SALEM, Ore. – Senior Elyse Waldahl netted 16 first-half points and led all players in scoring in the game but it was not enough, as Willamette's women's basketball team was held to just 14 points in the second half en route to a 70-49 loss at the hands of the visiting Bulldogs of the University of Redlands Friday afternoon inside Cone Field House.
With today's result, Willamette falls to 1-4 on the season. Meanwhile, Redlands improves to 2-4 to kick off a two-game trip to the Beaver State.
Waldahl netted all 16 points in the opening 20 minutes of the game, as she was a combined 6-of-9 from the field that included 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point line. Unfortunately, the senior Bearcat was held scoreless in the second half as she went 0-for-6 from the field that included a 0-for-5 clip from long distance. In the game, Waldahl was aided offensively by Gio Horner as the only other Willamette player in double figures with 10 points. Meanwhile, Kaitlin Imai and Alexis Dockter added nine and six points, respectively. Imai's point total came in the first half and Dockter provided all her scoring in the second half on 3-for-8 shooting in the final 20 minutes of play. On the boards, Maya Sanders pulled down a team-leading four rebounds for the Bearcats with Imai handing out a game-high tying four assists.
A back and forth battle would start the game, as Willamette clung to a slim two-point lead (10-8) on a Waldahl three-pointer with 5:23 left in the opening quarter. Over the next two minutes, the Bearcats would increase their lead to five points (13-8) on a Imai three-pointer with just under four minutes on the clock. Redlands would battle back over the next three minutes to tie the score at 15-all before Willamette scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 20-15 lead after the first 10 minutes on another Waldahl three-pointer. In the first quarter, Waldahl scored 11 of her 16 first half points with Imai netting seven points in the game's opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter began with Willamette quickly pushing its lead to double digits (27-17) on a Waldahl jumper in the paint with 7:12 on the clock. Over the next four-plus minutes, the host Bearcats would secure two more 10-point leads with the final one coming on a Horner hook shot in the paint giving Willamette a 33-23 lead with just over three minutes left in the opening half. Imai would hand the Bearcats its final double-digit lead of the afternoon (35-25) on a turnaround jumper in the paint, as Redlands closed the first half on a 3-0 run to pull within seven points (35-28) at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, Redlands continued its run using a 10-2 run to grab its first lead since the 5:23 mark of the first quarter with the visiting Bulldogs grabbing a slim 38-37 lead on a Alex Facelo fast break three-pointer with 7:35 on the clock. Over the next three minutes both teams combined to score four points, as Redlands tied the game at 39-apiece heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, the visiting Bulldogs used a 9-4 run over the final five minutes to secure a six-point lead (49-43) at the end of three quarters.
The fourth and final quarter would begin with Redlands scoring the first 20 points, as the visiting Bulldogs held Willamette without a field goal until there was less than two minutes left in the game. Addie Hiler would snap the Bearcats' scoring drought with a wide-open lay-up at the 1:46 mark, as Horner and Sanders tallied Willamette's last four points of the game for the final margin of 21 points (70-49).
Four Redland players – Colbi Zorich, Carly Hicks, AJ Wick, and Facelo – scored in double figures with 15, 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively. Wick led all players with a game-high 13 rebounds en route to tallying a double-double on the afternoon, while Wick and Leila Hosn handed out a game-high tying four assists for the Bulldogs.
On the afternoon, Willamette was a combined 19-for-61 (31.1%) from the field that included an ice-cold 6-of-30 (20.0%) in the second half. The Bearcats were also a combined 5-for-26 (19.2%) clip from beyond the three-point line and 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line. On the other hand, Redlands was a combined 25-for-60 (41.7%) from the field, 6-of-12 (50.0%) from long distance, and 14-for-20 (70.0%) at the charity stripe.
Willamette will return to the hardwood when the Bearcats kick off Northwest Conference play on Friday, December 6, against Lewis & Clark College (Ore.) beginning at 8 PM inside Cone Field House. Meanwhile, Redlands will conclude its short two-game road trip to Oregon tomorrow – Saturday, November 30 – against Linfield University starting at 1 PM in McMinnville.
