MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – With a tie game going into the fourth quarter against the Lewis & Clark Pioneers, senior Kory Oleson powered the Linfield Wildcats to an 82-73 win, scoring all of her 22 points in the second half on Friday night at Ted Wilson Gym.
 
The Wildcats have won three in a row and are now 3-2 in Northwest Conference play and 9-5 overall, while with their 12^th loss in a row, the Pioneers are now 1-12 on the season and 0-5 in NWC play. The 3-2 conference record puts Linfield in a tie for fourth place with George Fox.
 
Lewis & Clark was led by Delsie Johnson, who had a game-high 35 points in this one. The Pioneers led after the first quarter, 19-13 as the Wildcats shot just 2 for 11 to start the game.
 
Second quarter was a different story for the Wildcats, who chipped away at the Pioneers lead and came back to tie the game at 34 at halftime.
 
Picking up two quick fouls in the first quarter, Oleson played just two minutes in the first half, but took over the game in the second half shooting 9 for 12 from the field and 1 for 1 from the three-point line to take the 'Cats to victory. Her only three-pointer of the game gave the Wildcats a 65-63 lead and the Wildcats led for the rest of the game.
 
Tasked with guarding the Northwest Conference's leading scorer, Linfield's Molly Danielson, Lewis & Clark forwards Coco Shafer and Delsie Johnson were in foul trouble all night as Johnson fouled with more than five minutes left in the game, while Shafer played just 17 minutes picking up three fouls in the first half.
 
Hannah Martin was the other threat for the Pios, scoring 23 points and grabbing 15 points. Martin and Johnson combined had 58 of the Pios' 73 points.
 
Shooting just 24 percent from the field and 22 percent from beyond the three-point line, the Wildcats shot much better the rest of the game, ending the game shooting 49 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line.
 
Linfield restricted Lewis & Clark to shoot just 25 three-point percentage, which is right around their season average of 26.9 percent, which was second-lowest in the conference coming into the weekend.
 
Molly Danielson continued to be one of the top double-double getters in the conference, with her 10^th double-double of the season tonight, totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds. She is tops in the conference with her 10 double-doubles. She is right around the NWC lead in rebounds per game as well, averaging 12.4 rebounds per game, which is right behind Pacific Lutheran's Jamie Lange's average of 12.8.
 
It is a two-person race for the top scorer in the Northwest Conference and both wore Linfield purple on Friday night. Oleson and Danielson are tied for the NWC lead, with an average of 17.9 per game.
 
The Wildcats got plenty of help from their bench scoring 30 points, with Delaney Ragan and Jordyn Feinauer adding eight each and Brooke Landis adding seven, Alexis Heald scoring four and Shasta Lofgren scoring three. Feinauer and Ragan shot a combined 7 for 11 from the field, while Feinauer shooting 2 for 3 from beyond-the-arc.
 
Cassidy Schutz returned to the starting lineup, after coming off the bench the last four games, she added seven points and three assists. Earning her first start of the season, Maggie Smith scored two points and two rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield remains home to host Willamette on Saturday at 4 p.m, before going on the road for three-straight games.