McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Warner Pacific witnessed a Linfield shooting clinic as the Wildcats clawed their way back to the .500 mark with a 64-55 win over the NAIA Knights Saturday at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
Linfield shot 53.85 percent from the field in the opening quarter. Janessa Yniguez got off to a hot start with eight points in the period, which included a pair of three-pointers. The Wildcats were up 15-7 with just under four minutes remaining, but Warner Pacific came back to cut the Linfield lead to three heading into the second quarter.
 
The Knights went on an 8-0 run to open the second quarter and took a narrow 35-31 lead into halftime.
 
It was raining threes in TWG in the third quarter. The Wildcats went off for 6 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc and connected on 69.23 percent from the field to outscore the Knights 24-11.
 
Warner Pacific led by as much as eight points in the third quarter, but Linfield rode a 7-0 run to make it a one-point game at the 4:22 mark. Down 45-41, the 'Cats got three straight threes from Rowan Cusack, Yniguez and Cusack again to turn the tables with a five-point lead of their own. Yniguez added another bucket from deep down the stretch to send the 'Cats into the fourth quarter up 55-46.
 
The 'Cats extended to their largest lead of the evening when Riley Cusack sunk a three-pointer to make it 58-47 with 7:47 left in the game. The Knights didn't make a single shot in the fourth quarter, scoring all nine of their points from the free throw line.
 
Linfield's 10 three-pointers are tied for the No. 6 spot in program history that was reached five other times. The team's .400 three-point percentage also ranks sixth in the program single-game record book.
 
Rowan Cusack and Yniguez made four shots from outside to lead the Linfield charge on the offensive end. Cusack made 4 of 8 from three-point range while Yniguez went 4 for 5. Cusack shot 58.33 percent en route to dropping a career-high 20 points to go with three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Yniguez tacked on a season-high 14 points, falling two shy of her career high of 16, scored against Lewis & Clark on Jan. 28.
 
Gillyan Landis fell just short of her second double-double of the season, scoring nine points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds while dishing out four assists. Miki Vermeulen added six points in her second straight start.
 
The Linfield defense held Warner Pacific to 33.3 percent shooting. The Knights were just 2 of 16 from three-point range. Emily Brown scored a team-high 17 points to go with five boards. Amalya Sales contributed eight points.
 
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The win over the Knights wrapped up Linfield's one-game week. The 'Cats (4-4, 1-1 NWC) hit the road for California next week, playing UC-Santa Cruz on Friday and Cal Lutheran on Saturday at the UCSC December Classic. Read Full Article