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

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University held #8-ranked Whitman College to 40.0% shooting in the first half and trailed the Blues by a slim 28-25 margin at halftime. Whitman built a 49-36 lead at the end of the third quarter on its way to a 72-54 victory over the Bearcats at Cone Field House on Friday, Feb. 7. The Blues advanced their record to 18-2 on the season, including 10-1 in the Northwest Conference. Whitman, ranked eighth in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, leads the NWC by two-games in the loss column. Willamette fell to 11-9 overall, 5-6 in the NWC.

Lucy Morrill (Sr./Jr., G, Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) topped Willamette in scoring with 16 points, as she hit 6 of 10 field goals, including 3 of 5 on 3-point shots. Morrill also grabbed seven rebounds and had one assist. Elizabeth Logsdon (Sr., F, McMinnville, OR/McMinnville HS) supplied the Bearcats with 10 points, while Sami Riggs (Fy., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) earned nine points. Kassin Hopkins (Sr., Connell, WA/Connell HS/Bellevue College) finished with five points, five rebounds and one assist.

For Whitman, Makana Stone led the way with 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals. She was 5 of 9 from the floor. Kalie McCracken tacked on 12 points to go with five rebounds. Mady Burdett provided the Blues with 11 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Elena McHargue registered a game-high four steals.

Willamette took a 5-1 lead less than two minutes into the game on two free throws by Riggs plus a 3-pointer by Morrill. A layup by Natalie Whitesel cut the margin to two points, but Morrill tacked on another 3-pointer and Madison Ballard (So., G, Monroe, OR/Monroe HS) added a jumper to give WU a 10-5 lead with 4:19 left in the opening quarter. A bit later, the Bearcats held a 13-7 advantage following a layup by Morrill.

The Bearcats entered the second quarter with a 13-9 lead and eventually increased the margin to 16-11 on a basket and a foul shot by Hopkins at the 8:32 mark. Whitman charged back with a 10-0 run that featured six points by Stone and four points from McHargue, as the Blues grabbed a 21-16 edge with 5:24 to play in the half. WU tied the score at 21-21 as the clock reached 3:16 on a 3-pointer by Morrill. The Blues took a pair of five-point leads before halftime, including 28-23 on a layup by Macy Hampton. Two free throws by Riggs with four seconds on the clock cut the margin to 28-25 at the break.

Morrill from Willamette was the only player with double-digit scoring at halftime, as she had 12 points. Stone and McCracken each scored seven points in the first half. Whitman was 12 of 30 from the field (40.0%) over the first 20 minutes. In the second half, Whitman connected on 17 of 27 field goals (63.0%).

At the start of the third quarter, Riggs hit 1 of 2 free throws to pull the Bearcats within 28-26, but the Blues responded with a 9-3 run. The offensive surge started with a 3-point basket by Burdett and ended with a layup by Lily Gustafson, as Whitman took a 37-29 lead with 5:30 left. Willamette moved within 37-33 on a layup by Morrill with 4:12 to go. Whitman went on a 12-1 run that increased the Blues' advantage to 49-34. Logdson stopped the run by scoring on a layup for the Bearcats with three seconds remaining.

The teams exchanged two-point baskets and free throws for several minutes at the start of the fourth quarter, leaving Whitman in front 56-43 at the 6:22 mark. A free throw by Gustafson 14 seconds later opened a 7-0 run by the Blues for a 63-43 lead with 3:44 to go. Four of the points were registered by McCracken, including the final two points at the free throw line.

Whitman shot 50.9% for the game (29 of 57) and went 3 of 14 (21.4%) on 3-pointers. The Blues were 11 of 17 at the free throw line. The Bearcats converted 36.5% of their field goals (19 of 52), while hitting just 3 of 18 from behind the arc (16.7%). WU finished 13 for 19 on free throws (68.4%). Whitman attained a 36-28 rebounding margin, but each team hauled down 11 offensive boards.

Up next for the Bearcats is a home game on Saturday, Feb. 8 against Whitworth University. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. (PST).