Bearcats will Begin Season at Bon Appetit NWC Tipoff Classic

By Evan Giddings, Student Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team gets set to officially tip off the 2014-15 season this weekend when the Bearcats take on Montclair State University (N.J.) on Saturday, Nov. 15 and Schreiner University (Texas) on Sunday, Nov. 16 in the Bon Apetit NWC Tipoff Classic.

Lewis & Clark College is hosting the event in the Pamplin Sports Center on the L&C campus in Portland, Ore. Both of Willamette's games are set to start at 12 p.m. (PST). WU, Lewis & Clark and Linfield College will be representing the NWC.

The Bearcats are coming off an exhibition game in which they lost to Carroll College (Mont.) from the NAIA by a score of 79-57. However, the team performance was encouraging, as both the starters and the bench contributed.

Jojo DeLong (Sr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) scored 15 points, made 4 of 8 three-point shots, and provided five assists for the Willamette starting five. Then off the bench, Racyne Parker (Fr., G, Klamath Falls, OR/Henley HS) added 12 points while connecting on 5 of 6 shots from the floor.

Expected to aid the Willamette attack this weekend will be Katie Kalugin (Sr., G, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS), who averaged a team-high 13.0 points per game last season, while also recording 6.3 rebounds per game.

Other contributors will include Julia Brand (Sr., F, Kaneohe, Hawaii/Punahou School), Daena Mau (Sr., G, Aiea, Hawaii/Punahou School), and Kylie Towry (Fr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS).

Towry started eight games and averaged 11.1 points per game for Willamette last year before missing the rest of the season due to injury.

Both teams that WU will face in its upcoming tournament are traveling from different parts of the country. Montclair State participates in the Skyline Conference and Schreiner competes in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).

Coming into the season, Montclair State was ranked nationally in both the D3Hoops.com and USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 Preseason polls at 11th and 10th, respectively. The Red Hawks are led by Melissa Tobie, who topped the team in points (18.7 per game), rebounds (8.8 per game), and assists (113 total) last year.

Schreiner also experienced some success last season, advancing all the way to the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament and achieving a program high of 15 wins. It was the Mountaineers' first season competing in the SCAC.

Lindsey Peterson was Schreiner's top player last year, scoring 16.6 per contest, while grabbing 7.0 rebound per game and leading the team with 41 blocks. Bailey Harris contributed a team-high 108 assists for the Mountaineers last season.