MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – In a gritty battle on Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gym, the Linfield Wildcats defeated the Willamette Bearcats 61-56 for their fourth win in a row, behind 16 points from Cassidy Schutz and 15 from Molly Danielson.
 
The four-straight wins improves the Wildcats' Northwest Conference record to 4-2, while the Bearcats fell to 4-2. The two teams are tied for third place, with the Wildcats holding the head-to-head tiebreaker following Saturday night's win.
 
The Bearcats took the lead early in this one Kassin Hopkins shooting 10 points in the first half for the Bearcats.
 
Linfield held Willamette to just three points over the last seven minutes of the second quarter and went on a 13-3 run to take the 30-26 lead at halftime. The Wildcats were lead by Cassidy Schutz, who shot 4 for 4 from the field in the first half, including a three-pointer to lead the Wildcats with nine points in the half.
 
Having one of the best three-point defenses in the NWC, the Wildcats restricted the Bearcats to just two three-pointers in the first half, including allowing just one of the last seven attempts to close out the half.
 
Neither team got in the groove in the third quarter as the two teams scored combined 15 points in the third quarter, the Wildcats outscored the Bearcats nine to six in the quarter to take a lead into the fourth quarter.
 
In the final quarter, the Bearcats cut it to 52-51 with just one minute and 27 seconds, but the Wildcats closed out the quarter on 9-5 run from that point to win their fourth game in a row.
 
Hopkins was the leading scorer for the Bearcats with 19 points and eight rebounds. The Wildcats allowed the Bearcats to make just four three-pointers in the game.
 
Schutz was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field in the game, she was 7 for 8 from the free-throw line for her 16 points, she also had three rebounds and three assists in the game.
 
Danielson picked up five rebounds and two blocks to go along with her 15 point, while Kory Oleson added 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Off the bench, Shasta Lofgren scored nine points and six rebounds, while Delaney Ragan and Brooke Landis has six points and two points respectively.
 
The Wildcats had just three three-pointers made on the night with Schutz making one, Oleson shooting one in and one coming by Lofgren.
 
The Linfield defense restricted the Willamette offense to shoot just 33.9 percent in the game.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield heads on the road for three-straight games, starting with the trip to Eastern Washington with Whitworth and Whitman next weekend. The game against Whitworth tips-off at 6 p.m. on Friday night, while the game against Whitman tips-off at 4 p.m. on Saturday.