LINFIELD UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL VERSUS LEWIS & CLARK • FEBRUARY 12, 2023

THANK YOU SENIORS!

CLASS OF 2023

WELCOME TO LINFIELD UNIVERSITY

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: LEWIS & CLARK AT LINFIELD

game operations | event staff

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Dr. Garry Killgore

EVENT MANAGERS

Doug Hire, Steve Simmons, Zayn Khan

COMMUNICATIONS

Kelly Bird, Kaho Akau, Joe Stuart

STATISTICS

Mariah Ohman, Alexis Garner

PUBLIC ADDRESS Jeremy Nettrouer

SCOREBOARD

Nick Alder, Jackson Koons, Grant Jackson

VIDEO WEBCASTS

Joe Stuart, Isaac Milner, Eric Albios, Cole Runion

GAME PROGRAM

Kelly Bird, Felip Unker, Kaho Akau

15 josh puccinelli

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

better TOGETHER

By embracing every player and excluding no one, Janessa Yniguez helped the Wildcats strengthen vital team bonds

by joe stuart ’19

Rebuilds are never easy in college sports, especially at the Division-III level.

With no scholarships for programs to throw at high-end talent and less resources than their Division-I counterparts, moving on from disappointing seasons to become competitive again often comes down to choices made by student-athletes that relate to leadership and team culture.

The Linfield women’s basketball team has been able to develop that culture to the tune of a .387-point increase in their win percentage this season, putting together a 9-12 record, and still counting, after a one-win, last place finish in 2021-22.

It’s in large part thanks to guard Janessa Yniguez and her fellow seniors on the squad, who made the choice early on to reinforce the program’s strong camaraderie that existed when they walked onto campus for the 2019-20 season but had frayed a bit in the years since due to the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“At the beginning of the year, we decided to be super inclusive,” says Yniguez. “Even before open gyms and practices started, we’d got together so we could meet the freshmen and start the chemistry and start the bond.

“We just wanted to make it that we are a team, and this is unity. Sure, you can have your friends but if there are more than five of us getting together, to invite the whole team. But it’s problem because we all love being together. We would rather be around each other.”

Due to the pandemic impacting the last two basketball seasons, even team bonding moments, like spending together on road trips, were hard to come by.

“We need that bond. When Covid hap pened we never really got to bond,” guez. “Before, when we went we spent so much time together hotels or on bus rides… it’s a six-hour who else are you going to talk missed out on that. The kind of ated from that is crucial for on-court success.”

The four Wildcat seniors have gone beyond making bonding a priority

preseason and on road trips. They continued to organize team activities throughout the year that have helped bring the group close together.

“We wanted to make a routine of doing stuff together like watching movies, making bracelets, or putting tinsel in our hair, we just made that a routine part of every week,” says the Santa Cruz, California, native. “I think the fact that we started that so early helped all of us gel together. The vibes are super good.”

Wildcats coach Casey Bunn-Wilson recognizes what her group of senior leaders has done and the impact it’s had on the teams on-court improvement.

“The biggest thing with their leadership is what they’re doing with the team off the court,” says Bunn-Wilson. “The seniors making an effort to invite everybody over and organize team activities and team dinners I think has really helped bring everybody along and get closer quicker.”

But winning doesn’t just happen from a good attitude and team movie nights – the work must be done too.

At the start of the season, Bunn-Wilson set the tone with a new motto for the team: “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” It’s been clear her Wildcats have taken that mantra to heart.

The seniors recognized that for change to happen, it had to begin with them and be initiated through their leadership, especially with over half of the team either at the very beginning or still in the first half of their college basketball careers.

“We needed to change something,” says Yniguez, reflecting about the beginning of this season. “All the seniors were talking about that and talking about it with Coach, too. We all had to be leaders, Lex [Alexis Heald] and I are the vocal leaders, and then Jordan [Worthington] leads more by example, but even some of our sophomores are leaders because they have to be in their on-court role. Even with [Gillyan Landis], she’s our six-footer, she has to be a leader.”

