Willamette women's basketball team rises from underdog to target with NCAA bid in sight

The potential was there when the Willamette University women's basketball team started the season, with experience and versatility expected to be strengths.

But even with six seniors and talent on the perimeter and in the post, the Bearcats struggled early while playing a tough preseason schedule and reintegrating two key players returning from injury.

They lost five of their first six games.

It wasn't until road wins in December against a pair of nationally ranked teams that they gained confidence, helping them realize their potential down the stretch.

The Bearcats won 12 of their final 14 games, claimed the Northwest Conference regular season title and earned the right to host the conference tournament this weekend at Cone Field House on the Willamette campus in Salem.

"It's been fun to see them grow through the process and the resiliency they've been able to build with each other and the camaraderie and trust," Willamette coach Peg Swadener said. "They are really a special group."

The Bearcats, the top seed in the four-team conference tournament, play fourth-seeded University of Puget Sound at 8 p.m. Friday in one semifinal game. No. 2 Pacific University and No. 3 Whitman College play in the other at 6 p.m.

The winners will meet at 6 p.m. Saturday to decide who gets the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

The last time Willamette advanced to a national tournament was in 1995-96, at the NAIA Division II level and long before any of the current players were born.

Swadener is in her 12th year as the head coach. She took over before the 2012-13 season, inheriting a program that won just one game the previous year. The rebuilding process has been slow but worth it.

The Bearcats have relied on the experience of seniors Carolyn Ho, Ava Kitchin, Megan River, Ashley Collins, Danielle Morgan and Jasmine Shigeno, and a balanced offense with four players averaging between 12.2 and 8.0 points a game.

"I specifically wanted to build it up the right way, not reliant on one or two players, and have success come and go," she said. "We built a family and have alumni come back to games."

The turning point this season came with wins against then-ranked Whitman and Trinity of Texas, demonstrating just how good the Bearcats could be.

"We’re used to being the underdogs, so it was pretty easy to get motivated for those types of games," Swadener said. "But through the course of the season, we became the targeted team. We were in first place. That’s not a position we are used to being in.

"There was a lot of pressure, and I’m really proud of how our team fared through that."

"We have a really selfless team," Swadener said. "No one person feels like they have to run the show."

The Bearcats have weapons outside the 3-point line and inside the paint, so opponents can never be sure who or where the points will come from.

Junior Elyse Waldal, the team's leading scorer, is ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III in 3-point percentage, making 41.3% from behind the arc.

Kitchin, one of three Oregon players on the roster, is a 6-1 post who had 13 points and 13 rebounds in the regular season finale. Collins, at 6-foot, provides depth at the position.

River is the playmaker, Ho helps keep opponents off-balance with her athleticism and Morgan is what Swadener calls a jack-of-all-trades, able to handle the ball, play the post, rebound and defend.

"We can create a lot of very strange matchups," Swadener said. "I would imagine we are very challenging to prepare for."

Ticket prices for each day of the conference tournament are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors (65+), military and children 12 and under. Admission is free for students of the participating schools with valid ID.

Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com, or follow her work on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Willamette University women's basketball has NCAA bid in sight