McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Miki Vermeulen's 12 points led a balanced scoring effort for Linfield as the Wildcats upset the nationally ranked Whitman Blues 51-45 at Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Wildcats' win is their first over Whitman since the 2006-07 season and the first victory over the Blues in McMinnville since 2005-06. The upset victory by Linfield snapped a string of 28 straight series defeats.
Right behind Vermeulen were
Gillyan Landis and
Eve Burke each with 11 points.
Amelia Solt added seven points off the bench. Linfield shot 37 percent on 46 attempts and knocked down 2-11 shots from behind the arc.
Korin Baker paced the Blues with 18 points while teammate Carly Martin chipped in 15. The next closest Whitman (11-3, 3-2 NWC) player had five. Whitman shot 42 percent from the field on 52 shot attempts and made 3-13 threes. The Bearcats outscored the Linfield bench (25-14) and outpaced the Wildcats in points in the paint (30-12).
Linfield edged Whitman shooting in the first half 37 percent to the Blues' 35, to hold a 29-24 halftime lead. Baker and Martin combined for 22 points in the first 20 minutes while Landis led the Wildcats with six points.
The Wildcats outscored the Blues again in the second half 22-21. The Blues erased a seven-point Linfield lead to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Linfield held Whitman scoreless in the final three minutes paired with six unanswered points gave the home 'Cats the six-point victory.
COMING UP
The Wildcats (8-6, 3-2 NWC) are back on the floor on Saturday against Whitworth at 4 p.m.