Thanks to different players stepping into leadership roles and the early time spent together off the court, the newcomers on the team were able to feel that much more comfortable early on.

“The freshmen bought in really quickly,” says Yniguez. “I love how we played in open gyms and that really translated into practices, and now practices into games. We’re just playing really well together; the chemistry is really there.”

With the young players looking comfortable confident, and the Wildcats back in competitive standing in the Northwest Conference, the chemistry bond within the Linfield women’s basketball team is apparent and clearly leading to success.

For that, the Wildcats have Janessa Yniguez and the rest of the 2023 seniors to thank.

WOMEN’S COACH CASEY BUNN-WILSON

Casey Bunn-Wilson is in her eighth season as women’s basketball coach at Linfield. In her first year with the Wildcats, she helped guide the women to the program’s first winning record in five seasons (13-12) and a share of sixth place in the Northwest Conference, one of the premier women’s basketball leagues in NCAA Division III. In 2018-19, the Wildcats reached the NWC Tournament despite a competing with an injury depleted roster.

Bunn-Wilson spent three seasons as girls basketball coach at Tualatin High School, compiling a 39-32 win-loss record while leading the Timberwolves to three straight OSAA Class 6A state playoff appearances.

At Oregon State, Bunn-Wilson led the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring as a senior in 2007, averaging 20.0 points per game. She graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Promotion and Education.

A star athlete at Stayton High School, Bunn-Wilson earned varsity letters in basketball, volleyball, softball and track. On the basketball court, she was a four-time all-state, all-region and all-conference honoree. The Capital Conference Player of the Year for three straight seasons, Bunn-Wilson led Stayton to the league championship her freshman and junior seasons. She set SHS career records for points (1,831), rebounds (783), assists (342) and steals (306) and went on to represent Stayton in the Oregon Class 3A All-Star game following graduation.

Bunn-Wilson played professionally in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Australia. While competing overseas, she earned allleague honors on the Portuguese All-Star team. At Linfield, Bunn-Wilson also co-directs the athletic department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

WOMEN’S GAME DAY

PREVIEW

THE RECORDS

Linfield enters the week at 9-12 overall and 5-7 in Northwest Conference play. Lewis & Clark is 2-19 overall with a 1-11 NWC mark.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

The Wildcats got back in the win column last week with a 56-35 rout of Pacific Lutheran on the road. Sophomore Elyse Waldal scored a career-high 19 points off the bench against the Lutes, going 8 for 13 from the field while picking up five rebounds, an assist and five steals. Her 47.8 field goal percentage ranks sixth among qualified NWC players while Jordan Worthington’s 49.1 percentage is fifth. Sophomore Gillyan Landis is fourth in the NWC with 7.4 rebounds per game. The ‘Cats will honor Alexis Heald, Paige LaFountain, Worthington and Janessa Yniguez on Senior Night.

LEWIS & CLARK AT A GLANCE

The Pioneers are looking to snap a nine-game losing streak. Their lone win in NWC play came in a 93-90 road win over Whitworth on Jan. 6. Karli Mukai’s 14.7 points per game rank third in the NWC while her three assists per game are fourth. Charlotte Carroll ranks in the league’s top 10 with 12 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Natalie Elstone has dished out 51 assists so far this season while also coming up with a team-leading 31 steals.

THE SERIES

Linfield is 42-36 in the all-time series with Lewis & Clark. The Wildcats are 19-18 against the Pioneers both at home and on the road. The series includes four neutral-site wins by LInfield. The ‘Cats and Pios split the last six meetings. The ‘Cats took the first meeting of the 2022-23 season, winning 65-57 on Jan. 13 in Portland.

