Remaining in the top-half of the Northwest Conference standings through the first swing of the conference schedule, the Linfield Wildcats begin the second swing this weekend against the George Fox Bruins and the Pacific Boxers.
 
The Linfield women travel to Newberg to take on George Fox on Friday night at 6 p.m. before returning home to face Pacific on Saturday at 4 p.m. The men square off against the Bruins on Friday night at 8 p.m. and host the Boxers on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
 
BIG GAME BASH!
Saturday's Linfield doubleheader against Pacific is dubbed the "Big Game Bash" presented by Jimmy John's. The first 150 fans for each game will receive free Jimmy John's sandwiches. The games are also "Get Your Jersey On" night for the Wildcats, with special prizes given to the two most unique jerseys as well as the winner of the halftime football toss.
 
COVERAGE
The Linfield Sports Network is covering all four games this weekend, providing an audio-only broadcast for the two games against the Bruins as well as a full video broadcast Saturday against the Boxers. Graeme Fineman and Joe Stuart will be on the call for all four contests.
 
CHALLENGING ROAD TRIP FOR THE MEN
The Linfield men fell to Whitworth and Whitman on the road this past weekend for their first two losses in conference play. The Wildcats are still a prohibitive favorite to return to the NWC Tournament with a 6-2 conference record, and sit one game up on Pacific Lutheran and three games up on Puget Sound and George Fox, which are tied for fifth place.
 
The Wildcats average 87.6 points per game, which is third in the NWC and 22nd nationally. Passing the ball around for the best shot possible is a goal the Wildcats have successfully achieved thus far, leading the NWC in assists per game and ranking sixth nationally. The 'Cats are averaging 19.2 assists per game and shooting 50 percent for the season, which is second in the NWC and 11th nationally.
 
A bright spot for the Wildcats this past weekend was Dempsey Roggenbuck, who stepped up to the elite competition by averaging 22 points and 5.5 assists against the top two teams of the Northwest Conference. The junior guard is fifth in the NWC in scoring, with an average of 17.6 points per game. Another player who jumps out when looking at any Linfield box score this season is Tanner Autencio, who averages 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and an NWC-best 3.9 assists per game.
 
In the absence of injured guard Will Burghardt, freshman guard Carson Bonine elevated his game in hostile territory. He averaged 13.5 points in the two games in eastern Washington and made three three-pointers in each contest. Another player who has elevated his game as of late has been senior center Austin Hilton. He averaged 11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his last four outings, raising his season average to 6.2 rebounds per game to ninth in the NWC.
 
Looking ahead to the second half of the conference schedule, the Wildcats are home for five of their eight remaining games. Home cooking has served Linfield well as the 'Cats are 3-0 in conference home games at Ted Wilson Gym under seventh-year coach Shanan Rosenberg.
 
TOUGH STRETCH FOR THE WOMEN
The Linfield women are in the midst of a three-game stretch against the top-three teams in the Northwest Conference. The Wildcats fell to the NWC-leading Blues this past weekend, who are ranked No. 8 and No. 9 latest WBCA and D3Hoops.com polls. The Boxers are tied with the Blues for the NWC lead and the Bruins are third, ranked No. 19 and No. 21 in the two polls. The Wildcats are 0-3 in games versus the league's current top three clubs.
 
Despite falling to the Pirates and the Blues this past weekend, the Wildcats are still 4-4 in conference play and share fourth place with the Willamette Bearcats, a team the Wildcats have defeated once already this season. The Wildcats' average of 71.1 points per game ranks second in the NWC and their field goal percentage of 42.8 percent is also second. Defensively, Linfield makes its opponents earn their three-pointers, allowing just 26.8 percent from beyond the arc, the second-lowest total in the NWC.
 
The twin towers of Linfield, Kory Oleson and Molly Danielson lead the NWC in scoring, averaging 17.7 and 17.1 points per game, respectively. Oleson is also second in the NWC in blocks per game, averaging 1.1 rejections per game. Her 6.2 rebounds per game are seventh. Danielson stands second in the NWC with an average of 11.5 rebounds per game and her field goal percentage of 48.9 ranks eighth in the conference.
 
Freshmen Delaney Ragan and Paige LaFountain are becoming great complements alongside the twin towers. Ragan is third on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game, including 13 points off the bench against the Blues this past weekend. LaFountain averages 2.6 assists per game which is 10^th in the conference. Sh logged a career-high eight against the Pirates. Cassidy Schutz is also among the top-passers in the conference, averaging 2.9 assists per game, which is ninth.
 
