Towry Moves Past 1,000-Point Mark, but Bearcats Fall to Beacons, 63-50

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

SALEM, Ore. -- Kylie Towry (Sr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) became just the ninth player in Willamette University women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points during a game against Northwest Christian University on Tuesday, Nov. 21, but the Beacons defeated the Bearcats, 63-50, at Cone Field House. Northwest Christian, which competes in the NAIA, remained undefeated at 5-0. Willamette, which competes in NCAA Division III, fell to 1-2 on the season.

Towry began the game with 994 career points. She reached 1,001 points on a field goal with 3:03 left in the third quarter. She finished with nine points during the game. She now has 1,003 points.

Reaching the 1,000-point mark added to Towry's list of accomplishments in her career with the Bearcats. She is tied with Ashley Evans for the most 3-point field goals made in a game with nine against California Institute of Technology on Nov. 21, 2014. She holds the Willamette career record for 3-point field goals with 226 and is first with 555 career 3-point attempts. She is listed in the top six all-time at Willamette in several additional categories, including career 3-point shooting percentage and career free throw-percentage.

"We are all so proud of Kylie for reaching her 1000th point tonight," Willamette Head Coach Peg Swadener said. "She has spent so many hours in the gym and has played such a pivotal part in turning this program around. It's really nice to see her secure her spot tonight in the elite of women's basketball players here at Willamette."

In Tuesday's game, Ashley Evans (Sr., PG, Canby, OR/Canby HS) led the Bearcats with 11 points and four assists. She connected on three 3-point shots. She also blocked one shot and was credited with one steal. Drew Farmer (So., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS) contributed 10 points, two assists and two steals. Towry added her nine points and Celine Gregoire (Sr./Jr., P, Woodburn, OR/ Woodburn Academy) supplied eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Britanny Kochenderfer (Jr., G, Klamath Falls, OR/Henley HS/Idaho State Univ.) earned six points and six rebounds.

Anamaria Virjoghe, the Beacons' 6'5" center, topped all players with 22 points. She was 11 of 21 from the field. Virjoghe grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Janae Turner scored nine points for NCU on a trio of 3-point baskets before fouling out with 5:23 left in the game.

Kaylynn Bush of Northwest Christian tallied eight points and led all players with three steals. Katerina Brejchova grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. 

"We have to give credit to Northwest Christian tonight," Swadener commented. "They are a good team who came ready to play. NCU has a very strong inside game with some size and athleticism on the perimeter, and when we play a team as balanced as that, we need to do a better job with our shot selection and turnovers. We look forward to getting back to practice tomorrow to improve these things before we head down to Santa Cruz for the weekend."

The Beacons outshot the Bearcats in the second quarter and the fourth quarter to win the game. Northwest Christian was 8 of 15 (53.3%) from the field n the first quarter and 6 of 10 (60.0%) in the fourth quarter. Willamette shot just 23.1% (3 of 13) in each of the two quarters.

Willamette led 5-2 early in the game on five consecutive points from Evans on a 3-pointer and a jumper. NCU scored the next seven points, starting with a 3-pointer by Turner. Virjoghe added a jumper in the lane and Bush hit two free throws.

The Bearcats countered with six unanswered points on a layup by Kochenderfer, a layup by Farmer, and another layup by Kochenderfer, for an 11-9 lead with 3:45 on the clock. Northwest Christian held a 16-15 lead at the end of the quarter.

Northwest Christian opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run for a 23-17 lead. Turner completed the run by sinking a 3-point basket with 7:04 remaining in the half. WU pulled within two points twice before halftime, including 25-23 with 4:44 left on a layup by Gregoire that was assisted by Evans. The Beacons answered with a 6-1 surge -- with all six points by Virjoghe -- to take a 31-24 lead. Northwest Christian was in front 31-26 at halftime.

Towry hit a 3-point shot in the opening minute of the second half to reach 999 career-points. The trifecta also moved the Bearcats within four-points of the Beacons at 35-31.  Niki Duncan of NCU connected on a 3-pointer for the next basket with 8:09 on the clock.

A bit later, the Beacons held a 45-35 advantage following a layup by Kristen Parr with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter. Towry countered with a layup 28 seconds later, as she reached 1,001 career points. Willamette trailed Northwest Christian, 49-42, at the end of the quarter.

Virjoghe registered the first four points of the final quarter on a layup with 8:39 left and a jumper with 7:09 to go. The Bearcats got with 53-44 on two free throws by Towry with 5:56 remaining. The next four points went to the Beacons to maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Northwest Christian achieved a 42-32 rebounding margin. The Beacons committed 18 turnovers, compared to 16 turnovers for Willamette.

The Bearcats, who are typically strong on 3-point shots, made just 4 of 22 long-range attempts (18.2%). NCU was 4 of 11 on 3-pointers (36.4%).

Willamette will return to action on Friday, Nov. 24 and Saturday, Nov. 25 in the Slug Thanksgiving Classic, host by the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Bearcats will take on the California State University Maritime Academy on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (PDT). WU will battle UC Santa Cruz on Saturday at 1 p.m. The tournament will be held at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Santa Cruz Wariors in the NBA's minor league.