The Pioneer women's basketball team dropped their final tune-up
before the NWC tournament 69-62 (box score) to the
Linfield Wildcats Saturday night in McMinnville. Kim Kittell led
the Pioneers with 16 points.
After falling behind 13-6, the Pioneers went on a 13-0 run,
capped by a jump shot by Heather Jones (freshman, Ceres, Calif.)
with 7:27 remaining in the first half, to take a 19-16 lead. A
four-point possession by Linfield, where a player made a jump shot
and was fouled trying to rebound the potential miss and converted
her two free throws, cut into the Pioneer lead. Linfield tied the
game, 22-22, on a jumper with 1:38 remaining. A layup with :01 left
in the half gave the Wildcats a 24-22 advantage at the
break.
Linfield opened the second half on a 5-0 run, pushing out to a
29-22 lead a minute and a half into the half. After pushing the
lead to eight, 33-25, the Pioneers came raring back, pounding the
Wildcats down low, with Kelly Vega (sophomore, Beaverton, Ore.)
scoring five points to pull the Pioneers within one, 33-32, with
15:11 remaining. The Pioneers took a one point lead, 36-35, on a
jumper by Crystal Castle (senior, Rocklin, Calif.) with 14:22
remaining. After the Pioneers built the lead to four, Linfield
immediately countered with a three. The two teams traded baskets at
both ends of the court, with Linfield holding onto to a slim lead.
A 5-0 run with just over six minutes remaining put the Wildcats up
54-48 with 6:40 remaining.
In the highly physical game, much of the final five minutes for
both teams was spent at the freethrow line. A late wave of three
pointers by the Wildcats helped them cement the 69-62 victory.
The Pioneers shot 35 freethrows in the game, with the Wildcats
committing 29 fouls. The Pioneers were whistled for 23 sending the
Wildcats to the line to shoot 23 freethrows.
Kim Kittell (sophomore, Tillamook, Ore.) scored 16 points to
lead the Pioneers. She scored seven of those from the line. Crystal
Castle scored 15 points.
The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 14-11 record and
a 10-6 Conference mark, finishing in sole possession of third
place. George Fox and Puget Sound tied for the regular season
title. According to the tie breakers, Puget Sound will be the #1
seed in the Conference tournament and George Fox #2. The #3
Pioneers will play at George Fox Wednesday night, February 27, at
7pm. The game will be available live on the internet through
sportsjuice.com.