1 logan roberts

logan roberts | 1 5-9 | Freshman | Guard Twin Falls, Idaho

miki vermeulen | 3 5-10 | Freshman | Guard/Forward Renton, Washington

ella koebelin | 5 5-4 | Freshman | Guard Silverdale, Washington

jordan roberts | 2 5-8 | Freshman | Guard Twin Falls, Idaho

paige lafountain | 11 5-6 | Senior | Guard Tigard, Oregon

jordan worthington | 21 6-0 | Senior | Forward Woodinville, Washington

laurel quinn | 14

5-8 | Freshman | Guard Vancouver, Washington

alexis heald | 20 5-9 | Senior | Guard Portland, Oregon

peyton bergevin | 23

5-11 | Junior | Forward Walla Walla, Washington

elise waldal | 24

5-10 | Sophomore | Forward Snohomish, Washington

eve burke | 4 5-7 | Freshman | Guard Port Angeles, Washington

Anna Dazey | 15 5-6 | Sophomore | Guard Corvallis, Oregon

kaylee schow | 22 5-7 | Senior | Guard Tenino, Washington

janessa yniguez | 30 5-3 | Senior | Guard Santa Cruz, California

gillyan landis | 32 6-2 | Sophomore | Center Yakima, Washington

casey bunn-wilson Head Coach Eight Year

Maggie Smith Assistant Coach First Year

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MEET THE LINFIELD WOMEN

Back row (l to r): Jordan Roberts, Alexis Heald, Elyse Waldal, Logan Roberts, Gillyan Landis, Jordan Worthington, Peyton Bergevin, Miki Vermeulen, Lauren Quinn. Front row: Kaylee Schow, Anna Dazey, Ella Koebelin, Riley Cusack, Head Coach Casey Bunn-Wilson, Rowan Cusack, Janessa Yniguez, Paige LaFountain, Eve Burke.

LINFIELD WOMEN

HEAD COACH: Casey Bunn-Wilson (eighth year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Jeremy Vandenboer, Maggie Smith

LEWIS & CLARK WOMEN

HEAD COACH: Ann Dorris (first year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Kaycie Dunkerley, Scott Pisapia, Grace Derksen, Rebecca Gimeno, Michael Wudel

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LINFIELD SPORTS NETWORK

The Linfield Sports Network will again bring fans live action of all home Linfield basketball games during 2022-23. Fans can enjoy live video webcasts with play-by-play commentary on their computer, tablet, mobile device or smart TV.

Live coverage begins 15 minutes prior to the start of each game. Broadcasts include a complete postgame wrap-up with analysis and statistical breakdown. Linfield will also provide live audio-only webcasts of all of the Wildcats’ Northwest Conference road contests.

McMinnville native Joe Stuart begins his fourth season as the play-by-play voice of the basketball Wildcats. The 2020 Linfield graduate is the Athletics Broadcast Operations Coordinator, managing all aspects of Linfield’s webcasting outreach and handling lead play-by-play duties on Linfield football, baseball

and softball webcasts in addition to basketball. Stuart also assists with other external sports communications and social media needs.

Linfield junior Isaac Milner will contribute occational play-by-play and color analysis on Linfield basketball broadcasts this winter. Milner, who also serves as lead play-by-play voice for Linfield soccer, began his broadcasting career with the LSN last year covering soccer, providing color commentary on basketball webcasts, handling occasional play-by-play duties for volleyball, basketball and softball, as well as crucial production support on football, softball, tennis and swimming webcasts.

All LSN broadcasts, both live and on demand, can be accessed at golinfieldwildcats.com/watch or in the Linfield Athletics app on mobile, tablet or smart TVs.

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MEN’S COACH SHANAN ROSENBERG

Shanan Rosenberg is in his 10th year as Linfield men’s basketball coach. Since taking over leadership of the program, Rosenberg has guided Linfield through a “worst-to-first” transformation, capping it in 2019-20 with a share of program’s first Northwest Conference title since 2001. Linfield followed with a second co-championship in 2021-22. Under Rosenberg’s direction, the Wildcats have reached the NWC Tournament in four consecutive seasons, ending a seven-year playoff drought.

