By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

TACOMA, Wash. -- Willamette University ended the first quarter with a 12-2 run to grab a 17-13 lead, and the Bearcats fought off the University of Puget Sound the rest of the way, to defeat the Loggers, 70-62, at Memorial Fieldhouse on the PS campus. Elyse Waldal (Jr., F, Snohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS/Linfield University) paced Willamette's offense with 20 points and hit 8 of 8 free throws. She also recorded six rebounds.

The Bearcats improved to 8-7, 5-1 in the Northwest Conference, while Puget Sound slipped to 9-5, 3-2 in the NWC. Willamette moved one-half game into first place in the NWC. Pacific University is second at 4-1. The Boxers are slated to play at Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday, Jan. 13. WU will return to action on Friday, Jan. 19 at Lewis & Clark College at 6 p.m. PST.

Waldal has scored 18 or more points in six games for the Bearcats this year, including three games with 20 or more points. She earned a career-high 23 points against Whittier College on Nov. 12, 2023. On Friday, Waldal was followed on the scoring chart by Megan River (Sr., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS) with 13 points and by Kaitlin Imai (So., G, Santa Cruz, CA/Scotts Valley HS) with nine points.

Carolyn Ho (Sr., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) provided a career-high seven assists to go along with eight points, five rebounds and a steal. Ava Kitchin (Sr., P, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS) tacked on eight points and a team-high nine boards, while earning three assists and a steal. Willamette's scoring chart also included Peyton Gardner (So., G, Bend, OR/Bend HS) with seven points, as she went 3 for 3 on field goals, including a 3-pointer.

"I'm really proud of the resilience we showed tonight," Willamette Head Women's Basketball Coach Peg Swadener said. "To bounce back from the heart-breaking loss on Tuesday (at Pacific in two overtimes) against a tough team like Puget Sound on the road takes a lot of grit, and everyone stepped up to the challenge. This is a special group, and they are really fun to coach."

The Bearcats limited Puget Sound to 31.4% shooting for the game (22 of 70), including 15.4% (4 of 26) on 3-point shots. Willamette has held eight opponents to 62 or fewer points this season. Meanwhile, Willamette converted 52.9% of its field goals (27 of 51), including 66.7% in the second quarter (10 of 15).

Paige Gerhart scored 13 points for the Loggers, while earning eight boards and two steals. Katie Minnehan registered 12 points, while leading PS with 12 rebounds, four assists, and six steals. Jordyn Reverman matched Minnehan with 12 points, while Kennedy Brown added 11 points and Sophie Nilsson was credited with 10 points.

Willamette's win over Puget Sound ended a nine-game losing streak to the Loggers. The last victory for the Bearcats against Puget Sound prior to Friday's triumph was a 65-64 win in Salem, Oregon, on Jan. 6, 2018. Of the nine wins in between for the Loggers, three were by six points, including one victory in overtime.

Puget Sound took an 11-5 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter following a layup by Sarah Skaggs and a 3-point basket by Nilsson. The Bearcats earned 12 of the next 14 points, with River beginning the run with a 3-pointer. After Gerhart added a layup for PS, Imai sank a 3-pointer and added a layup to tie the score at 13-13 with 1:55 on the clock. WU closed the quarter with a layup by Gardner and a pair of free throws by Ho.

The Loggers pulled within one point twice in the second period, including 21-20 at the 6:44 mark. Imai and Waldal each tacked on two points to give WU a 25-20 edge, before Addison Reardon scored on a driving layup for PS with 4:26 to go. The Bearcats responded with an 11-0 run for a 36-22 edge as the clock reached 1:36. Five Bearcats scored during the run, which began with a trifecta by Gardner and ended with a layup by Ho. WU led 38-29 at halftime. Waldal scored eight points in the second quarter and had 10 points at the break.

River opened the third quarter with a layup. The Loggers cut the margin to 40-33, but Willamette took a 45-33 lead on a layup by Ho with 6:00 on the clock. PS reduced its deficit to three points twice, including 53-50 on a jumper by Minnehan with 1:47 left. River scored on a driving layup for WU at 1:32, and the Bearcats ended the quarter with a 55-50 lead.

A jump shot by Reverman with 9:14 remaining, pulled the Loggers within four points for the second time in the fourth quarter. WU led 57-53, and the Bearcats responded with a 7-1 run that gradually increased the margin to 64-54 on a free throw by Kitchin at the 2:10 mark. Puget Sound managed to get as close as 64-58 with 1:24 left after Reverman grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 1:24 to go. Layups from Kitchin and Ho gave the Bearcats a 68-58 advantage at the 33-second mark.

The Bearcats sank an impressive 14 of 16 shots (87.5%) within a few feet of the basket and made 20 of 24 attempts (83.3%) in the paint. In addition to shooting 52.9% from the field, the Bearcats connected on 12 of 14 free throws (85.7%). Puget Sound was 14 for 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%).