By Sara Elcano, Assistant Athletics Communications Director

EUGENE, ORE. -- Northwest Christian University defeated the Willamette University women's basketball team, 70-45, in a non-conference contest on Monday, Dec. 6. The win evened Northwest Christian's overall record at 4-4. Willamette is now 1-7 overall.

The Bearcats played well early in the game, holding a five-point advantage after just over a minute. Willamette then went cold from the field and did not score another field goal until the 8:11 mark.

The Beacons shot the ball well throughout the game. They finished the contest 26 of 54 (48.1%) from the field and 6 of 17 (35.3%) from the 3-point line. Northwest Christian also connected on 12 of 18 (66.7%) free throws. The Beacons held their biggest lead of the game, 29 points, at 60-31 with 6:21 remaining in the second half.

Willamette was held to 15 of 49 (30.6%) shooting from the field. The Bearcats made just four field goals during the first half of play.

The two teams combined for 73 turnover. Willamette had 40 turnovers while the Beacons committed 33.

Alex Zennan (Sr., G, Sammamish, WA/Eastlake HS) of Willamette finished the game 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 8 from the charity stripe to earn a team-high 16 points. Zennan also led the Bearcats with five steals.

Junior Kaileigh Westermann (F, Belfair, WA/South Kitsap HS) came off the bench and grabbed 11 rebounds for Willamette. She helped the Bearcats win the rebounding battle, 36-32. Willamette had 12 offensive rebounds, including six from Westermann.

WU trailed 37-20 at halftime but soon cut that lead to just ten points. The Bearcats scored the first seven points of the second half to make the score 37-27. Following a timeout, the Beacons responded with a 19-2 run and maintained a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game.

Northwest Christian was led by Jess Anderson. Anderson did not start the game, but scored 18 points for the Beacons in just 15 minutes of play. Hope Williams added 13 points and seven rebounds. Martha Taylor matched WU's Zennan with a game-high five steals.

The Bearcats will enjoy a long break before playing Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash. on Dec. 30. The game is set to begin at 7:05 p.m. (PST).