Jan. 17 NWC Women’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

At Linfield 57, George Fox 51

McMinnville, Ore. -- The Linfield Wildcats ended five years of futility against their closest rival, defeating the George Fox Bruins 59-51 Saturday night in front of a charged crowd of 250 at Ted Wilson Gym. The victory was Linfield's first in Northwest Conference action this season and snapped a two-game Bruins winning streak.

The Wildcats (4-8, 1-2 NWC) ended a string of eight straight losses to George Fox dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Included in that run was a 63-51 loss to the Bruins in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Division III playoffs, ending one of the best seasons in Linfield history.

Monica Schwing led the victors with 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Most of Schwing's points came in the form of soft jumpers close to the basket. Heidi Jurgens added a dozen points and five assists, helping erase any lingering memories of a forgettable performance a night earlier during a 10-point loss at Pacific.

The loss overshadowed a fine performance by GFU's Darby Cave, who scored a game-high 22 points while adding five rebounds and three blocked shots. Kellie Thomas chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.

An 11-0 run midway through the first period staked the Wildcats to an 18-7 lead. Back-to-back fast break buckets by Schwing and a Lacey Conroy offensive rebound and followup highlighted Linfield's early success. Seven turnovers by the Bruins during the first 10 1/2 minutes didn't hurt the Wildcats cause either. GFU sank just 6 of 26 shots, in the half, trailed by double digits for the final 11:07 of the period.

Leading 26-14, Linfield hit its first three shots to open the second half. The Bruins closed to 10 points on Thomas' three-pointer with 11:30 left, and Cave's running layup with 6:55 to go trimmed the Linfield lead to 45-37. But Schwing, a 6-foot-3 senior, netted consecutive turnaround hooks to prevent George Fox from stringing together a run. Jurgens connected on a wide-open three-pointer from the left side with 3:20 left that made it 55-41. Behind the pinpoint shooting of guard Kim Leith, George Fox refused to quit and crawled back to within 57-49 with 1:38 left. That's as close as they would come, as Linfield passed the ball around crisply to wear down the clock.

Ahead, the Wildcats embark on their longest conference road trip of the season. Friday night, Linfield is in Walla Walla, Wash., to face the resurgent Whitman Missionaires. Saturday night, the 'Cats face defending NWC champion Whitworth inside the Whitworth Field House. George Fox hosts Willamette Tuesday night at the Wheeler Sports Center.

At Pacific Lutheran 61, Whitman 39

Parkland, Wash. -- Pacific Lutheran scored the first nine points of the game and rolled to a 61-39 victory over Whitman in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game tonight at Olson Auditorium.

The Lute defense held Whitman to 22.4 percent from the field during the game. The Missionaries missed their first seven shots from the field and didn't connect until the 13:49 mark of the half. PLU led 35-16 at halftime and cruised to the win.

PLU is 4-0 in the conference and 10-2 overall, while Whitman stands at 7-5, 2-2 in the conference.

Aundi Kustura led PLU with 13 points. Pam Isaacson scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Kelly Turner finished with 10 points.

Sarah Laird and Shea Morrissey both had 8 points for Whitman while Lizzy Washburn pulled down 12 rebounds.

At Puget Sound 71, Whitworth 63

Tacoma, Wash. -- The last time the Pirates played in Memorial Fieldhouse forward Tiffany Speer walked away with Logger Tip Off Classic MVP honors and a 2-0 record.  Tonight all that Speer and her Pirate teammates got was frustration and a dose of determined Logger basketball.

Puget Sound used a solid team defensive effort and sharp shooting from behind the three-point line to defeat visiting Whitworth College 71-63 tonight at Memorial Fieldhouse.  The win pushes the Loggers record to 11-2, 3-1, and drops the Pirates to 10-3, 2-2.

The Loggers went into halftime with a 35-26 advantage, thanks to incredible three-point shooting and a team defensive scheme that held the Pirates to just 9 of 29 from the floor.  Puget Sound made 5 of 6 three-point attempts in the first half, led by point guard Kilty Keaton who was 3 for 3.  2003 Player of the Year Tiffany Speer missed her first five shots on her way to a 2 of 9 first half shooting performance.  Forward Sarah Shogren led all scorers at the break with 14.

Whitworth made a run early in the second-half, knotting the game at 49-49 with 10:25 to play.  Logger forward Lindsay May responded with a three-point play, dropping the free-throw after a strong move to the basket that put the Loggers up 8 points with 5:05 on the clock.  Solid free throw shooting done the stretch and iced the win for the Loggers.

Keating led the Loggers with 20, and post Angie Straw had another nice game, collecting 8 points and 5 rebounds to go along with 3 blocked shots. Guard Hedie Collier contributed 14 important points on 5 of 8 shooting and repeatedly got to the paint to cause problems for the Pirate defense.

Shorgren collected a double-double for Whitworth with 27 points and 11 rebounds.  Both were game highs. Speer ended the night with 7 rebounds and 12 points on 4 of 17 shooting; a night of frustration indeed.

Puget Sound travels to Willamette Friday night for a date with the Bearcats, while the Pirates return home to host Pacific University.

Lewis & Clark 74, at Willamette 55

Salem, Ore. – Visiting Lewis & Clark showed no mercy in Willamette's first home game of 2004, defeating the Bearcats 74-55.

The Pioneers’ Krystle Mortimore led the scoring with 21 points and 2 rebounds, followed by Marissa Wyatt who finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds.

There were 4 players who scored in the double digits for Lewis & Clark. Willamette was led by Deanna Lund with 15 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Simmie Muth with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

After halftime the Bearcats charged back, coming to within 15 points on a jumper by Jammie Muth.

The Pioneers went on to walk away from the Bearcats, improving to 4-9 overall and 1-3 NWC. The Bearcats drop to 4-8 overall and 0-3 NWC.