In nine seasons as head coach, hIs career record at Linfield stands at 116-99 overall and 74-64 in NWC play.

Rosenberg has twice been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year. His first league honor came in 2017 after guiding the program to its first winning season since 2008 and first conference playoff berth in five seasons. The most recent NWC accolade came in 2020. That season, the Wildcats went 20-6 and were

crowned conference co-champion during a run that included victories over nationally ranked Whitman and Whitworth on consecutive nights. Over a six-season span after taking over the program, the Wildcats elevated their conference record from 2-14 to 14-2.

Rosenberg was previously head men’s basketball coach for 11 years at Foothill College, a two-year college near Palo Alto in the south San Francisco Bay region. At Foothill, he compiled a 186-131 win-loss record. His 2012-13 team went 22-5, achieving the best regular-season finish in program history.

A native of central California, Rosenberg starred in basketball at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, leading the Lancers to a Central Coast Section championship in 1988. As a student-athlete and three-year letterman at UC-Davis, he earned all-North Coast Athletic Conference honors while leading the Aggies in rebounding his final two seasons.

MEN’S GAME DAY PREVIEW

THE RECORDS

Linfield meets Lewis & Clark in a matchup that could affect the Northwest Conference Championships field. Both teams enter the week with 6-6 records in NWC play. The Wildcats are 9-12 overall while the Pioneers are 12-9.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

The Wildcats opened last week with a 90-73 win at Willamette to claim their fourth straight NWC win. They closed the week with a one-point loss at Pacific Lutheran. Seniors Reece Gibb and Alex Jaczko both dropped 20 points against the Bearcats. Trey Bryant turned in a double-double in each game, putting up 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against the Bearcats before finishing with 10 points and as many assists against the Lutes. Along with Gibb and Jaczko, the ‘Cats will also honor Carson Bonine, Mikey Hinkle, Jacob Hjort and Jack Stallard on Senior Night.

LEWIS & CLARK AT A GLANCE

The Pioneers moved into a tie for fourth place in the NWC standings following losses to Whitman and Whitworth last week. They have the league’s leading scorer on their team in Brenden Patrick, who’s averaging 20.8 points per game. He also ranks in the NWC’s top five in field goal percentage, assists and steals. Jack Henderson stands third in the NWC at 18.3 points per game and leads the Pios with 5.5 rebounds per game. Henderson has been elite from threepoint range, shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

THE SERIES

Linfield has played Lewis & Clark 112 times, winning 51 of those games. The Wildcats are averaging 79.5 points per game in the series. The ‘Cats won nine of the last 11 meetings, but the Pios took the first meeting of the season, winning 70-67 at home on Jan. 13 on a three-pointer by Nikko Echalas with less than a second left on the clock.

11 trey bryant

Back row (l to r): Assistant Coach Loren Gehrke, Head Coach Shanan Rosenberg, Anthony Flint, Jake Downing, Reece Gibb, Braedyn Benhard, Logan Morrill, Philip Rosenfeld, Cayden Lowenbach, Alex Jaczko, TreyVaughn Bierlink, Assistant Coach Isiah Quintero, Assistant Coach Mark Swenson. Front row: Chase Bennett, Jack Greenwood, Donovan Johnson, Trey Bryant, Carson Bonine, Josh Pucci-nelli, Danilo Petrovic, Jackson Dupree, Jacob Hjort, Mikey Hinkle, Grant Lyon, Nick Tripaldi, Milap Owens, Jack Stallard. Not pictured: JT Estes.

LINFIELD MEN

HEAD COACH: Shanan Rosenberg (10th year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Isiah Quintero, Mark Swenson, R. Loren Gehrke

LEWIS & CLARK MEN

HEAD COACH: Tim McCrory (fourth year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Pamela Rush, Matt Mayberg, Scott Campbell

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