before spotty shooting by the Bearcats enabled the visitors to crawl back to within three points with under two minutes to play.
 
Linfield had two chances to tie the contest with under 20 seconds left, but Oleson and McDevitt both missed three-point attempts.
 
Next
Linfield heads to Tacoma, Washington, for a Saturday matchup with the Pacific Lutheran Lutes. Tipoff at Olson Auditorium is set for 4 p.m.