CC loses final of women's tourney

The Willamette Bearcats (3-1) pulled away from Colorado College midway through the second half to claim the women's championship trophy 83-61 in the Colorado College/Radisson Thanksgiving Invitational on Saturday.

The Tigers (1-3) were kept in the game in the first half on a 3- pointer by Mary Voelbel and a pair of 3's by Christy Gallegos. These opened the lane for inside shots against the bigger Bearcats. Laura Cook led the charge inside with 11 points in the first half. The Bearcats led 41-39 at the half.

The Bearcats were ahead by eight midway through the second half when they started pressing. This caused turnovers which resulted in points for Willamette.

"In the second half, their guards ran the floor a lot better," said Tiger coach Julie Soriero. "They're a good team, fundamentally sound, and they play well together. You look at their roster and you see that it's full of juniors and seniors. They're experienced, strong and tough. "

The Colorado College men (0-4) were manhandled by Mary Hardin- Baylor 76-64 in the consolation game.

The Tigers were tied with the Crusaders with just under 4 minutes left in the first half. By the half, Colorado College trailed 43-31. The Crusaders (3-1) took control of the game with a man-to-man pressure defense. This caused turnovers and some poor shot selection.

"We use a man-to-man pressure defense, which may look like a collapsing zone," said Crusaders coach Ken DeWeese.

The Crusaders kept a comfortable lead until a barrage of 3- pointers by the Tigers in the last 2 minutes closed the final gap.

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