Walla Walla, Wash. - Women's Basketball picked up their first win of the season thanks to twenty-five points from Kaitlin Imai and twenty-three from Elyse Waldal.  The Bearcats got off to a strong start and were able to hold on to defeat the University of La Verne 87-83.

La Verne ran out to an early 8-4 lead before a 20-0 run by Willamette put the Bearcats up 24-8 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter.  Five different players scored in that run, highlighted by eight points from Waldal.  The Leopards followed with five straight points of their own to cut the lead to eleven and Willamette finished the first quarter ahead by thirteen at 31-18.

Willamette maintained their lead during the second quarter but La Verne was able to get as close as seven points on several occasions and cut the lead to just two points at 46-44 on a Mia Mabang layup with under a minute left in the half.  An Imai three-pointer put the Bearcats ahead 49-44 and they took that lead into halftime.

The Leopards came out of halftime and quickly tied the score at 49-49 as the game turned into a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the second half.  Imai continued to provide the scoring for Willamette with two more three-pointers, but a long-range jumper by Mabang put La Verne up 57-55 just after the media timeout.  Another Imai three put Willamette up 65-62 and a layup by Gio Horner sent the Bearcats to the fourth quarter with a 67-62 advantage.

The Bearcats extended their lead to as many as six in the final quarter and led 83-77 with just 1:35 left in the game before the Leopards came charging back.  Consecutive three-pointers by La Verne tied the game with just under a minute remaining, but clutch foul shots by Waldal and a key rebound by Imai helped Willamette come away with the 87-83 win.

In addition to her 25 points, Imai also led the Bearcats by dishing out seven assists while pulling down eight rebounds.  Willamette outrebounded the Leopards 45-28 and was led by Emma Floyd with 11, followed by Waldal and Daisy Boling-Schmidt with nine.  Joining Imai and Waldal in double-figures were Boling-Schmidt and Gio Horner who both contributed ten points on the afternoon.

Willamette's next game is an exhibition contest versus Western Oregon University on Thursday, November 21st.  Their next home game is on Saturday, November 23rd at 6:00 pm when they host Multnomah University.