By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Carolyn Ho (Jr., G, Parker, CO/Ponderosa HS) scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, and earned four steals for Willamette University in a Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Tournament semifinal game on Friday, Feb. 24, but Whitman College won the postseason match-up, 51-37 at the Sherwood Center. The Bearcats played a strong game against the Blues, as both teams excelled on defense. Whitman held a 39-27 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but Willamette reduced the margin to 41-35 with 5:25 left, before the Blues ended the contest with a 10-2 run while hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 49 seconds.

Willamette concluded its season at 14-12. The Bearcats earned a 9-7 regular season record in the NWC to take fourth place and qualify for Friday's semifinal game. The NWC Tournament loss to Whitman moved the Bearcats to 13-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points this season.

Whitman, which won the tie-breaker for first place in the NWC, improved to 20-5 overall on its way to the NWC Tournament Championship game, set for Saturday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. (PST). The Blues were NWC regular season co-champions along with the University of Puget Sound, as both teams went 14-2 in conference play. Puget Sound was scheduled to take on Pacific University in the second NWC semifinal game on Friday.

The Bearcats held Whitman to its second-lowest score of the season. The only time the Blues have scored fewer points was in a 40-35 win over Pacific Lutheran University on Jan. 28.

In addition to Ho's contributions, the Bearcats received seven points each from Sami Riggs (Sr., G, La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) and Megan River (Jr., G, Tumwater, WA/A.G. West Black Hills HS) during the semifinal game. River left the game with 1:59 left in the third quarter after receiving a leg injury. Riggs also provided WU with four rebounds. Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil (Sr., F, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) scored five points and hauled down four boards, while Danielle Morgan (Sr., F, Lompoc, CA/Allan Hancock HS/California Lutheran Univ.) recorded a team-high four assists and created two steals.

Riggs concluded her career with 680 points and 253 rebounds. Ascuena-Mercil finished her career with 345 points and 370 rebounds.

Leading the Blues was Korin Baker with 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. Carly Martin scored 14 points and Elena McHargue chipped in 12 points. Natalie Lundberg matched Baker with nine boards and topped Whitman with four assists and four steals. Whitman shot 33.3% for the game (18 of 54) while WU shot 25.0% from the field (10 of 40).

Willamette sank 14 of 16 free throws for 87.5%. Whitman was 14 of 19 at the free throw line (73.7%). Both defenses controlled the 3-point line as the Bearcats hit just 3 of 17 long-range shots (17.6%) and the Blues finished 1 for 8 (12.5%) from behind the arc. Whitman attained a slim 32-32 rebounding edge.

The first quarter was the highest-scoring segment of the game. Willamette led 4-2 on a layup by Riggs with 7:36 on the clock. The Blues responded with a 7-2 run for a 9-4 advantage with 5:02 left. Martin started the run with a layup and completed it with a 3-point basket. The Bearcats eventually tied the score at 13-13 on a 3-pointer by River with 2:29 to play but Whitman earned the final points of the quarter on a driving layup by McHargue with 1:47 to go.

Defensive efforts by both teams prevailed in the second quarter as Whitman outscored the Bearcats 9-6. Baker opened the scoring with a layup at the 7:15 mark and hit 1 for 2 free throws with 5:46 remaining to give the Blues an 18-13 advantage. Willamette tallied four points in a row to pull within 18-17 on a pair of free throws by Kaitlin Imai (Fy., G, Santa Cruz, CA/Scotts Valley HS) with 3:29 left. Whitman scored six of the final eight points of the half for a 24-19 lead at the break.

The Blues held a seven-point lead several times early in the second half. WU reduced the lead to 30-26 at the 4:47 mark on a driving layup by Riggs. Baker sank 3 of 4 free throws over the net two minutes to increase the lead to 33-26 before River suffered her injury for the Bearcats while being closely guarded near midcourt with 1:49 on the clock. McHargue picked up the loose ball and scored on a layup. McHargue tacked on a layup with 1:21 left, giving the Blues a 37-26 edge.

Even though Willamette began the fourth quarter with a 39-27 deficit, the Bearcats battled back, using an 8-2 run to move within 41-35 on a 3-point shot by Acuena-Mercil at the 5:25 mark. The surge also featured a layup by Riggs and a 3-pointer from Jasmine Shigeno (Jr., G, Brush Prairie, WA/Hockinson HS). Whitman's closing run secured the win for the Blues.

Willamette recorded its third winning season since 2017-18. The Bearcats also qualified for the NWC Tournament in 2017-18, when Willamette defeated Whitman in the semifinals and lost to George Fox University in the championship game.