Box Score McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Sydney Abbott capped her sophomore season with a career-high 27 points and helped send out Whitworth's pair of seniors with an 87-75 victory at Linfield College on Saturday night.
Jordan Smith had 16 points and three steals, while Courtney Gray scored nine points and grabbed five boards to finish their Pirate careers with a victory and help Whitworth finish 14-11 overall and 7-9 in the NWC. The Bucs improved by a victory in Joial Griffith's second season as head coach.
Kory Oleson scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds in her final game as a Wildcat. Linfield ends with a final record of 12-13, 6-10.
Both teams came out of the gate on fire. Linfield made 59% of its shots in the opening period while Whitworth made 50% as Abbott scored 11 of her points in the first ten minutes. The teams were tied 23-23 after the initial quarter.
The flow continued in the second period, as each team again scored 23 points for a 46-46 halftime tie. Whitworth made 64% from the field in the quarter while holding Linfield to 47%, but the Wildcats took advantage of four offensive rebounds for eight second chance points.
The tide turned in the third period. Whitworth improved its defense, forcing the Wildcats into 4-17 shooting (24%) from the field and seven turnovers. The Pirates improved their shooting to 77% (10-13), thanks to several easy breakaway baskets. Whitworth led 68-58 after three quarters.
The Pirates continued to stretch their lead early in the fourth, going ahead 86-66 on Quincy McDeid's three-pointer with just 4:11 to play in the game. At that point both teams began to go deep into the bench.
Abbott finished 11 of 14 from the field as Linfield was unable to stop her strong drives to the basket. She made her only three-point attempt and finished 4-6 at the free throw line to surpass her previous career high of 26 points against Whitman on January 21st earlier this season. She also led the Bucs with seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and came away with a pair of steals.
Smith was 4-10 from beyond the arc for most of her 16 points. McDeid scored nine of her 13 points after halftime, hitting three three-pointers in the second 20 minutes. Megan Dorney finished with 12 points and had a team-high nine rebounds. Talia Brandner had nine points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Whitworth finished the game with a season-high shooting percentage (55.6), making 35-63 from the floor, including 9-23 from beyond the arc.
