Rachel Scarpelli led all scorers with 23 points
Concordia Defeats Willamette 96-66
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Danielle Clauson posted 19 points and 11 rebounds as Concordia earned a 96-66 nonconference victory over Willamette Friday night at Cavalier Gymnasium.
With the win, Concordia improves to 4-3 this season. Willamette falls to 0-1 with the loss.
The Cavaliers turned the ball over on their first two possessions and missed their first five shot attempts to allow Willamette to jump ahead 7-0 in the first two minutes. Clauson’s free throw made it 7-1, but Kaileigh Westermann’s layup gave the Bearcats an eight-point lead, their largest in the contest.
Brittney Yates helped the Cavs pull within two with a three-pointer and a free throw, but Alex Zennan’s three-pointer pushed the Bearcats’ lead back to seven at 17-10 with 13:39 remaining in the first half.
From that point, it was all Cavaliers.
Megan Padilla’s trey jump-started the CU offense, which scored 12-straight points to give the Cavs a 22-17 lead with 11:11 remaining in the half. Zennan ended the streak with another three-pointer to pull Willamette within two, but the Bearcats would get no closer the rest of the game.
Concordia scored the next nine points and went on to a 47-34 halftime lead.
Rachel Scarpelli’s three-pointer 40 seconds into the second period pushed Concordia up 50-34, sparking a 19-2 CU run to open the half and give the Cavs a 66-36 lead. Each team scored 30 the rest of the way to close out the 96-66 Concordia victory.
Scarpelli (Troutdale, Ore./Reynolds H.S.) tallied a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Courtney May (Napavine, Wash./Napavine H.S.) chipped in 10 free throws and 14 total points and Yates (Happy Valley, Ore./Clackamas H.S.) added 10 for CU. Clauson (Edmonds, Wash./Kings H.S.) shot 8-of-12 and added a game-high five steals in her double-double effort.
Willamette’s Zennan led the visitors with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including four makes from beyond the arc, all in only 21 minutes on the court. Westermann added 15 and Andrea Harris contributed 10 in the losing effort.
Concordia heads north to Parkland, Wash., tomorrow for a non-conference game against another Northwest Conference team in Pacific Lutheran University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.