By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Kylie Towry (Sr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) scored a game-high 24 points and Mary Eckenrode (Sr., G, Higley, AZ/Highland HS) provided a career-high 21 points, as Willamette University outscored Whitworth University, 79-77, on Friday, Jan. 19 at Cone Field House. The home victory improved the Bearcats to 10-6 on the season, including 6-1 in the Northwest Conference. It was Willamette's sixth consecutive win. Whitworth slipped to 6-10 overall, 1-6 in the NWC.
Whitworth trailed 63-47 at the start of the fourth quarter, but took a 71-70 lead on a 3-pointer by Grace Douglas with 2:08 left. Willamette regained the lead at the 1:41 mark, when Towry hit two free throws to put the Bearcats in front, 72-71. Britanny Kochenderfer (Jr., G, Klamath Falls, OR/Henley HS/Idaho State Univ.) tacked on two free throws 14 seconds later to increase Willamette's margin to 74-71.
After forcing a turnover by Whitworth, with 1:12 remaining, the Bearcats ran off about 27 seconds before a 3-point shot by Drew Farmer (So., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS). Farmer did not score, but her shot may have grazed the front of the rim. Celine Gregoire (Sr./Jr., P, Woodburn, OR/ Woodburn Academy) hauled down the rebound for Willamette as the shot clock expired. Officials ruled that the ball did not hit the rim on Farmer's 3-pointer, so possession went to Whitworth.
The Pirates cut the lead to 74-73 on a layup by Alli Kieckbusch with 32 seconds to go, but Towry was successful on the first of two free throws with 26 seconds left.
Towry missed the second free throw, but Kochenderfer rebounded for the Bearcats. Towry was fouled again with 20 seconds to go, and hit both free throws to give Willamette a 77-73 edge. Whitworth called timeout and advanced the ball. Camy Aguinaldo scored for the Pirates on a jumper with 16 seconds remaining to cut Willamette's lead to 77-75.
Eckenrode was fouled by Grace Douglas with 14 seconds on the clock. Eckenrode sank both shots at the free throw line, as the Bearcats grabbed a 79-75 advantage. The Pirates were out of timeouts, but Douglas put through a layup with five seconds left.
Willamette used a timeout and advanced the ball. The Bearcats ran off about three seconds before Towry was fouled by Klieckbusch with 1.8 second to go. Towry missed both free throws. Time ran out as Erika Kuehn grabbed the game's final rebound.
Towry's 24 points increased her career total to 1,234 points. Against Whitowrth, she scored on 5 of 6 three-point shots. She is 75 points away from the school record of 1,309, set by Jenny Joseph from 1993-94 through 1996-97. She extended her school record for career 3-pointers to 268.
Eckenrode provided an all-around strong game for the Bearcats on Friday. In addition to scoring 21 points, she recorded five rebounds and two assists. She was 7 of 13 from the field and 7 for 7 at the free throw line. She scored 13 points in the second half.
Also reaching double digits for Willamette were Ashley Evans (Sr., PG, Canby, OR/Canby HS) and Kochenderfer. Evans tallied 13 points and hit three 3-point shots. Kochenderfer scored 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Gregoire tied Kochenderfer with a team-high seven boards. Willamette outrebounded Whitworth 36-33.
All five Whitworth starters finished in double figures. Aguinaldo and Madison Moffat each scored 17 points. Moffat registered a game-high 12 rebounds, plus four assists and three steals before fouling out with 1:41 remaining. Kuehn and Grace tacked on 13 points apiece, while Kieckbusch scored 12. Whitworth's starters were 27 of 54 on field goals (50.0%).
Willamette shot 42.3% for the game (22 of 52) and made 9 of 23 three-pointers (39.1%). Willamette sank 26 of 33 free throw attempts (78.8%). Whitworth connected on 46.8% of its field goals (29 of 62), including 5 of 14 attempts from 3-point range (35.7%).
There were ties and two lead changes early in the first quarter, but Willamette tok a 10-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Towry with 4:30 on the clock. The Bearcats eventually took a 16-11 advantage on a pair of free throws by Towry with 39 seconds left. A layup by Aquinaldo and a layup by Moffat allowed the Pirates to pull within 16-15 at the end of the quarter.
Whitworth opened the second quarter with a 10-7 run. A 3-pointer by Kuehn put the Pirates in front by one point, and Aguinaldo sank 1 of 2 free throws with 5:42 to go, giving Whitworth a 25-23 edge. There were two ties and five lead changes during the rest of the quarter. Willamette surged in front 35-33 on a 3-pointer by Towry with 1:38 left. The Bearcats held a 40-35 lead at the break.
The Bearcats opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run for a 47-37 advantage following a 3-pointer by Evans with 7:34 remaining. Later, Willamette owned a 53-45 edge after Moffat scored for Whitworth as the clock reached 4:04. Willamette closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 63-47 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Whitworth's comeback started with an 13-2 surge that reduced the Bearcats' margin to 65-60 with 5:52 left. The run featured points from five Pirates. Willamette used a 3-pointer by Towry and a fast-break layup by Eckenrode to take a 70-60 advantage with 4:48 to go. The Pirates scored the next 11 points to grab the lead.
Willamette will host nationally-ranked Whitman College on Saturday, Jan. 20. Whitman is ranked #6 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. The Blues are 15-1 overall and 7-0 in the NWC. Game time at Cone Field House is set for 4 p.m. (PST).
