MCMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield women's basketball (9-2, 2-0 NWC) kicked off the new year with a conference win over the Whitman Blues (8-5, 3-1 NWC), 61-52.
 
Whitman stormed out to an early 4-0 lead before Linfield's Skylar Willey tied it up with a bucket and a pair at the free throw line. The Wildcats erased two four-point deficits in the first quarter, taking a 14-12 lead in the final 90 seconds after a three from Lauren Buchanan. The Blues matched with a three of their own, and sank a bucket in the closing seconds to lead 17-14 after one.
 
The defensive changes in the second began to slow the Blues down, as both teams were scoreless for nearly three minutes to begin the second quarter. Amelia Solt and Eve Burke propelled a Linfield 7-0 run to regain the lead, 20-17 with six minutes left in the half. Whitman clawed back with a few buckets down the stretch before Allie Mead drained a three on the final possession to tie the game up, 25-25 at the half.
 
Coming out of the break, it was all Wildcats early. The offense found a spark, with contributions coming from everywhere. Miki Vermeulen, Mead, Burke, and Solt led a 13-0 run over a nearly six-minute scoring drought by the Blues. Whitman found just one bucket in the third, meanwhile Linfield scored 17 to lead 42-27 with ten minutes to play. 
 
Linfield had a short drought of their own to begin the final quarter, although the defense stood tall to maintain a double-digit lead down the stretch. Buchanan paired with Jordan Roberts to sink a pair of threes and fend off the Blues. The 'Cats lead dropped to just seven but it was too-little, too-late, for Whitman, as Linfield cruised to a 61-52 win.
 
The win moves Linfield to 2-0 in Northwest Conference play, keeping pace with Puget Sound as the last two unbeaten teams in the conference standings. 
 
Burke led the way with 15 points, largely in part to going 6-6 from the free throw line. Burke also led the team in assists with eight, meanwhile both Solt and Mead dished three assists. Although the 'Cats went 5-18 from beyond the arc, the defense was the difference; earning seven steals on 14 Blues turnovers. Wildcats point guard Ella Koebelin, a three-year co-captain, saw her first action on the court after a lengthy 690-day injury absence.
 
Linfield women's basketball returns to Ted Wilson Gymnasium tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. to take on the Whitworth Pirates to close out the weekend home stand.
 
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