Montana State-Northern Holds Off Bearcats, 73-63, at Cone Field House

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University battled undefeated Montana State University-Northern for much of their game at Cone Field House on Thursday, Dec. 4, but the Skylights pulled away in the final 8:11 to defeat the Bearcats, 73-63. MSU-Northern ended the game with a 17-9 run.

The Bearcats, who compete in NCAA Division III, fell to 3-4 on the season. Montana State-Northern improved to 12-0. The Skylights are ranked #21 in the NAIA Division I Preseason Poll. The first regular season poll will be released on Dec. 8.

Willamette trailed by just a single point, 48-47, with 13:16 left in the game, and the Bearcats were within 56-54 at the 8:31 mark.

Natalie Faupel (So., G/F) and A'Jha Edwards (6'5", Sr., F) each scored 19 points for MSUN. Faupel was 8 of 11 from the field and achieved six assists, while Edwards hit 9 of 14 shots. Edwards grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and earned three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Taylor Cummings (Sr., G) added 13 points for the Skylights.

Katie Kalugin (Sr., G, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS) topped Willamette with 14 points and seven rebounds. Jojo DeLong (Sr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) scored 12 points for the Bearcats before fouling out with 2:45 remaining.

Kylie Towry (Fr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) chipped in 11 points and made 3 of 6 three-point shots for the Bearcats. Julia Brand (Sr., F, Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School) scored nine points, hauled down four rebounds and earned two assists.

Willamette scored the game's first six points on 3-pointers by Towry and DeLong. The Bearcats held a 10-3 lead after Kalugin hit a jump shot with 17:28 remaining in the half.

MSU-Northern achieved the next seven points as the Skylights tied the game at 10-10 on a layup by Faupel with 15:51 on the clock. The teams were tied two more times in the next few minutes, but the Skylights broke a 14-14 deadlock with a 7-0 run. MSUN led 21-14 with 10:34 to go in the half.

The Bearcats cut the margin to 21-18 on a jumper by Whitney Anderson (Fr., G, Willamina, OR/Willamina HS) at the 8:54 mark. Taybra Teeters (Sr., F) added a layup for MSU-Northern and Brand tacked on a free throw for Willamette, before the Skylights scored eight unanswered points for a 31-19 advantage with 5:07 left before halftime

WU trailed 35-23 with 2:21 to go, but closed the half with a 7-0 run. The run started with a jumper by DeLong, continued with a 3-pointer by Towry and ended with two free throws from DeLong with 31 seconds remaining.

The teams exchanged points early in the second half, but the Bearcats cut the lead to 43-40 on a 3-pointer by Towry with 16:36 left. The Bearcats got within 46-44 when Brand scored on a rebound and layup with 14:02 to go. Willamette moved within 48-47 on a 3-pointer by Ashley Evans (Fr., Canby, OR/Canby HS) with 13:16 remaining.

Edwards scored four unanswered points for the Skylights, giving MSU-Northern a 52-47 margin at the 12:22 mark. WU reduced the lead to two points on three occasions, including 56-54 on a jumper by Kalugin with 8:31 to go.

MSU-Northern responded with a 9-2 run that started with a layup by Faupel with 8:11 on the clock. Faupel ended the run with a free throw with 6:11 remaining, but DeLong hit a 3-pointer just over a minute later to cut Willamette's deficit to 65-59.

A layup by Megan Feldman, and two free throws by Cummings when DeLong fouled out, kept the Bearcats from rallying and extended MSU-Northern's lead to 69-59.

The Skylights shot 62.2% for the game (28 of 45) and made 3 of 4 three-pointers. MSUN hit 14 of 19 free throws (73.7%). Willamette shot 46.9% for the game (23 of 49), including 57.9% in the first half (11 of 19). WU connected on 8 of 19 three-pointers (42.1%) and sank 9 of 10 free throws.

Willamette attained a 24-21 rebounding edge. The Bearcats lost the ball 18 times, while MSUN committed 13 turnovers. MSU-Northern's size advantage led to a 44-20 margin for the Skylights in the paint, but WU held a 9-0 edge in second-chance points.

The Bearcats' next game will be on Friday, Dec. 19 against Wheaton College (Mass.) at the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. HST/2:30 p.m. PST. Willamette will play Lake Forest College (Ill.) on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. HST/6 p.m. PST.