The Pioneer women suffered a heart-wrenching conference loss to
the Linfield Wildcats, 63-59 on Friday night, January 16, in
McMinnville, Ore (boxscore). The two
teams entered the match-up with a record of 1-3 in a three-way tie
sixth place.
The first few minutes of play foreshadowed a highly physical, fast
paced match-up between the Wildcats and the Pioneers, both fighting
for sole possession of the fifth place slot. The Pioneers jumped
out to an early 9-2 lead in the first three minutes of play, while
the Wildcats frantically fought to recover. At the 12:18 mark, the
Wildcats took their first lead of the game, pulling ahead 12-11.
The next 10 minutes would end in the Pioneers' favor, as they
pulled ahead 26-20 with 2:14 to go. But, with 30 seconds remaining
in the half the Wildcats managed to pull within three points, as
the first half expired in favor of the Pioneers at 28-25.
Out-shooting the Wildcats by 13.1% in the first half, the Pioneers
went 40.7% from the floor.
The second half proved to be just as action packed as the first,
with 19 total lead changes and seven occasions of a tied score. The
two teams battled as if every basket was the game-winner, as the
intensity in the arena exploded in the final 20 minutes of
play.
The first 14 minutes of the half would favor the Wildcats, as they
earned their largest lead of the game at the 5:25 mark, leading the
Pioneers 54-48. However, the Pioneers rallied back to 54-53, down
by just one point with 3:20 to go. The final three minutes were
suspenseful, as the Pioneers put in work on the offensive end,
while also attempting to hold off the hot Wildcat offense. With
just 22.5 seconds remaining in the game, the Wildcats held a two
point lead, forcing the Pioneers to foul in the backcourt. The
Wildcats, who shot 88.0% from the line, put both in to extend their
lead to four. The Pioneers would score on the next possession, as
Margaret Dowling (fr., Burlingame, Calif.) grabbed an offensive
rebound and laid it in for two with 14 seconds left on the clock.
Down by just two points, the Pioneers fouled again in an attempt to
regain possession on a Wildcat miss. But, the Wildcats free-throw
shooting proved to be too devastating, as they made both shots to
earn the 63-59 victory.
Margaret Dowling led the Pioneers with a double-double, scoring 15
points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Kelly Vega (jr., Beaverton, Ore.)
added 12 points, going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line and
shooting 80.0% from the floor.
With the loss, the Pioneers fall to 1-4 in conference play and 7-7
overall. They will return to their home court on Saturday, January
17, to host the Willamette Bearcats. Tip off is at 6 pm, followed
by the Pioneer men at 8 pm.
