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

SALEM, ORE. -- Whitman College limited Willamette University to 23.6% field goals shooting, as the Missionaries defeated the Bearcats, 71-40, in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Cone Field House. The Missionaries improved to 7-3 overall and to 2-0 in the NWC. Willamette fell to 5-6 on the season, 0-2 in the NWC.

The Missionaries built a 29-14 lead in the first half and extended their advantage to 40-18 in the first five minutes of the second half.

Willamette hit 13 of 55 field goal attempts during the game, and made just 5 of 30 shots (16.7%) in the first half. After holding down Willamette with strong defense over the first 20 minutes, the Missionaries excelled on offense in the second half, connecting on 19 of 31 shots (61.3%) to pull away from the Bearcats. Whitman shot 48.4% overall (31 of 64).

Heather Johns topped Whitman with 16 points, while Hailey Ann Maeda added 14 and Hallie Buse finished with 11. Emily Rommel provided the Missionaries with a game-high nine rebounds, helping Whitman achieve a 47-34 rebounding margin. Alysse Ketner hauled down eight rebounds and Buse grabbed eight.

Ashley Evans (Fr., Canby, OR/Canby HS) scored 11 points and earned four assists for the Bearcats. Marisa Hamilton (Fr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for Willamette, while Katie Kalugin (Sr., G, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS) scored nine points and hit 7 of 11 free throws.

Evans and Hamilton each earned a career high for scoring, as both freshmen reached double digits for the first time.

The Missionaries surged out to an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes and owned a 15-4 margin following a layup by Rommel with 14:27 left in the half. Willamette cut the lead to seven points two times over the next few minutes, including 17-10 after a pair of free throws by Hamilton with 10:55 on the clock.

Whitman scored 10 of the next 12 points to increase the lead to 27-12 with 4:34 remaining before halftime. Ketner scored six of the points for the Missionaries.

The second half began with Jojo DeLong (Sr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) of Willamette sinking 1 of 2 free throws to pull the Bearcats within 29-15. The next eight points were tallied by Whitman, including three baskets by Johns, as the Missionaries took a 37-15 lead.

Each team added a 3-pointer, with Evans hitting from behind the arc for Willamette at 15:37 and Buse scoring from 3-point range for the Missionaries at 15:14, leaving Whitman in front 40-18.

The Bearcats tacked on another 3-pointer by Evans with 14:01 to go, but Whitman's strong shooting allowed the Missionaries to continue to pull away.

Willamette will play at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., on Friday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. (PST). The Bearcats will return home to take on George Fox University on Saturday, Jan. 10. Game time at Cone Field House is scheduled for 4 p.m.