Albany, OR – The Linn-Benton women’s basketball team defeated the University of Oregon Club 60-50 in Albany on Tuesday, November 28 at Linn-Benton’s Activities Center.
In a game that was tightly contested in the first quarter and then saw the Roadrunners hold the Ducks to only one point in the second, it was the third consecutive win for the Beaks. They have started the season 3-0 and are set to begin conference play on December 1 against Yakima Valley.
While the Ducks managed to get on the board first with a free throw from C. Marquez, it was the Roadrunners who had the lead at the end of the first quarter, 23-22.
The Beaks first made their way onto the scoreboard with a three-point shot from Brooklynn Walters to take the lead 3-1, but Oregon responded with a three of their own. The Roadrunners’ Muriel Jones-Hoisington shot right back with another three, and after this the teams began to trade shots.
Trailing 11-6, LB took a timeout and capitalized immediately with consecutive free throws through the net from Katelynn Weaver to bring the score to 11-8. Their run did not stop there, and was only the beginning of a 9-2 run that saw LB take a 15-13 lead. The Ducks put forward a 9-2 run of their own with another two makes from Marquez.
Trailing 22-17 with 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter, LB’s Hallie Romig made a two-point jump shot while Molly Goeckner and Cienna Hartle each added two points as well, with Hartle’s beating the buzzer.
Holding a slim lead entering the second quarter, the Beaks conducted a defensive clinic, holding the Ducks to 0-7 shooting from the field and 1-2 shooting from the free throw line. The Ducks only managed to score 1 point in the second quarter, while the Roadrunners scored 11 on 5-11 shooting from the field.
At the half, Linn-Benton led 33-23, with Molly Goeckner as the Roadrunners’ leading scorer with eight points and five rebounds.
The Beaks would then suffer a mild case of shooting woes in the third quarter, going 4-15 and scoring nine points, while the Ducks went 6-16 for 14 points in the quarter.
The fourth was a test for the Roadrunners, who seemed to pass solidly. With the Beaks holding a 42-37 lead, the Ducks immediately cut into it with a jump shot from Marquez and another from Perring. LB did not back down from the challenge, however, and with their lead chopped down to one point to bring the score to 42-41 with 9:16 left in the contest, both teams were drawn into a defensive battle.
It was not until almost two full minutes later that either team would score again, featuring four combined turnovers. Finally, Hartle broke the stalemate with a three-pointer, expanding the Roadrunner advantage to 45-41. Hartle would put another ball through the net from the three-point line about a minute later, and from this deficit, the Ducks could not escape.
Goeckner added another two points, and with the Beaks leading 50-41, the Ducks never managed to cut the lead to below seven for the rest of the game.
Weaver’s jump shot and free throw, with 1:33 and 1:30 remaining respectively, were LB’s last points of the game, though a three-point shot from the Ducks finalized the margin of victory at 10 points in favor of the Roadrunners.
For the game, Hartle was the team’s leading scorer with 12 points, one rebound, five assists and one block. Her timely three-point shots may have been the difference in the game, and ensured that the Ducks were never able to take the lead away from the Beaks. Goeckner had 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal while Weaver put 10 points on the board to go along with six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
It was a strong performance from the freshman, and the Roadrunners will certainly hope that they can emulate their second quarter defensive performance in future games.
The Roadrunners will next play on Friday, December 1 against Yakima Valley at the Activities Center on the Linn-Benton Community College campus at 7:00 p.m.
