McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Linfield women's basketball team couldn't find an answer for first-place and No. 6 Whitman, losing 82-45 to the Blues Saturday night at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
Whitman scored 38 points in the paint and 30 points off 18 Linfield turnovers. The Whitman bench scored 37 points in the 37-point victory. The Blues were on fire on offense, shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. They made 9 of 14 shots in the fourth quarter.
Kaylie McCracken was doing Kaylie McCracken things, lighting up the scoreboard with 21 points in 21 minutes to lead a group of four Whitman players who scored in double figures. McCracken connected on 7 of 13 from the field and was a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line. She also had eight rebounds and two assists. Kaelan Shamseldin scored 12 points while Elena McHargue had 11 points off the bench. Kalia Coverson also scored in double figures off the bench with 10 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
The Wildcats shot 34.7 percent from the field and made just 2 of 12 shots from beyond the arc. The Blues didn't allow a single player to score in double digits. They limited the 'Cats to eight points in both the first and third quarters.
Junior forward
Alexis Heald was Linfield's leading scorer with nine points to go with seven rebounds and a steal. She went 3 for 8 from the field. Freshman forward
Gillyan Landis finished with eight points and five rebounds while freshman guard
Emma Schmerbach had eight points and three rebounds. Junior guard
Janessa Yniguez scored seven points and had one of the 'Cats' two three-pointers.
NEXT
The 'Cats fell to 1-18 overall and 1-10 in Northwest Conference play with the loss. The Blues are riding a 10-game winning streak, improving to 20-1 overall with a perfect 12-0 NWC mark. The 'Cats will have another three-game week next week, playing at Pacific on Tuesday before hosting Pacific Lutheran on Wednesday and George Fox on Friday. The updated Linfield spectator policy for indoor events can be found above.