Walla Walla Community College struggled from the field for a second straight game Sunday afternoon in the Dietrich Dome, but a pair of freshmen came off the bench to save the day.
Cheyan James, a 6-foot post out, scored a game-high 18 points in her reserve role and first-year guard Shayna Allert contributed nine points, eight rebounds and three assists as the Warriors held off the Whitworth University junior varsity 69-59 in a non-league women’s basketball game.
James connected on 7-of-13 shots from the floor and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Allert sank 4-of-7 shots from the field overall and made one of WWCC’s four 3-pointers to help WWCC to its fourth win of the season against two losses.
It was the third game of a three-game weekend for Walla Walla, which defeated Portland 84-44 during Friday’s first round of the Warriors Classic but fell to defending Northwest Athletic Conference champion Peninsula 72-65 on Saturday.
The Warriors made 30-of-51 shots from the floor in the win over the Panthers, but they were a chilly 22-for-75 against the Penguins. WWCC made just 23-of-87 shots from the field in Sunday’s win.
“We’re not shooting the ball very well and, yes, that is surprising to me,” Warriors coach Bobbi Hazeltine said. “Because we shoot it so much better in practice. But we are playing with a lot of freshmen and nerves could be the answer.”
However, it was returning point guard Kennedy Corrigan, last year’s freshman of the year in the NWAC East Division, who struggled the most in Sunday’s game. Corrigan was 3-for-17 from the field, 1-for-7 from behind the 3-point line and finished with 10 points.
Kayla Green and Tiffani Dennis, the only other WWCC sophomores to see the floor Sunday, were each 0-for-1 from the field. Green left the game early with a head injury, giving Allert her opportunity to shine.
Freshman Kate Ferenz joined James and Corrigan in double figures for WWCC with a 12-point game. Freshman Emily Hancock collected eight rebounds to share team honors with Allert as the Warriors held a commanding 68-50 advantage on the boards.
Ali Kieckbusch led four Whitworth players in double figures with 14 points and Maddie Moffat had a strong all-around game with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Whitworth led 21-16 after one quarter but Walla Walla rallied for a 37-33 halftime lead and then pulled away from the Pirates in the fourth quarter.
“It’s good we have some depth on this team,” Hazeltine said in singling out James and Allert. “This is our second three-game weekend of the season and we have two more to go.”
The Warriors are in the Portland area this coming weekend, playing at Chemeketa Friday, Portland Saturday and Clark Sunday. Then they return home to host a three-day NWAC crossover tournament the following weekend.
