By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Carolyn Ho (Sr., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) and Elyse Waldal (Jr., F, Snohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS/Linfield University) of Willamette University have been chosen First Team All-Northwest Conference for the 2023-24 women's basketball season. Ho also has been honored as the NWC Defensive Player of the Year, in voting by the NWC head coaches. The coaches selected Willamette Head Women's Basketball Coach Peg Swadener as the NWC Coach of the Year for the second time.
In addition, three Willamette players received Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition. The Honorable Mention selections were Kaitlin Imai (So., G, Santa Cruz, CA/Scotts Valley HS), Ava Kitchin (Sr., P, Redmond, OR/Redmond HS), and Megan River (Sr., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS).
Korin Baker, a senior forward at Whitman College, was named NWC Player of the Year. Zalissa Sanfo, a first-year center at Whitworth University was chosen NWC Rookie of the Year.
Willamette won the regular season Northwest Conference Championship with a 14-2 record and also earned a 17-8 overall record in regular season play. The Bearcats will host the 2023-24 NWC Women's Basketball Championship at Cone Field House this weekend and are the #1 seed for the tournament.
Whitman and Pacific University tied for second in the NWC standings at 12-4, but Pacific earned the #2 seed on a tie-breaker. Whitman is the #3 seed. Puget Sound, with an 11-5 NWC record, is the #4 seed.
The semifinal games will be played on Friday, Feb. 23, starting with Pacific taking on Whitman at 6 p.m. PST. Willamette will battle Puget Sound in the second semifinal game at 8 p.m. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Feb. 24 between the two semifinal winners at 6 p.m. The NWC Tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
First Team All-Northwest Conference
Carolyn Ho (Sr., G) was named First Team All-NWC and NWC Defensive Player of the Year for the first time this season. She was chosen Second Team All-NWC in 2022-23. Ho is averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting 51.8% from the field. Ho leads the NWC with 88.9% accuracy on free throws and is tied for first in the conference with 3.6 assists per game. She scored a career high 23 points twice in 2022-23. She recently set a career-high with 12 boards against Puget Sound. Her career stats include 751 points, 299 rebounds, 221 assists, 173 steals, and 35 blocks.
Elyse Waldal (Jr., F) was selected First Team All-NWC for the first time. She is Willamette's leading scorer with 12.2 points per game. She also tops the Bearcats with 50 three-point baskets, including the winning shot at the buzzer in a 50-47 win over Pacific on Feb. 6. Waldal ranks first in the NWC in 3-point field goal percentage (41.3%). In addition, she is averaging 4.3 rebounds per contest and is providing 1.5 assists per game. She registered a career-high 23 points against Whittier College on Nov. 12.
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference
Kaitlin Imai (So., G) earned Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition for the first time. She placed second on the Willamette roster in scoring with 10.5 points per game. Imai was successful at the free throw line where she sank 56 of 76 attempts (80.0%). She also supplied the Bearcats with 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. She scored a career-high 21 points versus Concordia University Wisconsin on Nov. 24, 2023. In her two years at WU, she has accumulated 472 points, 152 rebounds, and 116 assists.
Ava Kitchin (Sr., P) earned Honorable Mention All-NWC for the first time. She has averaged a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. Her efforts on offense have led to 8.0 points and 1.1 assists per game. She also has earned 1.1 steals per contest. Kitchin scored a career-high 21 points against Whitworth University in 2019-20. She ended the regular season this year by claiming a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. During her career, Kitchin has provided WU with 614 points, 399 rebounds, 69 assists, 67 steals, and 48 blocks in 72 games played (49 starts).
Megan River (Sr., G) was chosen for Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition for the first time. She has contributed 6.8 points and 3.2 assists per game, while earning 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. She is 26 of 32 on free throws this season (81.3%). In her career, she has scored 561 points. She also has recorded 237 rebounds, 203 assists, and 72 steals. She has connected on 101 of 124 free throws for 81.5%. She scored 23 points against Whitman on Jan. 21, 2023.
NWC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year
Willamette Head Coach Peg Swadener was named NWC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year for the second time after leading the Bearcats to a 17-8 regular season record and the NWC regular season title at 14-2. Swadener also was chosen as the NWC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year in 2017-18, when the Bearcats finished 17-10 (12-4 NWC) and reached the NWC Tournament championship game. Swadener earned the NCAA Division III West Region Coach of the Year honor from D3hoops.com in 2017-18.
Swadener has been at Willamette since the 2012-13 season. She has won 121 career games with the Bearcats. Willamette is 84-69 over the past six seasons, including NWC Tournament berths in 2017-18, 2022-23, and 2023-24. WU did not compete in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.
