Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. –
Valerie Wakefield set a Multnomah University record with nine assists, but the host Lions were unable to overcome a balanced Warner Pacific College attack that put six players in double figures as the Knights prevailed 79-68 in Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball Tuesday evening here at Lytle Gym.
The Lions spotted the Knights a 9-0 lead, then went toe-to-toe with their crosstown rivals in their best offensive performance of the season. Multnomah got on the board with a layup by
Faith Kraatz at the 4:35 mark, and
Tiara Chinn added a three-pointer to trim the Warner Pacific lead to four, but the Knights pulled away again and led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, the Lions twice cut their deficit to two points but could never completely catch up. A layup by
Rachelle Tau made it 24-22 with 3:11 left, but the Knights closed out the period with a 10-3 run and led 34-25 at the break.
Warner built its largest lead of the game to 15 in the third quarter, Kendyl Cone's three making it 53-38 with 2:15 left. Tau then hit two buckets and a free throw and
Bethany George canned a three in an 8-2 Lions' run that brought the period to an end with the home team down 55-46. Wakefield's driving basket to open the fourth quarter cut the margin to seven, but the Knights answered with threes by Emily Peters and Shasta Lofgren to extend the gap to 13 at 61-48, and teams essentially swapped baskets for the remainder of the game.
--- Notes: Multnomah wore pink uniforms on "Pink Out" night in honor of Isabel Bieri, the daughter of Lions' head coach
Tim Bieri and his wife Sara, who passed away on Jan. 27 three years ago after only five days of life due to hydrocephalus. The Lions will also wear the pink uniforms at their next home games on Jan. 26-27 … Warner Pacific joined in by wearing pink trim on their road uniforms.
--- By the Numbers: George led all scorers with 22 points, the most by a Lion this season, and Tau added 20, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor. Kraatz just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds while picking up six steals. The Lions shot .436 (24-55) from the field, their best percentage of the year. Wakefield handed out her school-record nine assists, and Tau had four blocked shots.
Bailey Allen led Warner Pacific with 17 points, followed by Deepika Kapil with 13, Cone and Peters with 12, and Lofgren and the appropriately-named Darbi Pink with 10 each. Kapil had eight rebounds as the Knights out-boarded the Lions 40-35. Mady Hanna and Katelyn Rossback had three assists each, while Allen and Maryah Tipping picked up four steals apiece.
Multnomah is now 0-20 on the season and 0-10 in the conference, while Warner Pacific climbed to 10-12 overall and evened its CCC record at 6-6.
--- Quoting MU coach Tim Bieri: "Tonight was a very special night regardless of the score. The team did something very special for my family and I will never forget their kindness. I'm also very thankful for the WPC team and Coach Gregg for their involvement … On the basketball side of things, I thought we scored the ball much better than we have for most of the season. Beth and Ray did a great job finding their rhythm and it was great to have Val set the assist record with nine. This is a super busy week with a tough road trip starting Thursday, so we'll re-group and get our focus on Thursday and Friday."
--- Next: Multnomah plays two conference games at Walla Walla University, on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and on Friday at 12:00 noon … Warner Pacific is off until Friday, Jan. 26, hosting the Oregon Institute of Technology in a CCC game at 5:30 p.m.
