Wildcat Roundup: Mens basketball road woes; womens basketball nears history; soccer awarded for academic excellence

Linfield’s mens basketball team (1-5) has experienced growing pains after winning its lone game of the season on Nov. 10, at home against the University of La Verne (79-75). Since then, the Wildcats have been destined to live on the road, going 0-4 in trips to Portland, La Verne, California, and Claremont, California.

On Nov. 22, Linfield narrowly lost to NAIA Warner Pacific University, 73-71, but saw high-scoring nights from senior guards Dayton Magaña (24) and Chase Bennett (18).

On Nov. 25, the Wildcats traveled to La Verne, completing the home-and-home series, and lost 80-67. Linfield led 30-29 at halftime but La Verne took control in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 51-37. Magaña led the team with 19 points, four steals and three rebounds, while senior forward Logan Morrill recorded 14 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Linfield followed Thanksgiving with two games over the weekend, beginning with a 70-48 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS). Magaña once again led the team in points with 13, but a 42-22 deficit at halftime was too much to overcome for the Wildcats. Linfield also felt the wrath of CMS junior guard Will Householter, who scored a career-high 29 points while going 11-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range.

The Wildcats ended the trip to Claremont on Sunday against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Linfield trailed 36-29 at halftime but recouped the deficit and outscored the Hens 46-39 in the second half to force overtime.

It proved one of the grittiest battles for the new look Wildcats under first-year Head Coach Elijah Gurash; however, they could not hold on in overtime, falling 91-81.

Junior forward Garrett Callsen led the Wildcats, tying a career-high with 20 points and securing five rebounds. Magaña added five boards of his own to go along with three steals and 21 points while going 8-for-15 from the field.

Sophomore Gavin Perdue had a breakout performance in the overtime loss after playing 25 minutes against CMS, scoring a career-high 13 points off the bench. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Adachi City, Japan, Kohsuke Fujiwara, started the game and led in rebounds with nine.

The Wildcats will stay close to home this Saturday for an NWC tip-off versus Pacific and will return to Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Friday, Dec. 12 for a 5 p.m. start against DIII Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Alma College.

Womens Basketball

Linfield’s womens basketball team (4-1, 1-0) earned a dominating early-season Northwest Conference victory to end November, stifling Pacific University (4-2, 0-1), 94-61, at the Stoller Center in Forest Grove.

It was the most points scored by the Wildcats in a single game since 2019 (99 against Walla Walla University) and the fourth-most points by a Linfield women’s team in school history.

Senior guard Eve Burke led the charge, scoring a career-high 25 points while going 10-for-15 (67%) from the field and 4-for-5 (80%) from three-point range. She also had four steals (another career-high) and six rebounds.

Even more impressive, Burke’s first basket of the game did not come till the first possession of the second quarter, as she sank a three that extended the lead to nine. The senior made it a 14-point lead after sinking another three just minutes later.

Four different Wildcats contributed to a 9-0 run after Pacific cut the lead to eight, helping Linfield take a comfortable 41-26 lead into halftime.

Junior Allie Mead (15), sophomore Tana Hoekema (13), and seniors Miki Vermeulen (12) and Amelia Solt (11) also added double-digit point performances on the night.

As a team, Linfield shot 53% from the field and 61% from beyond the arc. The ’Cats also caused havoc for Pacific, nabbing seven steals and forcing 17 turnovers that led to 23 points.

The Wildcats are back inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Friday at 5 p.m. to host No. 3-ranked UW-Oshkosh.

Womens Soccer

The Wildcats’ success on the pitch and in the classroom was recognized with four student-athletes from the womens soccer team receiving College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors: seniors Mia Curtaz, Sofia Pietrok, Ruby Lacktrup, and Alexa Fritz.

The CSC Academic All-District is given to student-athletes who maintain at least a 3.5 GPA while appearing in a minimum of 90% of a team’s games each season.

Curtaz also added to her accolades, earning United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Region X honors. Curtaz’s designation marks the first time the Wildcats have earned an All-Region honoree since the 2013 season.

The midfielder ranks 11th all-time in minutes played, is tied fourth all-time in assists (19) and tied fifth in program history in games played (79). Her six assists in 2025 placed her tied eighth in the Linfield record books for a single season. Curtaz started in all 19 games this season, scoring two goals and leading the Northwest Conference in assists with six. Curtaz is a 4.0 student, majoring in sports management and economics.

Fritz also started all 19 games for the Wildcats in goal, earning eight shutouts, the third most in the NWC this season. Fritz maintains a 3.71 grade point average while studying biochemistry and molecular biology.

Majoring in exercise science, Lacktrup maintained a 3.77 GPA while starting 18 matches and playing in 19. Pietrok also maintained a 4.0 grade point average as a dual-major in exercise science and Spanish. The senior defender made 14 starts and played in 16 matches.

Wrestling

Linfield women’s wrestling competed in four matches at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, last Saturday, Nov. 29, but were unable to find victory during the holiday weekend, falling 38-5 to NAIA Evergreen.

At 103 pounds, freshman McNary product Jessica Cottings (5-4) claimed a forfeit, giving Linfield its only points of the day, while Evergreen took four forfeits. At 131 pounds, another freshman McNary alumna in Cadence Fineran (3-7) took her match into the second period, but lost via an 11-0 technical fall.

Freshman Cassidy Jones-Mowen (4-7) fell via tech fall in the ensuing 138-pound match, 10-0. Sophomore Karina Yoder (1-8) was pinned 63 seconds into her match at 160 pounds, putting Evergreen ahead, 33-5.

Senior Abisua Perez-Diaz (0-3) was the final Wildcat to compete in Saturday’s dual, falling via pin in the final seconds of the first period.

Women’s wrestling returns to the mat on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Treasure Valley Invitational in Ontario, Oregon. Afterwards, they have a short turnaround and will compete at the Desert Duals in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Article written with the assistance of Chase Fisk and Linfield Sports Communication.