Like the men, coach Casey Bunn-Wilson's women are also 6-2 at home this season and host five of the regular season's remaining eight games inside Ted Wilson Gym.
 
CLASH OF YAMHILL COUNTY RIVALS
The George Fox men, under seventh-year coach Maco Hamilton, are 7-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Bruins snapped a five-game losing skid with a win over Lewis & Clark this past weekend.
 
The Bruins block 4.1 shots per game which could be problematic for the Wildcats, who are averaging 1.9 shots blocked per game. A key for the Wildcats will be converting shots from deep range as the Bruins limit their opponents to an NWC-low 29.8 three-point field goal percentage. The Wildcats, meanwhile, are shooting 38.4 from outside the arc this season.
 
Ryan Lacey is the Bruins' top scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game, which is 10th in the conference. Forward Wesley Reynolds is a player the Wildcats offense must keep an eye on. Reynolds is averaging a block per game, which is third in the conference and his 5.9 rebounds per game rank 10th among NWC players.
 
Linfield prevailed in the first meeting between the cross-county rivals at Ted Wilson Gym on January 4, winning 107-83. Roggenbuck was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 31 points, while Reynolds had 24 to pace the Bruins. The Wildcats have won 10 of the last 13 matchups in the series, including the last five.
 
The GFU women started the season slow, losing two of their first three conference games, but they have since won four of their last five and sit in third place. Led by first-year coach Mike Coppolino, the Bruins are one game ahead of the Wildcats in the NWC standings with a league record of 5-3.
 
George Fox commits the fewest turnovers in the conference, averaging just 13.5 per game and restrict its opponents to an average of 56.9 points, which is also best in the NWC. A strength for the Bruins is their three-point field goal percentage of 36.5, which is tops in the NWC going against the Wildcats defense, which restricts its opponents to shoot just 26.8 percent from beyond-the-arc.
 
Emily Holder is the best pure shooter in the conference, shooting 54.3 percent this season and averaging 10.9 points per game. Another great shooter for the Bruins is Kaylee Bishop, who is shooting 42.9 percent from three-point territory, ranking fifth in the NWC in that category. Hailey Hartney is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game, which is seventh in the NWC.
 
The Bruins have won the last 26 meetings in this rivalry, including a 76-66 win on January 4. Holder and Bishop each had 15 points for the Bruins, while Oleson scored 24 for the Wildcats.
 
SQUARING UP AGAINST THE BOXERS
The Boxers men have hit a rough patch with an overall record of 5-12 and 2-6 in conference play. Led by second-year coach Justin Lunt, the Boxers average 99.6 points per game which is second in the NWC and fourth nationally.
 
Playing with hockey-style shifts and using an up-tempo system, the Boxers force 13.8 steals per game, tops in the NWC and fourth nationally. Though the Boxers attempt the fourth-most threes in the nation (38.6 per game) and make the fourth-most threes per game nationally (13.5), their three-point percentage of 34.6 percent is seventh in the NWC and not among the top-150 nationally.
 
Third in the NWC in scoring with an average of 18.9, Marcus Wallace is the lead scorer for the Boxers, making 2.92 three-pointers per game. Davis Holly is another threat from deep for the Boxers, making 2.75 three-pointer per game.
 
Linfield has won six of the last seven meetings and captured the first meeting on January 3 in Forest Grove, winning 93-91 behind 20 points from Grant Gibb and 17 from Aaron Baune.
 
The Pacific women have been the surprise of the Northwest Conference through the first half of the season, leading the NWC with a record of 7-1 before falling in their most recent game to Pacific Lutheran. Second-year coach Alecia Parker has the Boxers in the groove, allowing opponents to shoot 36.1 percent, which is second in the NWC just behind Puget Sound's opponent field goal percentage of 36.0.
 
The Boxers women also lead the NWC in steals, with an average of 10.9 per game. They allow the second-fewest points in the conference at 58.5 points per game. The Wildcats have the second-best scoring offense in the NWC at 71.1 points per game but this week are facing the top two defensive teams in the conference.
 
Four of the top-nine scorers in the Northwest Conference play for either the Boxers or the Wildcats. Linfield's Oleson and Danielson are the top-two scorers in the conference, while Pacific's Courtney Carolan averages 14.4 per game, which is sixth and Camy Aguinaldo averages 14.2, which is ninth. Carolan averages 5.8 rebounds per game, ranking ninth in the NWC.
 
The Wildcats have won seven of the last nine meetings, but the Boxers secured a victory in the first meeting this season, winning 68-64 in Forest Grove. Oleson and Danielson both scored 21 points, while Danielson had career-high 20 rebounds. Carolan had 26 points while Aguinaldo had 14.