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

SALEM, ORE. -- Western Oregon University defeated Willamette University 71-53 in the opening round of the Capital City Classic in women's basketball on Friday, Nov. 23 at Corban University. WOU was led by Dana Goularte, who scored a game-high 23 points on 9 of 13 field goals and 5 of 8 free throw shooting.

The Wolves, who compete in NCAA Division II, upped their record to 3-2 on the season. Willamette, which competes in NCAA Division III, dropped to 0-4.

Willamette will play again on Saturday, Nov. 24 against New Hope Christian College in the third place game at 12 p.m. (PST). Western Oregon will take on Corban in the championship game at 5 p.m. Corban defeated New Hope Christian, 67-55, in the other first round game.

The Bearcats' top scorer against Western Oregon was Katie Kalugin (So., F, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS), who tallied 13 points and hit 6 of 11 field goals. Mackenzie Lamson (Jr., F, Portland, OR/Lincoln HS) and Sophie Wilson (Sr., G, Port Townsend, WA/Port Townsend HS) added 11 points each.

Julia Brand (So., F, Kaneohe, HI/Punahou School) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Bearcats shot just 28.8% (17 of 59) for the game, while WOU hit 23 of 56 field goals (41.1%).

Goularte of WOU was joined in double figures by Lorrie Clifford, who contributed 17 points. Clifford was 6 of 10 on field goals, hauled down seven rebounds and provided two assists. Mariah Durian paced the Wolves with a game-high nine rebounds, but went 0 of 9 on field goals.

WOU scored the game's first four points, but held just a 6-5 lead after Wilson made a 3-point shot for Willamette with 16:12 remaining in the first half. The Wolves scored the next 10 points to extend the lead to 16-5 at the 11:51 mark. Clifford tallied six of the points, including a 3-pointer to complete the run.

Wilson scored the next basket for Willamette with 9:57 left in the half, but the Wolves answered with a layup by Melissa Fowler and a jumper by Katie Goddard to take a 20-8 lead.

The Bearcats trailed 24-9 with 4:36 on the clock, before putting together a 9-1 run. Lamson began the run with a 3-point basket and Alexa Beeson (Jr., G, Portland, OR/Lincoln HS) finished the run on a 3-pointer with 37 seconds to go in the half.

Kelsey Henry of Western Oregon added a 3-pointer for the Wolves, as WOU took a 28-18 lead into the intermission.

The Wolves opened the second half with a 7-1 run that included six points from Goularte and extended the lead to 35-19 with 16:20 remaining. Willamette tallied the next five points on a layup by Lamson and a 3-pointer from Wilson, but couldn't sustain the rally.

Western Oregon led 52-32 following a jumper by Clifford with 11:12 on the clock. WOU claimed its largest least at 65-38 with 5:54 left. The Bearcats scored 11 of the next 13 points to begin a 15-6 run at the end of the game.

Willamette shot 6 of 26 (21.3%) in the first half, but improved to 11 of 33 (33.3%) over the final 20 minutes. The Bearcats finished the game 5 of 13 on 3-pointers (38.5%) and made just 14 of 30 free throws.

Despite hitting 41.1% of its field goals, Western Oregon was just 2 of 8 on 3-point shots (25.0%). The Wolves converted 23 of 37 free throws (62.2%) and achieved a 55-38 rebounding margin.