By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Willamette University women's basketball team gave #6-ranked Whitman College quite a battle in their Northwest Conference game on Saturday, Jan. 29, as the Bearcats led after one quarter, trailed by just two points at halftime, and were within one possession of the Blues with 24 seconds remaining. Whitman held on for a 67-61 win at the Sherwood Center, as the Blues improved to 18-1 overall and to 10-0 in the NWC. Willamette moved to 9-9 on the season, 4-5 in the NWC.

Whitman held a 49-45 lead at the end of the third quarter and extended the advantage to 11 points at 56-45 with 7:35 left following a layup by Kaelan Shamseldin. The double-digit margin didn't slow down Willamette's efforts to take down the Blues, as the Bearcats went on a 10-2 run to pull within 58-55 at the 4:06 mark. Sami Riggs (Jr., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) completed the run by scoring on a jump shot.

Willamette also pulled within three points at 60-57 on a jumper by Riggs with 3:22 left. Whitman claimed a 64-57 lead on two layups by Kaylie McCracken at 3:04 and 2:25, but the Bearcats rallied again. A layup from Carolyn Ho (So., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) with 0:41 left, on an assist by Megan River (So., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS), cut the margin to five points. After Taylor Chambers of WC missed two free throws with 33 seconds to go, River hit a jump shot to reduce the Blues' lead to 64-61 with 24 seconds to play.

Shamseldin tacked on 1 of 2 free throws for Whitman at the 19-second mark for a 65-61 lead. Carpenter missed 3-point attempts for Willamette with 11.5 seconds and 6.8 seconds left. Sydney Abbot of Whitman blocked Carpenter's second effort and Shamseldin grabbed the rebound. Chambers hit two free throws for the Blues with three seconds remaining.

River provided Willamette with 14 points, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Riggs finished with 12 points and was 6 of 10 from the field, while Carpenter added 11 points, hit 3 of 6 three-point shots, and registered three steals. Ava Kitchin (So., F, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS) contributed nine points, six rebounds, and three steals before fouling out with 3:09 left. Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil (Jr., F, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) led WU with eight rebounds and also scored five points.

McCracken of Whitman recorded 22 points and 13 rebounds to top all players. Korin Baker supplied 19 points for the Blues on 8-of-14 shooting. Chambers earned eight points, three assists, and five steals. Abbott produced five points, six boards, and three assists to go with her last-minute blocked shot.

The Bearcats scored seven of the game's first nine points on a 3-point shot by Carpenter, a layup from Kitchin, and a jumper by River. A bit later, Willamette owned a 13-8 advantage with 3:54 on the clock after Kitchin scored on back-to-back layups. Willamette took a 19-17 lead into the second quarter.

CarolAnn Edwards (So., F, Spokane, WA/University HS) of WU put through a layup with 7:36 remaining in the half to give the Bearcats a 21-18 edge. Baker of Whitman and Riggs of Willamette each added a basket before the Blues went on a 6-0 run to grab a 26-23 lead after Baker scored on a layup with 4:14 to play.

Willamette responded with a 7-4 run to tie the game at 30-30. River went 4 for 4 at the free throw line during the run, while Carpenter completed the surge with a 3-pointer at the 50-second mark. McCracken put in a layup with 31 seconds left to give the Blues a 32-30 halftime lead.

The Bearcats moved within 35-34 on a layup from Kitchin with 7:25 to go in the third quarter. Each team tacked on a basket and then Whitman scored six consecutive points for a 43-36 advantage. WU cut the margin to two points, 43-41, at the end of a 5-0 run when Ascuena-Mercil hauled down a defensive rebound and earned a layup several seconds later. The Blues moved out to a 49-42 margin with a minute left in the third quarter, but Carpenter sank a 3-pointer with two seconds left.

Whitman outscored the Bearcats by slim margins of 17-15 in the third quarter and 18-16 in the fourth quarter. The Blues finished with a 44-42 edge on points in the paint, while the Bearcats attained a 15-10 advantage in bench scoring.

For the game, Willamette shot 47.1% on field goals (24 of 51), while Whitman shot 26 of 58 from the field (44.8%). The Bearcats were 3 of 8 on 3-point attempts (37.5%). Whitman made 2 of 9 three-point tries (22.2%). The Blues connected on 13 of 25 free throws (52.0%) and Willamette went 10 for 15 at the charity stripe (66.7%). The Blues registered a 34-28 rebounding margin.

Willamette will host Pacific Lutheran University in NWC action on Friday, Feb. 4. Game time at Cone Field House in Salem, Oregon, is slated for 6 p.m. (PST).