Josephson Leads All Scorers with 16 Points
SALEM, ORE. -- Facing a Whitman College team ranked #4 in NCAA Division III by D3Hoops.com, Willamette University fell behind early and never recovered, as the Bearcats fell to the Missionaries, 76-45, in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Friday, Jan. 3 at Cone Field House.
Whitman improved to 10-0 on the year, 1-0 in the NWC. Willamette dropped to 2-8 this season, 0-1 in NWC play.
The Bearcats' Rebecca Josephson (Sr., G, Fair Oaks, CA/Del Campo HS) led all scorers with 16 points, including 14 in the second half. Josephson also snagged six rebounds and one steal. Jojo DeLong (Jr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS)added 13 points for Willamette.
The Missionaries placed four of their five starters in double figures, led by Sarah Anderegg's 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Heather Johns added 13 points for Whitman, while Tiffani Traver scored 11 and Meghan White contributed 10.
From the moment Whitman won the opening tipoff, the Missionaries looked like a national contender, surging out to a 13-2 lead on a layup by White at the 14:27 mark of the first half.
A layup from Josephson put a stop to the run, and the Bearcats cut the deficit to 15-7 on a three-pointer from DeLong with 11:47 remaining.
But the Missionaries regained control with a jumper from Anderegg, and gradually pulled away over the remainder of the first half, earning a 36-17 advantage at the break.
Though Josephson opened the second half scoring with a made free throw, Whitman uncorked a 13-4 run to grab a 49-22 lead at the 15:46 mark. Willamette got no closer than 25 points the rest of the game.
Whitman's defense held the Bearcats to 32.2% shooting (19 of 59) during the game, including just 2 of 13 (15.4%) on three-pointers. The Missionaries shot 46.4% (32 of 69) from the field, including 5 of 8 (62.5%) from three-point range.
Whitman also earned a sizable edge in rebounding (48-33), points in the paint (26-10), and second-chance points (15-4) against the undersized Bearcats, who started five guards in the game.
The Missionaries also earned an advantage at the foul line, sinking 7 of 13 attempts (53.8%). Willamette connected on 62.5% of its attempts from the charity stripe (5 of 8).
The Bearcats will continue NWC play onSaturday, Jan. 4, against Whitworth University. Game time at Cone Field House is slated for 4 p.m. (PST).
Rebecca Josephson led all scorers with 16 points, including 14 points in the second half.
