Walla Walla, Wash. - Women's Basketball traveled to Whitman College to play a non-conference contest against East Texas Baptist, falling to the visiting Tigers by a score of 82-53. Kaitlin Imai was the leading scorer for the Bearcats with 16 points, followed by Gio Horner with 11, and Emma Floyd with nine points off the bench.

Horner started the game with a layup for the Bearcats to give them a 2-0 lead and after an ETBU basket tied the game at two both teams went scoreless for two minutes until an Emma Floyd three-point play after a Tiger free throw put Willamette up 5-3.  The Tigers responded with nineteen straight points over the next five minutes to pull ahead 22-5. A jumper by Imai broke the streak for ETBU and a series of baskets by Horner and Imai cut the lead to 27-15 at the end of the first quarter.

A 7-0 run to start the second quarter extended the lead for the Tigers until five consecutive points by Imai cut into the East Texas Baptist advantage.  A layup by Daisy Boling-Schmidt and a three-pointer by Floyd cut the lead to twelve at 42-30 with just under three minutes left in the half, but the Tigers scored the final five points of the half and took a 47-30 lead into halftime.  

Willamette tried to keep things close in the second half thanks to continued scoring from Imai and contributions in the third quarter from Elyse Waldal and Horner, but ETBU was able to extend its lead out to twenty-four at the end of three quarters.  Syd Shoemaker and Maya Sanders each had made three-pointers in the final quarter, but East Texas Baptist won the final quarter by five.

In addition to her 11 points, Horner led the Bearcats in rebounds with six, followed by Sanders and Alexis Dockter each with three.  Sanders led Willamette in assists, dishing out three on the afternoon, followed by Horner with two.

Women's Basketball plays another game in Walla Walla on Saturday, November 16th, when they face the Leopards of the University of La Verne.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.