Bearcats will Finish Season against Linfield and Pacific

By Evan Giddings, Student Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team will wrap up the 2014-15 season this weekend with two Northwest Conference match-ups when it takes on archrival Linfield College on Friday, Feb. 20 in McMinnville, Ore., and Pacific University on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Cone Field House. The game on Friday will begin at 6 p.m. (PST). On Saturday, it will be Senior Night with tipoff at 4 p.m.

Multimedia coverage on Friday will be Live Video and Live Stats provided by Linfield. Coverage of Saturday's action will be available through Willamette's Live Video and Live Stats. Mike Allegre will be the play-by-play announcer during Saturday's webcast.

Willamette enters the weekend with a 6-17 overall record and a 1-13 record in the NWC. Linfield holds a 10-13 overall record with a 4-10 conference record, while Pacific is 9-15 overall and 5-10 in conference play.

In their first match-up, the Bearcats trounced the Wildcats, 71-56, on Jan. 24. Katie Kalugin(Sr., G, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS) recorded a double-double with a team-high 17 points and 13 rebounds while Kylie Towry(Fr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) scored 13 points and knocked down three 3-pointers.

Jojo DeLong(Sr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) and Ashley Evans (Fr., PG, Canby, OR/Canby HS) each contributed 11 points apiece against Linfield.

The top three scorers this season for WU have been DeLong, Towry, and Kalugin. DeLong has averaged 12.8 points per game, while also ranking as the team's third highest rebounder, hauling in 4.0 boards per game. She is also the NWC leader is assists, averaging 4.2 per contest.

Towry has averaged 9.9 points per game, while leading the conference with 64 three-point baskets. She has shot 42.1% from beyond the arc. Kalugin has achieved 9.4 points per game and ranks sixth in the conference with 7.0 rebounds per game.

Other key players for Willamette include Marisa Hamilton (So./Fr., C, Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) and Julia Brand (Sr., F, Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School). Hamilton has averaged 8.0 points per game in conference play, while Brand is coming off a season-high, 13-point game against Pacific Lutheran University last Friday.

Linfield will be led by Amantha Hood (Fr., G) who tops the Wildcats with 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Also, Hannah Depew (Jr., F) has averaged 9.9 points per game and Jessica McMillan has added 7.6 points and 5.6 boards per game. Depew leads the team with 31 steals, while McMillan has recorded a team-high 27 blocks this season.

Other contributors for Linfield include Quincey Gibson (So., G) and Taylor Solomon (Sr., G). Gibson has scored 8.0 points per game, while adding 30 steals and leading the team with 32 three-pointers. Solomon has contributed 8.3 points per game.

As for the Senior Night game against Pacific, Willamette will need to key on Sarah Curl (So., F), Olivia Cook (Sr. G), and Nani Ostrom (Sr., G), all three of which are averaging 10+ points per game this season. Cook averages 12.8, Curl scores a close second with 12.5, and Ostrom adds 11.2.

In the first meeting between WU and Pacific on Jan. 23, the Boxers won handedly as Curl scored 20 points and Ostrom added 13 points en route to a 60-39 victory.

As a team, Willamette has been the best in the NWC from long range, draining 161 three-pointers, but has also been the best at stopping shots from behind the arc, allowing a conference-low 79 triples on just 28.6% shooting. This will come into play as Pacific is second in the NWC with 33.5% shooting from 3-point range.