By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team has improved in so many ways in the six years since Head Coach Peg Swadener began her first season in 2012-13. The Bearcats have risen from a team than won only one game the year before Swadener arrived into a team that reached the Northwest Conference Tournament championship game and finished with a 17-10 record in 2017-18.
Willamette was third in the NWC in the regular season at 12-4. The Bearcats defeated nationally-ranked Whitman College, 62-55, in the next to the last game of the season, and then defeated Whitman a second time, 55-52, six days later during the NWC Tournament semifinals. Willamette fell to nationally-ranked George Fox University, 60-50, in the NWC Championship game. WU trailed by a slim 52-50 margin with 2:29 left in the game, as the Bearcats were very close to earning the NWC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Kylie Towry (Sr., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) was named First Team All-NWC and Britanny Kochenderfer (Jr., G, Klamath Falls, OR/Henley HS/Idaho State Univ.) received Second Team All-NWC recognition. Swadener was chosen NWC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
The improvement started with recruiting players who possessed were competitive and were willing to work hard to get better each day. It also required skilled coaching, which Swadener and her assistant coaches have provided. As the team began making the final strides to achieve a winning record and an NWC Tournament berth, the progression also needed team chemistry in which each player knew her responsibilities and everyone on the team trusted each other.
These various elements don't happen overnight. And they don't occur without a group of people who are committed to each other and to the team's success. The entire team deserves to be commended for what the Bearcats accomplished both this year and in recent years.
Let's focus on Towry, Kochenderfer and Ashley Evans (Sr., PG, Canby, OR/Canby HS) and their contributions to the team, as well as on the teamwork that allowed Willamette to succeed in so many close games this year.
Providing the team with incredible leadership was Towry in her fifth season with the Bearcats as the result of a season-ending injury just eight games into her freshman year. Towry recovered from her injury, and gradually added more and more attacking options to her skill set. She was always known as a great 3-point shooter, but she became a multi-dimensional threat on the floor this season by consistently getting to the rim off the dribble and by creating scoring opportunities for her teammates.
Towry finished her career as Willamette's all-time leading scorer with 1,433 points. She also holds first place on the Bearcats' career lists with 1,179 field goal attempts, 293 three-point field goals made, and 750 three-point field goal attempts. She is second all-time with 474 field goals made and 79.3% career free throw shooting (101 of 125). She is listed third in career scoring average with 13.0 points per game and is tied for third with career 3-point accuracy of 39.1%.
This year, Towry set a WU single season scoring record with 479 points, as she passed the old record of 458 points scored by Vanessa Wyfells in 2004-05. Towry reached double figures in 25 of 27 games, including 20 or more points 11 times. She recorded the second highest single game total in school history with 33 points against Pacific University on Feb. 9, 2018. Towry's 74 three-pointers in 2017-18 set a school record, breaking the record of 69 established by Amy Ulrey in 1995-96.
"Kylie is one of the toughest competitors I have ever know," Swadener said. "It's unbelievable night-in and night-out how determined Kylie is to win. She just find a way to get it done."
Kochenderfer trailed only Towry in scoring for the Bearcats with 11.6 points per game. Kochenderfer led Willamette and ranked fourth in the NWC with 7.3 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures in 18 games, including each of the final eight games of the season. She registered a career-high 24 points in Willamette's first win over Whitman on Feb. 16, 2018.
"Having someone who can play inside and out so fluidly has just opened everything," Evans said.
Kochenderfer transferred to Willamette from Idaho State after attending Henley High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon. As she learned Willamette's system, she became an increasingly important contributor for the Bearcats.
"I had Peg as a club coach. I knew that playing for Peg, I would be really happy," Kochenderfer said.
"Britanny got better with every game," Swadener commented. "We were playing our best basketball at the end of the year for a reason ... because Britanny became comfortable with our system and the team."
Evans concluded her career with 664 points for the Bearcats. She earned a career-high 29 points against Warner Pacific College on Nov. 15, 2016.
In addition, Evans set the Willamette record for career free throw percentage at 83.1%, as she converted 49 of 59 attempts. She hit 177 three-point shots during her career to finish second all-time at Willamette and placed fifth with 461 three-point attempts. Evans earned 258 career assists to rank seventh on the Bearcats' all-time list.
During Willamette's victory over Whitman in the NWC Tournament, Towry, Kochenderfer and Evans provided strong effort and contributed key plays. With the Blues trying to shut down Willamette's 3-point threat, Towry established herself off the dribble in the first half and went into the break with 15 points. Evans chipped in eight points and three assists in the first half. Kochenderfer scored several key baskets in the second half, including three 3-point shots, as she tallied 15 points in the final 20 minutes.
Late in the game, after a quick 8-0 run by Whitman gave the Blues a 52-50 lead, the trio of Bearcats made more big plays. Towry assisted Drew Farmer (So., PG, Brookings, OR/Brookings-Harbor HS) on a wide-open, 10-foot jumper to tie the game with 57 seconds remaining. After Whitman missed a shot at the other end of the court, the Bearcats gained possession. Evans scored the game-winning shot on a 3-pointer from the right side with 16.6 seconds left. Kochenderfer provided the game-winning assist.
Neither team scored again. The Blues missed a jump shot with six seconds left, and the Bearcats missed two free throws with 3.2 seconds to go. Whitman called timeout and advanced the ball. The Blues had trouble getting the ball into play and used another timeout. On Whitman's second try, Towry tipped the in-bounds pass and the Blue were called for a backcourt violation with 1.8 seconds to go.
"Everyone just knows when to step up," Evans said. "This is what we've been working on since our freshman year. We peaked at the right time."
Swadener gave credit to the players for their ability to battle until the end while remembering the things they worked on all season. That included the game-tying basket by Farmer and the winning 3-pointer by Evans.
"Kylie drew two defenders, was able to find the open player, and Drew made a shot she's been practicing all season," Swadener said. "Then Britanny forced the defense to collapse down, and she found Evans for the 3-pointer. I'm so proud of the way we executed all season long with the game on the line."
The Bearcats won eight games by six points or less, including a 3-0 record in overtime. Seven of those close wins were in NWC regular season action or during the NWC Tournament.
