MCMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Mackenzie Royce-Radford converted a 3-point play with 34 seconds remaining to give The College of Idaho a lead it would not relinquish in a 70-66 win at Linfield on Thursday night.
Squaring off against a Wildcats (2-1) team that had defeated Cascade Conference foes Oregon Tech and Walla Walla already this season, C of I (1-3) held the home team to just 10 points on 19 percent (3-16) shooting in the final quarter.
Down 65-62 with 1:04 on the clock, Royce-Radford knocked down a triple off of a
Hannah Maupin assist to tie the score at 65. Shortly thereafter, the senior from Middleton gave the Yotes a 68-65 lead with a powerful dribble drive to the basket - finishing with authority, earning the foul and hitting her free throw.
Linfield led for over 32 minutes of game time, with the largest advantage for the Wildcats a 54-47 tally with 3:36 left in the third quarter. From that point forward, C of I went on a 23-12 run the remainder of the game, including an immediate 4-0 response on back-to-back baskets from
Kiersten Rasmussen and
Kaylee Krusemark.
It was a resilient effort for the Yotes throughout the night, with three players reaching double-digit point totals.
Tayla Sayer was the leading scorer for C of I with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 performance from distance. Sayer was impressive in all facets, adding eight rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Emily Harwood and Rasmussen combined for 22 points on the interior, while Royce-Radford finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, adding seven rebounds, six assists and a block. Harwood was also strong on the defensive end, with three steals and two blocks.
There was little separation between the two sides throughout the 40 minutes, with neither team building a double-digit edge and nine total lead changes.
Krusemark gave C of I the lead for the first time with 2:45 left in the second quarter by hitting back-to-back free throws to make it 31-30. The teams would swap leads over the course of the next couple of minutes, with a Sayer 3-pointer with 55 seconds left giving the Yotes a 36-35 lead at the half.
Despite the halftime deficit, the Wildcats led for all but 24 seconds of the third quarter.
Linfield would enter the fourth quarter with a 56-53 lead, which
Sophia Jackson would eliminate by hitting a 3-pointer with 8:35 left to even things up at 58. The shot set the tone for a hard-fought final stretch, which led to win number one of the new season for C of I.
The win improves the Yotes to 5-1 all-time against Linfield, including a 2-1 record in McMinnville.
C of I is back in action at Pacific on Friday night at 6 p.m. PT.
