SALEM, Ore. – Scoring 33 points in the second half, the Linfield Wildcats fell just short of the Willamette Bearcats, 62-59 on Friday night at the Cone Field House in a crucial battle between two teams in the top-five in the Northwest Conference Standings.
Both teams have an identical record of 12-10 overall and 6-7 in conference play, tied for the final spot in the NWC Tournaments with three games to go. Willamette currently holds the "results against conference teams in descending rank order" tiebreaker over Linfield, having beat George Fox this season, who is ahead of both teams in the standings and swept Linfield.
The Bearcats had a strong second quarter outscoring the Wildcats 23-14 in the quarter and took a 10-point lead into halftime. The Wildcats took the lead back in the third quarter and trailed by one going into the fourth.
Linfield trailed 59-57 with three minutes left, but allowed Willamette to score the final five of the last seven points of the game and the game-tying three-pointer attempt by
Cassidy Schutz came just short. The Bearcats never trailed in the fourth quarter.
Shasta Lofgren had one of the best shooting nights of her Wildcats career, shooting 4 for 8 from the field and 4 for 6 from the stripe for 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Delaney Ragan continued her strong stretch, scoring 14 points and seven rebounds, the Portland, Oregon native is averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds in her last three games.
The leading scorer for the Wildcats was
Kory Oleson with 18 points, eight rebounds, and two steals and a block. She is averaging 18.2 points per game, which leads the NWC and her average of 6.2 rebounds per game is seventh in the conference.
Cassidy Schutz had seven points, two rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal as the starting guard, while
Paige LaFountain had four points and an assist.
The Wildcats made just 21 field goals in the game, shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 4 for 14 from beyond the arc. The Bearcats, led by Elizabeth Logsdon's 16 points and nine rebounds, shot 22 for 55 from the field and 9 for 27 from outside the three-point arc.
UP NEXT
Linfield plays its final road game of the season on Saturday in Portland against Lewis & Clark, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.